The field, empty on the weekend that mattered.
By June Mercer | November 14, 2026
Middletown's bid to get back on the football field ended Friday in a Goshen courtroom. The Enlarged City School District of Middletown withdrew its emergency court petition seeking to reverse the team's playoff disqualification, following a hearing that ran nearly two hours before Orange County state Supreme Court Justice Verris Shako. The Section IX Class AA championship is no longer theirs to play for.
The Middletown Middies finished their season 10-0 on the field. They went 9-0 through the regular season, earned the top seed in Section IX Class AA, and reached No. 12 in the state poll. A 53-second appearance by an ineligible kicker in a November 6 playoff win erased all of it.
A Routine Win That Became Something Else
Middletown defeated Valley Central 48-15 in the Section IX Class AA semifinal on November 6. The win looked unremarkable. The Middies had gone through the regular season without a close game, and this one was not close either.
After the game, a postseason eligibility review flagged something. A player used as a kickoff specialist had not met the participation threshold required to play in the postseason. Under NYSPHSAA rules, a football player must have been an eligible participant in at least three regular-season games before they can take the field in playoff competition. RFTUV News reported on the forfeit and the district's initial response earlier this week, identifying the player as a soccer player who had joined the football program late in the season.
Accounts differ on exactly how many regular-season football games he played. Some reporting puts the number at one, some at two. Neither figure reaches three. He was ineligible. He played 53 seconds in the semifinal.
By any reading of the rule, the violation was clear. The game Middletown won by 33 points would be recorded as a forfeit.
The District's Position
Superintendent Amy Creeden and Athletic Director Justin Sturge did not dispute the basic facts. They described the violation as an "unintentional adult error in understanding the rules" and argued that students should not lose their season over a decision made by adults.
They also raised a proportionality argument. The kicker's 53-second appearance had no effect on the outcome of a game Middletown won by a wide margin. Valley Central, the opposing team, was not placed at a competitive disadvantage. In the district's view, stripping an undefeated team of its playoff standing was a punishment that did not fit the infraction.
That argument did not prevail at any level.
Three Appeals, Three Denials
The district's first step was a waiver request to Section IX. It was denied.
The second step was an appeal to NYSPHSAA Executive Director Dr. Robert Zayas. That was denied Monday at approximately 11:30 a.m. District administrators met with players that same afternoon, at 1 p.m., to tell them directly.
At Friday's hearing, NYSPHSAA noted that the postseason eligibility rule had been explained clearly to athletic directors earlier this year, as documented in court records. That detail addressed the district's core claim that the rule had been misunderstood, and it placed the responsibility on the administrators who had been informed.
The district's third and final move was an emergency Article 78 proceeding in state Supreme Court. Article 78 is a New York procedural mechanism that allows parties to challenge decisions made by state agencies or public bodies. The district asked Justice Shako to review the disqualification and reverse it.
Two Hours in Goshen, Then Withdrawal
The hearing at the Orange County Courthouse in Goshen ran for nearly two hours on Friday. Justice Verris Shako presided. At the end of it, the district withdrew the petition.
Superintendent Creeden spoke publicly following the decision. The specific substance of her remarks was not available beyond what has been reported by RFTUV News and other outlets covering the case.
The withdrawal closes the legal avenue. No further stage in the appeals process appears available to the district at this point. Middletown's playoff run is over.
Valley Central Plays at Monroe-Woodbury
Valley Central, the team Middletown beat 48-15 on November 6, now plays in the championship in Middletown's place.
The Valley Central School District announced that its varsity football team will compete in the Section IX Class AA championship game Saturday, November 14, at Monroe-Woodbury. Kickoff is set for noon.
Middletown's players went through an entire regular season without losing a game. They finished 9-0, took the top seed, broke into the state's top 15, and won a playoff semifinal by 33 points. They will not play Saturday. A substitute kicker who set foot on the field for 53 seconds in a game that was never in doubt ended it.
