Grand Rapids (Mich.) Catholic Central’s football season ended Monday, one day ahead of the Cougars' next game, when a Kent County judge lifted the temporary order that had kept the team in the playoffs.
Judge Paul Denenfeld’s ruling allows the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s decision to remove the team over an ineligible player to stand. Tuesday’s game against Berrien Springs did not take place as scheduled.
The MHSAA welcomed the ruling and confirmed Berrien Springs will advance to Saturday's next round.
“Allowing a team to play after it violated a rule by playing an ineligible player would also be unfair and cause harm to other schools and athletes who complied,” Denenfeld wrote, as reported by local ABC affiliate WZZM.
The decision follows Friday’s hearing in a lawsuit brought by Catholic Central senior football player Noah Zainea, who challenged the team’s removal. Zainea is not the transfer student whose eligibility triggered the dispute.
The MHSAA removed Catholic Central from the playoffs Oct. 29, one day before its scheduled opener against Comstock Park. The association determined a transfer player’s family had not completed the full residence change required for eligibility.
The MHSAA cited video evidence of a home sale tour that appeared to indicate the player in question resided there and not in Catholic Central's district.
Related: MHSAA Uses Video Evidence of Home Tour in Football Player Eligibility Case
In a footnote addressing additional claims filed Monday, Denenfeld pointed to the rule requiring all personal belongings to be moved from the former residence. “That did not happen in this case,” he wrote, as reported by WZZM.
Catholic Central maintained the MHSAA had cleared the student before he played and that the school followed the association’s instructions.
A temporary restraining order issued Oct. 30 put the team back in the playoffs while the legal challenge moved forward. The MHSAA filed an emergency appeal Nov. 2, but the Court of Appeals declined to halt the order. Catholic Central went on to beat Comstock Park 56-13 on Nov. 3.
At Friday’s hearing, attorneys argued whether Denenfeld should grant a preliminary injunction allowing the team to continue playing. Catholic Central’s athletics director testified about the MHSAA’s earlier eligibility clearance and subsequent discussions about the team’s playoff status.
Denenfeld agreed the players would suffer harm that could not be undone, but the judge concluded consistent enforcement of eligibility rules outweighed those concerns.
“The MHSAA is thankful for the Court’s prompt decision today, confirming the integrity of the MHSAA’s eligibility rules, which all of our member schools expect to be enforced as written,” a spokesperson said in a statement to WZZM.
