Sports · Grand Rapids
Judge puts Grand Rapids Catholic Central back in the football playoffs; Comstock Park game must be played by Tuesday
GRAND RAPIDS — Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s football season is alive again, at least for now. A Kent County Circuit Court judge on Friday ordered the Michigan High School Athletic Association to let the Cougars play their first-round playoff game, a day after the MHSAA removed them from the Division 5 bracket over an ineligible transfer.
The judge granted a temporary restraining order late Friday afternoon at the request of a Catholic Central senior, FOX 17 reported. The order says the MHSAA “shall schedule and permit Catholic Central’s first-round 2026 MHSAA Football playoff game to proceed no later than 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3, 2026,” according to a letter to families from school President Greg Deja.
Catholic Central was scheduled to host Comstock Park (4-5) on Friday. The school said it would announce the date and time once the MHSAA sets them. The student and the MHSAA are due back in court Friday, Nov. 6, at 9 a.m.
Deja wrote that the court filing was made independently and that Catholic Central is not a party to the lawsuit, but that the school will fully comply with the order. He thanked families for “an outpouring of prayers” and said the players came to class Friday “taking care of each other.” He asked the school community not to comment on the case publicly or on social media.
The MHSAA told FOX 17 it was not given a chance to take part before the order was entered and learned of it late Friday afternoon. It said it would have explained “new evidence and information” it received this week that required it to reconsider the player’s eligibility. “While the MHSAA disagrees with the court’s order and handling of the matter, we respect the legal process,” the statement said.
The association had ruled that the player did not meet the requirements of “a full and complete move” needed for immediate eligibility after transferring. The school has said the MHSAA had cleared him in writing in August.
On the other side of the district bracket, Berrien Springs beat Lake Odessa Lakewood 34-28 in overtime Friday night and will wait to learn its next opponent, The Oakland Press reported.
Sources:
FOX 17, “Judge orders Catholic Central football game to be played after MHSAA reverses player’s eligibility” (restraining order, MHSAA statements, Deja letter in full), https://www.fox17online.com/sports/judge-orders-catholic-central-football-game-to-be-played-after-mhsaa-reverses-players-eligibility
The Oakland Press, “Kent County judge orders Grand Rapids Catholic Central reinstated to MHSAA football playoffs,” Oct. 30, 2026 (Comstock Park record, Nov. 6 hearing, Berrien Springs–Lakewood score), https://www.theoaklandpress.com/2026/10/30/kent-county-judge-orders-grand-rapids-catholic-central-reinstated-to-mhsaa-football-playoffs/
Photo: Farragutful, “Catholic Central High School - Grand Rapids, Michigan 01.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Catholic_Central_High_School_-_Grand_Rapids,_Michigan_01.jpg
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