9 players from Las Cruces and Mayfield suspended for next game due to fight

Las Cruces Public Schools superintendent on Wednesday announced punishments related to the scuffle between Las Cruces and Mayfield.

Five players from Las Cruces and four from Mayfield will be suspended for their next games due to the fight that broke out after the rivarly game at Aggie Memorial Stadium last Friday.

“We developed a list of who was involved and what their actions were,” Superintendent Stan Rounds said. “Not on trial today are those findings. Because they are facts. We hold our athletes to high standards. We expect them to live up to those expectations … .”

In addition to being suspended from their next game, the suspended players will not travel with their teams and will not be on the sidelines of their next game.

Rounds said the disciplinary actions were in accordance with New Mexico Activities Association guidelines.

“For 48 minutes we had good football,” Rounds said. “For 35 seconds we had bad decisions made by athletes.”

Rounds declined to identify the suspended players, citing privacy policies.

ABC-7 confirmed through two sources with knowledge of the investigation that Mayfield star quarterback Kavika Johnson is not among those suspended for the next game.

Rounds did say that some of those suspended were starters and that by game time of the next game people would be able to figure out who was suspended.

Rounds was asked if other students would be disciplined and declined to say if they would be, again, citing privacy concerns.

More than 20,000 attended the game on Friday night.

The Las Cruces-Mayfield rivalry is considered one of the biggest high school football rivalries in the country.