Saturday’s Division-III college football game between Manchester University and Bluffton University came to an ugly end after a nasty brawl broke out during the final two minutes of the fourth quarter. Haymakers were flying. Both benches cleared.
Manchester, a private liberal arts school associated with the Church of the Brethren, is located in Indiana and enrolls 1,617 students. Bluffton, a private Mennonite school, is located in Ohio and enrolls 1,094 students.
They met on the gridiron in the Buckeye State and the home team put a beatdown on the visitors. The Spartans moved to 0-7 with a 50-12 loss to the now 2-5 Beavers.
The final 90 seconds of play did not occur because of the fight. It all started once a punt return was blown dead.
Both teams were making their way toward the sideline when Manchester wide receiver ran full-speed toward midfield, delivered a late hit on Bluffton linebacker Travion Curry, and knocked him to the ground. After making contact, Redd proceeded to kick Curry while he was down — literally.
Of course, that did not go over well with the Beavers. Multiple teammates ran to Curry’s defense and tried to separate the two. Redd continued forward. He would not stop throwing punches.
At that point, both benches cleared. An effort to deescalate the situation quickly became a larger incident as some minor pushing and shoving turned to violence.
Eventually, after about 25 seconds of both teams trading blows, the scene was deescalated and the two sides were separated. Here is how it all went down in real time:
Although the score would have warranted an expiration of the clock, both sides agreed to finish the game cordially. Three-straight kneel downs put an end to the game after the fight.
Homecoming haymakers is not what the Bluffton administration would have liked to occur, but at least their team won. Manchester has to go back to the drawing board. Clearly, the Spartans are frustrated.