GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s roller-coaster postseason is over.

Kent County Circuit Court Judge Paul Denenfeld ruled Monday afternoon in favor of the Michigan High School Athletic Association, upholding its decision to remove the Cougars from the Division 5 football playoffs for using an ineligible player.

The ruling ends a nearly two-week legal fight that saw Catholic Central disqualified, temporarily reinstated by court order, and now removed again — one day before the Cougars were scheduled to play Berrien Springs in the state’s last district final.

No district final Tuesday

As a result of the ruling, there will be no district final played Tuesday, Nov. 10. Berrien Springs (9-1) advances by forfeit to Saturday’s Division 5 regional final against Grand Rapids West Catholic (9-2), at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, on West Catholic’s home field.

Berrien Springs is the only district final winner that did not have to play a game to get there. Comstock Park, which lost to Catholic Central 56-13 on Nov. 3, is not eligible to advance despite the court ruling that put that game on.

MHSAA Statement

“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. As a result of the Court’s decision, there will not be a District game played on Tuesday, November 10th, and Berrien Springs High School will advance to the next round of the playoffs to face Grand Rapids West Catholic High School on Saturday, November 14 at 1 p.m.”


The judge’s reasoning

Denenfeld acknowledged the hardship on Catholic Central’s players — his opinion, as quoted by the school, said “fundamental fairness and the interests of justice appear firmly on Plaintiff and Catholic Central’s side.” But he ruled for the MHSAA anyway.

The judge wrote, according to WOOD TV8-

“The MHSAA and the public have an interest in consistent enforcement of eligibility rules to deter cheating and maintain a level playing field. 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.”

His opinion also cited a 2004 Michigan Supreme Court decision holding that participation in school athletics is a privilege, not a right.

The transfer at the center of it

The player at the center of the case transferred from Comstock Park to Catholic Central in January 2026. Under MHSAA rules, his eligibility depended on his family completing a “full and complete move” out of the Comstock Park district.

The MHSAA cleared him in August, before the season, and he played in six regular-season games. Catholic Central went 5-1 in those games and finished the regular season 7-2 on the field.
In mid-October, the MHSAA notified the school it had received new information about the family’s residence and reopened its inquiry. The school held the player out of its final two regular-season games.

Then, on Oct. 26, the MHSAA received a video, with audio, of a tour of the player’s Comstock Park home — led and narrated by the player’s grandfather, acting as the real estate agent showing the property. The MHSAA said the evidence showed the family had not, in fact, made “a complete, bona fide move out of their residence in the Comstock Park school district,” and that the player had been participating “in violation of the Transfer Rule.”

On Thursday, Oct. 29 — one day before the playoffs were set to begin — the MHSAA removed Catholic Central from the Division 5 playoffs, ruled the player ineligible, and ordered the forfeits. Five wins came off the record, dropping the Cougars from 7-2 to 2-7 and leaving them without the playoff points needed to qualify as one of the top 32 teams in Division 5.

Twelve days in court

The lawsuit was not brought by the player ruled ineligible. It was filed Friday, Oct. 30, by senior kicker Noah Zainea, who argued the ban would cost him his final postseason. Denenfeld granted a temporary restraining order and ordered the MHSAA to reinstate Catholic Central and schedule its district semifinal against Comstock Park by the end of Tuesday.

The MHSAA appealed, but the Michigan Court of Appeals declined to intervene. Presiding Judge Michael J. Riordan wrote that the application was “DENIED for failure to persuade the Court of the need for immediate appellate review.”
So on Tuesday, Nov. 3, Catholic Central took the field — against Comstock Park, the very school the disputed player had left in January — and won 56-13 in the delayed district semifinal.
A show-cause hearing followed Friday, Nov. 6. Monday’s ruling was the answer.

Catholic Central: “We respect the Court’s decision”

School president Greg Deja said in a statement Monday that the ruling ends Catholic Central’s

2026 football season.

Monday’s ruling ends the season, but the underlying lawsuit continues, and the school says it will keep pursuing its appeal through the MHSAA’s channels.

The Ohio contrast

The Michigan outcome is the mirror image of the case Ohio has been watching in Cleveland. There, a judge reinstated Glenville after finding the OHSAA removed the Tarblooders before completing its investigation — a ruling the 8th District Court of Appeals has since paused while the OHSAA’s appeal is pending, leaving Glenville out for now. In Michigan, the judge upheld the removal, and Catholic Central is out for good.

Muse AI assisted