Georgia's Class 5A Gainesville-Langston Hughes clash now set for Friday with semifinals moved to Thursday, December 11

Georgia's Class 5A Gainesville-Langston Hughes clash now set for Friday with semifinals moved to Thursday, December 11 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The fallout from the game-ending brawl between the Gainesville [GA] Red Elephants and the Brunswick [GA] Pirates in their second-round playoff game on Friday, November 21, continues to ripple through Georgia's postseason.

Gainesville was leading, 42-0, near the end of that contest when a bench-clearing brawl spilled onto the playing field. The game was called after the brawl, and 39 players for Gainesville were then suspended last Monday by the GHSA, including players that left the bench area to enter the playing field and participate in the fracas. Four of those players were later reinstated on Tuesday following an appeal to the GHSA's Executive Committee.

But with 35 players still slated to miss their quarterfinal matchup against the Langston Hughes [Fairburn, GA] Panthers scheduled for last Friday night, Gainesville turned to the legal system and filed for an injunction. The injunction was then upheld by Hall County Superior Court judge Clint Bearden, restoring the eligibility of nearly all of the suspended Gainesville players. The GHSA then appealed that decision to the Georgia Court of Appeals, leading to the game being delayed while that court considers the merits of the case.

No decision has been rendered by that court, yet, but with the window quickly closing to complete the quarterfinal matchup between Gainesville and Langston Hughes, the GHSA has since issued a modified playoff schedule for the Class 5A bracket. The Red Elephants are now scheduled to take on the Panthers this Friday, December 5, with the winner advancing to face the Rome [GA] Wolves next Thursday, December 11, in the semifinals.

The championship game would then be played on Wednesday, December 17, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. That slot was originally scheduled for Georgia's Class 6A state title game which is now scheduled to take place on December 16 in the slot initially scheduled for the Class 5A game.

The other semifinal scheduled for this coming Friday night has also been moved to next Thursday. That game will feature the Roswell [GA] Hornets against the Thomas County Central [Thomasville, GA] Yellow Jackets with the winner advancing to take on the victor of the Gainesville-Langston Hughes game.

It's unclear how a ruling from the Georgia Court of Appeals could further impact the schedule and whether or not Gainesville advances in the playoffs. It's also unclear if Gainesville or the GHSA would then pursue a further appeal to the Supreme Court of Georgia and whether that would lead to further delays. Finally, it's not certain what would happen if the Court of Appeals rules against Gainesville after their contest with Langston Hughes and whether the Panthers would then take the Red Elephants' place in the semifinals if they lose Friday's contest.

Suffice it to say, it's still not entirely clear how this will ultimately play out in Georgia. For now, until further notice, the games will proceed with Gainesville and Langston Hughes finally meeting in their rescheduled quarterfinal matchup this Friday night.