A Sharon man charged with aggravated assault in the brawl that broke out Feb. 2 in the stands at a Sharon-Farrell basketball game pleaded guilty Thursday to lesser charges.

Jesse J. "J.J." Wilson, 20, of 709 Sherman Ave., pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and disorderly conduct before Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas R. Dobson.

Charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and rioting were dropped, according to Mercer County District Attorney James Epstein.

In court Wilson admitted he tried to interfere with the arrest of a juvenile who was also his relative, Epstein said. Wilson also admitted that he struggled with police and knowingly resisted arrest by "wrestling, kicking and flailing," Epstein said.

During the struggle a Sharon policeman fell down the bleachers and was injured.

After discussing Wilson's part in the brawl at length with members of the Sharon police department and watching a video tape of the incident repeatedly in slow motion, Epstein said it was determined that Wilson did not intentionally push the officer down. When Wilson tried to prevent the arrest, the policeman "lost his balance," Epstein said.

The aggravated assault charges were based on the thought that the policeman was pushed intentionally, Epstein said. He added even the police man agreed it was not intentional.

Wilson "acknowledged in open court" that the police force used against him was appropriate and not excessive, even though it took three officers and pepper spray to subdue him, Epstein said.

Some Farrell city and school officials claimed in the days immediately following the fracas that police used excessive force against students.

During the course of the investigation that included numerous interviews with police, students and citizen witnesses more about what happened in the student section of the stands during the final minutes of the game between Sharon and Farrell high schools came out.

A disturbance started between a boy and girl in the stands, Epstein said. One student was from Sharon and one from Farrell. He declined to comment specifically which student was from which school.

Sharon policemen who were at the game for security purposes waded into the stands to stop the disturbance, Epstein said. Once police were in the packed stands, the students crowded around them. One student met the police with "defiance and obscenities" and tried to prevent them from breaking up the fight, he said.

The fight escalated into a brawl that involved between 70 to 100 students, according to police. The melee spilled out of the gym and into the commons area of the school, police said.

Epstein said he also reviewed 911 tapes from the night of the incident.

Backup police from Southwest Mercer County Regional, Sharpsville, Hermitage and state police only knew that Sharon police were calling for help and had no idea what to expect when they arrived at the school, he said.

Police didn't know if they were going to "a fight or Columbine," Epstein said, referring to the April 20, 1999 Colorado school massacre.

Though no one else has been charged in the incident, Epstein said he is planning to meet with Sharon police next week to finalize who will be charged and with what.

Charges are likely to stem from fights in the gym, the commons area and in the emergency room in the hospital of Sharon Regional Health System, where there were more scuffles following the brawl, Epstein said. He added citizen witnesses and hospital employees were interviewed.

Sixteen people were treated at local hospitals following the melee though no serious injuries were reported.

Wilson -- a former Farrell football standout and a strong safety for the University of Cincinnati's football team -- could face fines, 1 to 2 years in prison on the charge of resisting arrest and 90 days in jail for disorderly conduct, Epstein said. Dobson will sentence Wilson.