A brawl during a bidistrict playoff football game last Friday cost Ferriday the chance to advance in the unselected LHSAA Division IV playoffs.

Instead, the ninth-seeded Welsh (6-5) receive a forfeit victory and automatically advance to next week’s quarterfinals.

Eighth-seeded Ferriday was leading No. 25 Lake Arthur when an altercation between the teams broke out on a sideline. Videos posted on social media showed the fight eventually spilled onto the ground with multiple actors involved. Ferriday won the match 30-7.

Under LHSAA sportsmanship rules, all players involved in the fight and those who leave the bench during a fight are automatically suspended for at least the next game. Other sanctions may also be applied.

As a matter of policy, the LHSAA does not issue statements on sanction decisions. The Division IV unselected bracket on the LHSAA website was updated Monday afternoon to show the Welsh advanced with a forfeit victory and play the winner of No. 1 Haynesville and No. 16 Montgomery in the quarterfinals.