An empty high school football stadium.
By June Mercer | November 10, 2026
Middletown's football season ended Monday morning in an appeals office. The Middies finished 10-0 on the field. They will carry a 9-1 record into the offseason, after forfeiting their 48-15 Section 9 Class AA semifinal win over Valley Central on Friday, November 6.
The forfeit stems from a player eligibility violation. The Times Herald-Record reported Monday that Middletown used an ineligible player in that game, touching off a weekend of appeals that ran out before Monday's midmorning. Under NYSPHSAA rules, a student-athlete must appear in at least three regular-season football contests to be eligible for postseason play. The player in question appeared in only two.
The stakes were not small. Middletown entered the postseason as the top seed in Section 9 Class AA and held a No. 12 state ranking. A team positioned to compete for a championship was removed from the bracket by an eligibility gap on the roster, not by a loss on the field.
How a Soccer Player Ended Up at the Center of This
According to KOT 845, the player was a late-season addition to the football roster, brought in specifically to handle kickoffs. He had completed 10 practices before the November 6 game. His two regular-season appearances came in a 50-12 win over Monroe-Woodbury on October 23 and a 31-0 win over Kingston on October 30. Those two appearances fell one contest short of the NYSPHSAA minimum for playoff eligibility.
The player arrived on the football roster from soccer. That is where the eligibility rule drew the line. NYSPHSAA rules count only football contests toward the three-game threshold. Time spent on the soccer field, regardless of how recently or how many games, does not transfer toward football eligibility. By that standard, he was ineligible when Middletown fielded him in the November 6 semifinal.
The rule exists to ensure players have genuine sport-specific experience before they compete in postseason games. For a kicker added late in the season to fill a special-teams role, meeting that standard required three regular-season football appearances. He had two.
A Weekend of Appeals, Each Denied
The eligibility question surfaced Sunday. The district worked with Section 9 that evening in an attempt to find a path forward. Section 9 denied a waiver. Middletown then appealed to the NYSPHSAA Executive Director. That appeal was also denied, at approximately 11:30 a.m. Monday, according to the Times Herald-Record.
District officials said they planned a further appeal to the State Education Department, working with legal counsel. As of Monday, no court order had reinstated Middletown to the playoff bracket.
Mid Hudson News first reported Monday morning that a forfeiture was expected, before the NYSPHSAA ruling came down.
"An Unintentional Adult Error"
Superintendent Amy Creeden and Athletic Director Justin Sturge issued a statement on behalf of the Middletown City School District. They described the situation as "an unintentional adult error in understanding the rules." The district was explicit on one point: no student-athlete did anything wrong.
That framing matters in a case like this. The player at the center of the eligibility question followed the guidance his district and program provided. He completed 10 practices. He appeared in two regular-season games. He did what he was asked to do. The district's statement places responsibility where it says it belongs: with the adults who managed the roster and certified his status.
The Bracket Redraws
Valley Central, which lost 48-15 to Middletown on November 6, now advances to the Section 9 Class AA championship. They will face No. 2 seed Newburgh Free Academy on Saturday, November 14. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Monroe-Woodbury High School.
Valley Central did not advance by beating Middletown on the field. They lost that game by 33 points. They advance because a rule was applied, an appeal failed, and the bracket now reflects that result.
Middletown's official season record, with the forfeit applied, is 9-1. Their on-field record stands at 10-0. Those two numbers will coexist in the books.
What the Field Showed, and What Changed Monday
The Middies won every game they played. They won that semifinal 48-15. Nothing that happened on the turf has been disputed. What changed Monday was the bracket, the record, and the chance to compete for a championship.
The player who kicked off in that game completed 10 practices, ran onto the field, and performed the role he was assigned. The rule that ended his team's season is specific: three football contests, not two. The district says the error belonged to the adults who made the eligibility call. Section 9 agreed. The NYSPHSAA agreed.
Valley Central now has a championship game to prepare for. Newburgh Free Academy, the No. 2 seed, waits at Monroe-Woodbury High School on Saturday night at 7 p.m.
