The Florida High School Athletics Association has had enough. Too many times in recent years, the state’s governing body for high school sports has seen brawls break out after games, most notably during the traditional 50-yard line shaking of hands between teams.

The FHSAA has decided to put its foot down. After Deltona and Matanzas broke out into a melee after their game Oct. 1, and Carol City (Miami) was involved in a brawl in Georgia the following night, the FHSAA handed out sanctions on Thursday, banning all three teams from the playoffs for this season.

Brawl breaks out after Deltona victory at Matanzas; coaches, police intervene

Deltona was hit hard, as 20 players were suspended, with 10 of them suspended for the rest of the season. Deltona plans to appeal every player’s suspension. All three schools can appeal the sanctions.

Carol City, which had already been in trouble with the FHSAA earlier this season due to the use of ineligible players, got the worst of the sanctions. The FHSAA suspended 15 Carol City players for at least one game, four of them for the rest of the season. Nine players face a five-game suspension, which is essentially the rest of the season since Carol City has already played six games. Two other players will have to sit one game. Carol City was also fined $1,500 — $100 for each player found to be involved in the skirmish.

Carol City had already been forced to forfeit a season-opening victory over Mainland, but the Chiefs (3-3) were eyeing a spot in the FHSAA’s new Open Division playoffs and had climbed all the way up to No. 6 this week, according to the MaxPreps Florida rankings.

But now, it won’t matter. All teams in the rankings below No. 1 IMG Academy, which does not participate in FHSAA postseason play for football, and No. 6 Carol City will move up two spots, which puts Orlando’s The First Academy right in the thick of things, currently sitting at No. 5. The top eight teams, according to the MaxPreps rankings, qualify for the FHSAA Open Division tournament.

Deltona (3-3) and Matanzas (1-6) would have been longshots to make the playoffs. Deltona is currently ranked No. 55 in Class 4A, and the playoff bracket takes 32 teams.

The last time the FHSAA came down this hard on a program was 2024, when TFA was sanctioned for use of ineligible players during summer workouts and competitions. TFA was hit with a two-year playoff ban, which was lifted this year.

Chris Hays can be found on X.com @OS_ChrisHays.