Fifty-three seconds is all it took to change a season — but not in the way you’d expect.
An undefeated New York high school football team saw its championship hopes wiped out because one player — who spent less than a minute on the field — wasn’t eligible to play.
Middletown High School in Orange County was disqualified from the Section IX Class AA championship after the school district withdrew its emergency court petition on Friday to reverse the disqualification.
The Middies deployed a kicker, later ruled an “ineligible kickoff specialist,” who played 53 seconds in their 48-15 semifinal playoff win against Valley Central on Nov. 6 without meeting a postseason eligibility requirement.
Middletown acknowledged that it made a mistake but contested that the students should not be disqualified for a decision made by adults, and the player had no impact on the game itself.
The decision came after a near two-hour hearing at the Orange County Courthouse in Goshen before state Supreme Court Justice Verris Shako.
“There are tough decisions that have to be made at times,” Shako said.
News 12 in Hudson Valley reported that the courtroom was “packed with football players, students, parents, school officials and community members.”
The player in question had previously competed on Middletown’s soccer team and did not score on the football team, though he reportedly participated in eight kickoffs.
Amy Creeden, Middletown’s superintendent, spoke following the decision.
“While we are deeply, deeply disappointed that we are unable to find a remedy for our young people, our hearts are with our football team and cheerleading scholars who have given so much to this remarkable football season and cheerleading season,” Creeden said.
“We pursued this matter vigorously because we believe our young people deserved our full advocacy,” Creeden added. “We have work to do. Our focus now is on supporting them and their families.”
She also referred to the team as champions despite being eliminated on a technicality.
“In our hearts, our record is still 10 and 0. We are so proud of our championship team,” Creeden said. “We are Middletown. When we get knocked down, we get back up again, and we are stronger. We cannot wait to come back next season.”
