CEDAR BLUFF — Cedar Bluff Principal Bobby Mintz confirmed Friday that a member of the school's undefeated varsity football team has been suspended for what the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) determined was his part in a fight that occurred after the Nov. 9 playoff game against Phillips.

“We had a player who has been suspended for three games,” Mintz told The Post. “So we would have to make the state championship for him to get to play again this season.”

The Post has confirmed that the suspended player is senior offensive lineman Skylar Cagle.

The fight, which broke out during the postgame handshake following a 54-20 win by Cedar Bluff, lasted about a minute and at one point involved several players from both teams. The incident likely stemmed from a third quarter incident in which a Phillips player was ejected for throwing several punches to the head of a Cedar Bluff player.

Mintz said he attended an appeal Thursday afternoon at Springville High School during which he pleaded the case for his student, to no avail. The meeting was held at Springville because that school's principal is the head of the AHSAA district committee.

Mintz said video of the incident clearly showed that Cagle was only defending himself in the middle of an “unfortunate incident.” During the appeal, officials from Phillips High School even admitted their players were responsible for starting the fight, Mintz said.

In addition to Cagle's suspension, Cedar Bluff was fined $500. Mintz said he was told but could not confirm that Phillips was penalized $300 for having a player ejected, plus an additional $1,000 for throwing punches and starting the incident.

The Post has been able to confirm the accuracy of those monetary fines.

“We are very disappointed in the outcome of the appeal,” Mintz told The Post. “We have gone through the process to try and get our student reinstated. He was only defending himself, and we defend his right to do that.”

Executive Director Steve Savarese declined to discuss specifics of the incident, but said the AHSAA is charged with enforcing rules written by its member schools and always strives to keep in mind the educational value of high school sporting events.

"This incident was unfortunate for everyone involved," Savarese told The Post. "We wish this had never happened, but we have to be consistent in the application of our rules."

The Tigers (10-0) host Pickens County tonight in the second round of the Class 1A state playoffs.