Ref Left Bloodied In North Carolina Rivalry College Football Brawl, Several Players Ejected

A referee sustained a cut under his left eye in a late brawl that ruined a rivalry NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football game Saturday between East Carolina University and North Carolina State University, ESPN highlights show.

The East Carolina (EC) Pirates beat the North Carolina (NC) State Wolfpack 26-21 in the Go Bowling Military Bowl matchup at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.

Eight players were ejected after the brawl.

NC State defensive back Tamarcus Cooley could be seen struggling with EC wide receiver Yannick Smith over a towel that Smith seemed to have taken from Cooley when NC State Tight End Casey Kelly intervened and the struggle ballooned into a brawl.

A full minute passed before the tension calmed and roughly eight minutes passed before before the ball could be snapped again for a final kneel-down.

(RELATED: College Basketball Star Kicks Opponent In Face, Refs Toss Him) Im embarrassed as a coach, NC State coach Dave Doeren said .

I know our players are too.

That is not how people of this program, the players of this program, staff of this program, want anything to do with something like that.

To me, it was a terrible response to something that happened to one of our players, and theres no excuses for it.

So I apologize to ECU and their team for the way we responded.

Obviously, didnt like the last little bit of the game.

No place in sports for that, Pirates coach Blake Harrell said.

The announcers appeared to have foreseen the fracas.

Two in-state programs with no love lost in the 83 miles that separate them, one said just before the start of the game.

The Wolfpack are the more popular team in North Carolina.

Nonetheless, Harrell also addressed other in-state teams.

I dont think you can look at our fans and tell them its not a rivalry.

Its an hour and 15 minutes up the road, he said.

And theres a couple of other schools about the same distance.

Maybe they should put us on their schedule as well, instead of trying to take our players.

They want to call our players and take our players.

Well how about put us on the schedule? Were going to be looked at like a little stepbrother, thats fine.

These guys are going to compete, theyre going to take up the challenge.

I know we got to go play these guys again next year, at the beginning of the year.

But were going to celebrate this one tonight.

The Wolfpack have won 19 times and the Pirates 14 in all the 33 times that the two teams have met, beginning Oct.

10, 1970, according to Winsipedia .

Weve said it a few times: no love lost in the 83 miles that separate these two schools in North Carolina, another announcer said while the brawl roiled on.

Spectators might want to keep that in mind as both teams will meet again in the 2025 college football season opener Aug.

30 in Raleigh, North Carolina..

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