Two Tennessee high school football teams placed on probation: Report

Oakland and Blackman punished by the TSSAA for post-game brawl earlier this year
Oakland's TT Hill (10) runs the ball during a football game against Blackman at Blackman, on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024.
Oakland's TT Hill (10) runs the ball during a football game against Blackman at Blackman, on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. / HELEN COMER/The Daily News Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) has come to a final decision stemming from an all out brawl that took place on Sep. 20th in the aftermath of a high school football game between Blackman and Oakland.

According to a report by The Daily News Journal's Cecil Jones, both schools will be placed on a two-year probation stemming from the Week 5 contest. Both schools have been informed about the aforementioned punishments, according to Jones' report.

Heading into Week 7 of the season, now each football program will have this incident hanging over their heads as the postseason looms ahead in the coming weeks. In Jones' report, the TSSAA handed down the following stipulations regarding the punishments handed down, which won't effect their eligibility for the 2024 playoffs.

  • Probation for both schools' athletic programs for the remainder of the 2024-25 school year, with an addition year of probation (2025-26) for the football programs at each school.
  • A $1,000 fine for the athletic programs of both schools during the first year and a $500 fine for the second year.

Both teams are being punished regarding the ending of Oakland's 13-12 win over Blackman, as a blocked field goal turned into an all out brawl between the two clubs. According to the report, one Oakland player ran towards the Blackman student section ever before the two programs could shake hands after the hard fought contest, which sparked the incident to spiral from there into a fight.

The report stated that the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office was on hand at the game and were forced to use pepper spray on one player and coach on each team during the melee.


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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivesports


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Andy Villamarzo
ANDY VILLAMARZO

Andy Villamarzo has been a sports writer in the Tampa Bay (FL) Area since 2007, writing for publications such as Tampa Bay Times, The Tampa Tribune, The Suncoast News, Tampa Beacon, Hernando Sun to name a few. Andy resides out of the Tarpon Springs, FL area and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in the summer of 2022 covering the Tampa Bay Area. He has quickly become one of Florida's foremost authorities on high school sports, appearing frequently on podcasts, radio programs and digital broadcasts as an expert on team rankings, recruiting and much more.