Ugly brawl mars Hialeah-Miami Lakes’ upset of Miami Springs

What should have been a feel-good moment for the Hialeah-Miami Lakes Trojans didn’t quite turn out that way.

Just minutes after they had turned in an impressive 18-6 upset of Miami Springs at Milander Stadium on Thursday night, their second consecutive win to finish off the season after an 0-8 start, an ugly brawl ensued on the field after the teams had lined up to cross at midfield to shake hands.

The incident started with an isolated exchange between a few players before exploding into a basic free-for-all by both teams that went on for two to three minutes before being brought under control.

Coaches and players from both teams were quickly sent off to their respective buses without commenting to the media.

While Lakes had only pride to play for, the loss was an expensive one for the Golden Hawks in the playoff race. Springs entered this final weekend as the No. 6 seed in the Region 4-7A playoff race. The top eight teams from the region advance.

Even if Springs survives and hangs on to a playoff spot, its participation in the state playoffs could be in question in lieu of the messy fight.

As for the game itself, it was an ugly one for Springs as the Golden Hawks struggled terribly on offense, yielding five turnovers, four lost fumbles and an interception.

On the other side, the Trojans, who got their first win of the season last week over Miami Beach, road the coattails of running back Tywone Pipkin, who rushed for 169 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns.

After a scoreless first half, his 25-yard touchdown run up the middle on the second play of the second half put the Trojans up 6-0, a score that was set up by Tyree Womble’s 53-yard kickoff return to open up the half.

Two possessions later, Lakes put together a seven play, 67-yard drive with Pipkin going over from 2 yards out to make it 12-0 with 3:53 left in the third.

When Womble tossed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Darren Holt with 8:32 left to make it 18-0, things started to get chippy as both teams were called for numerous personal fouls.

Springs (6-4) avoided the shutout when Davante King scored from four yards out late in the game.