NY school fires football coach after game brawl

WHITEHALL, N.Y. (AP) Officials in an upstate New York school district have fired the head coach of the varsity football team after his players got into a brawl with opposing players during last weekend's game.

The Post-Star of Glens Falls reports (http://bit.ly/1DzTVx0 ) that the Board of Education in Whitehall voted to fire Justin Culligan during a meeting held Monday. Athletic Director Keith Redmond said he's overseeing the football program, with the assistant coaches leading practices.

Saturday's Class D game between visiting Rensselaer (rehn-suh-LEER') and Whitehall was halted with six minutes remaining in the third quarter after tensions rose when a Whitehall player was ejected for a personal foul. The ejection followed a second-quarter brawl that nearly cleared both benches.

Whitehall was leading 28-6 when a referee ended the game, after Redmond raised concerns about the safety of players and spectators.

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Information from: The Post-Star, http://www.poststar.com