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Football Zebras editor Mark Schultz was the referee in a game suspended after a huge brawl seen in a viral video
Game could not continue because too many players were ejected
“No more football tonight,” said referee Mark Schultz after announcing a slew of ejections after a fight in the Richwoods-Urbana high school game in Illinois. Video of the ejections Friday night soon became viral.
The referee is the same Mark Schultz who is the senior editor of Football Zebras.
Players that leave the bench area to participate in an on-field fight are automatically disqualified. Schultz and crew determined by subtraction that only 5 players remained on the Urbana bench and issued blanket ejections.
“Too many Urbana players came off the bench to fight and are ejected,” announced Schultz. “There are not enough players on Urbana to play the game. The game is suspended and reported to the IHSA. No more football tonight.”
The Illinois High School Association will sort out what happens to this game. The crew suspended the game with 24 seconds remaining in the second quarter and the game tied 14-14.
Schultz declined to discuss the game on the record, and deferred to the IHSA when it issues its findings, presumably early this week.
Update 10/14: The IHSA declared that Peoria-Richmond won the game 1-0 by forfeit, since Urbana did not have enough players to finish the game. Five players on Richwoods who were ejected in this game are suspended from their next game. Urbana’s fate has not yet been announced.
The IHSA will have to determine the result of the contest between two schools that are over 100 miles apart, which seems to obviate the resumption of the game. Additionally, players ejected from a game are required to sit out their next contest, and the IHSA will have to determine how that is handled weighing the impact on upcoming opponents. The IHSA will also be able to review the video of the game in making its decision, as Schultz and his crew could not possibly keep up with every uniform number in the mêlée.
Schultz is a 24-year varsity high school official in his second season at the referee position. He previously worked 12 seasons at umpire and 10 at back judge. He started writing for Football Zebras in 2012, and became an editor in 2014.
And “no more football tonight” may very well now be the high school equivalent of “giving him the business“.
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Anonymous
October 13, 2025 at 12:55 am
It seems obvious to give a team a forfeit loss if they don’t have enough players.
Not me
October 13, 2025 at 11:48 am
Two of those officials don’t look healthy enough to work a game. Probably saved them from a heart attack given their obesity.
Jason
October 16, 2025 at 9:15 pm
Sounds like IHSA is going to let the bulk of the ejected players play tomorrow. I don’t see how they can justify that given the auto-suspension rule. I’d have considered staggering the suspensions to avoid messing over the next opponent, but it looks like there aren’t enough players to suspend half at each of the remaining two games without causing player-safety issues.
https://www.pjstar.com/story/sports/high-school/football/2025/10/15/illinois-high-school-football-team-suspends-4-players-after-fight/86697695007/