TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Toms River High School East football team will be sitting out the postseason after the team was banned by the state athletic association in the wake of a fight Friday night during the game at Central Regional, according to reports.

The Asbury Park Press and Shore Sports Network reported the playoff ban affects both the Raiders and Central Regional, because each team had three players ejected from the game as a result of the fight. The fight happened early in the fourth quarter, according to the Asbury Park Press report, and caused a 10-minute delay. Central won the game, 42-0.

The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, which is the governing body for high school sports in the state, has a rule that automatically bars a team from postseason competition if it has three or more ejections during the course of a season. That ban covers both the playoffs and the regional crossover games for those teams that do not qualify for the playoffs. All of the players who were ejected also must sit out a game, meaning Toms River East's players will miss Friday's home game against crosstown rival Toms River South.

Administrators for both schools told the Asbury Park Press they are looking into the incident. Joe Arminio, athletic director for the Toms River Regional School District, told the Asbury Park Press, "We do take these things very seriously," and the incident "will be dealt with." Later Monday, Central Regional Superintendent Tom Parlapanides had harsh criticism for the NJSIAA over the ban, saying the ban hurts the players from both teams who were not part of the fight.

"We all make mistakes but the adults need to communicate and do things right," Parlapanides said. "It is not right to the 40 or 50 players from East and Central that worked hard all summer not to be able to play in the States. You only get one Senior year! There is no time machine."

