The high school football championship game between Lamar and Brookhaven in Mississippi took an ugly turn during the second quarter. An assistant coach must be fired for his role in the brawl.
It was truly bizarre.
In no world should a high school football coach put his hand on another player, unless it is to protect him. This was the exact opposite.
Lamar still managed to beat Brookhaven.
Brookhaven Academy is a small, independent, co-educational college prep school located in Lincoln, County, Mississippi. Founded in 1970, it enrolls only ~575 students in Grades K-12.
The Lamar School is not much bigger. Also founded more than 50 years ago as an independent, co-ed college prep school, it enrolls only 653 students in Grades K-12.
These two schools are separated by approximately 100 miles straight across in the southeast corner of the state but you have to go through Jackson, which adds extra distance. Their two high school football programs met more or less in the middle, right outside of Jackson, for the MAIS 4A-D3 Football Championship at Robinson-Hale Stadium on the campus of Mississippi College.
Lamar ultimately went on to beat Brookhaven by a final score of 34-17.
🏈 Three game-changing plays for Lamar School football in the MAIS 4A DIII State Championship against Brookhaven Academy:@LamarSchool_fb @jland2 @SullyReed17 pic.twitter.com/3dmpWZqIKk
— David Edelstein 🌐 (@davidzedelstein) November 23, 2025
The Raiders claimed their seventh state championship in school history and their first since 2018. They did so while playing the majority of the game without their starting quarterback.
A high school football coach got in the middle of a fight with the quarterback.
This bizarre and unfortunate incident took place during the early second quarter, with just over 10 minutes left in the first half. Lamar quarterback Sullivan Reed dropped back to pass but nobody was open so he took off running. He stepped out of bounds after he picked up the first down.
An injured Brookhaven player stuck out his arm as soon as Reed reached the sideline and knocked him off balance with forcible contact. The quarterback did not appreciate the unacceptable behavior.
He got back up from the ground and chucked a football at the injured player, which sparked an ugly altercation. Punches were thrown during the scuffle, which involved a Cougars coach wearing a headset.
The officiating crew ultimately decided to eject Sullivan Reed from the game. The Brookhaven sideline received a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct but, as far as I can tell, nobody else was ejected. It took quite awhile to sort out. Here is how it all went down in real time:
Lamar still managed to beat Brookhaven without its starting quarterback in pretty dominating fashion. Head coach Jacob Land was thrilled with how his team was able to rally.
🏈 In a tense moment, Lamar School's quarterback was ejected from the MAIS 4A DIII State Championship game against Brookhaven Academy
— David Edelstein 🌐 (@davidzedelstein) November 23, 2025
Head Coach Jacob Land spoke after the game about his team's resilience, and strong defense, to win the state title anyway:@jland2 pic.twitter.com/RmykqTyu8L
The Midsouth Association of Independent Schools will review the incident in coming days. I fully expect the player who knocked Reed to the ground and the coach who later threw hands to be suspended, if not permanently banned from the sport. That is unacceptable. Brookhaven started it.