Two volunteer coaches with the Pueblo South High School football team have been suspended and other disciplinary actions have been handed down after Friday night's fight at the Cannon Game between Pueblo District 60 rivals East and South High Schools.
Officials ended the game just before halftime after a brawl occurred with about 1 minute left in the second quarter. The fight took place after a defender from East High School appeared to drive a receiver from South High School into players on the South sideline.
According to the district, the Colorado High School Activities Association, or CHSAA, "issued a ruling that included disciplinary action/game suspensions for student athletes from both schools."
"Unsportsmanlike behavior, including fighting and taunting, has absolutely no place in high school athletics and those behaviors will be addressed with immediate and stern consequences," said CHSAA in a statement.
District officials also suspended the two volunteer coaches, and said more disciplinary actions may occur as they continue to monitor and investigate the situation.
"The Cannon Game is a special inner-city rivalry our community has enjoyed for nearly half of a century now," Pueblo School District 60 Superintendent Charlotte Macaluso said in a statement. "Although it is a rivalry, at no time should sportsmanship or respect be put aside in the heat of the moment."
"We must keep in mind that our athletes are still maturing teenagers," Macaluso wrote, "and our focus remains on supporting them and our teams. It is only through continued mutual trust and respect that rivalry games will be able to continue."
CHSAA ruled that the East Eagles won the game, 23-0.
The rivalry between the two schools began in 1959. It became "The Cannon Game" in 1976 when the victor began taking a real Civil War-era cannon back to their school. Pueblo South leads the series.
