UPDATED NOVEMBER 9, 2026 — MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. Middletown is currently barred from advancing to Saturday’s Section IX Class AA football championship after its request for a waiver was denied by Section IX and a second appeal was rejected by the NYSPHSAA Executive Director, according to an official November 9 letter from Superintendent Amy Creeden and Athletic Director Justin Sturge. The district says it is now working with legal counsel to explore further relief.
Ten games played. Ten victories on the field. But one regular-season appearance short of an eligibility requirement has placed Middletown’s historic undefeated football season in the hands of administrators and, potentially, the courts.
The decision stems from the participation of a late-season addition from the school’s soccer team in the Middies’ 48–15 semifinal victory over Valley Central on November 6. Mid Hudson News first reported Monday that a forfeiture was expected. The district’s subsequent written statement now confirms that its administrative appeals have been denied and the team is currently prohibited from advancing. Unless further relief is granted, Valley Central would replace Middletown against Newburgh Free Academy in the final.
But the facts surrounding the kicker’s arrival, the instructions reportedly given to Middletown’s coaches, and the school’s subsequent appeal reveal a story more complicated than a line in the rulebook.
UPDATE: Mayor DeStefano calls for immediate review and a stay
Read KOT845’s dedicated report on the mayor’s letter and the cited legal precedents.
November 9: City of Middletown Mayor Joseph M. DeStefano has formally urged NYSPHSAA and the New York State Education Department to reconsider the ruling. In an open letter published by the city, addressed to NYSPHSAA Executive Director Robert Zayas, members of the appeal panel and Education Commissioner Betty Rosa, DeStefano requested an expedited review, a written explanation of the basis for the forfeiture, and a stay of the ruling and its postseason consequences while that review occurs.
The mayor argued that if the kicker’s participation did not affect the outcome of Middletown’s 48–15 win, removing the entire team from the championship could be disproportionate to the administrative error. He asked officials to consider lawful alternatives, including compliance training, monitoring, probation or consequences directed toward responsible adults. Those proposals are requests for officials to consider—not penalties that the governing rules have been shown to authorize in place of a postseason forfeiture.
DeStefano also pointed to a November 2024 Syracuse ITC football case in which a state judge restored a playoff victory after concerns about the ejection-based eligibility decision and appeal process, and a 2026 NYSPHSAA appeal-panel decision reversing a Section One postseason restriction affecting non-public member schools. The legal questions in those cases are different from Middletown’s three-game representation violation, so neither creates an automatic right to reinstatement.
The mayor urged authorities to provide the students with every fair opportunity to finish the season on the field. His letter is an official public request for relief; it is not a court order, a successful appeal or confirmation that Middletown has been reinstated.
District confirms Section IX and state appeals denied
In a November 9 letter addressed to the Middletown school community, Superintendent Amy Creeden and Director of Health and Athletics Justin Sturge outlined how the situation unfolded. District officials learned Sunday that a football player might not meet postseason eligibility rules, then consulted Section IX officials as they reviewed the regulations.
After determining that the player had failed to meet the minimum regular-season contest requirement, Middletown applied for a waiver from Section IX. That waiver was denied. Early Monday morning, the district submitted a second appeal directly to the NYSPHSAA Executive Director. The district says it was notified at approximately 11:30 a.m. Monday that the state-level appeal had also been denied.
The district expressly attributed the violation to an unintentional adult misunderstanding of the rules, not misconduct by any student-athlete. The officials wrote: “this was an error made by adults, not our scholars.”
With administrative appeals exhausted, the letter states that Middletown is working with legal counsel to pursue further legal recourse. Officials cautioned families that the chances of a different outcome are limited. No court order staying the championship disqualification has been confirmed.
The district also said administrators were meeting with athletes in person Monday, that counselors and support staff would be available during the week, and that a 6 p.m. virtual information session would be held for affected families. Creeden and Sturge asked the public to avoid rumors and support the student-athletes.
How the kicker joined Middletown
During the week of October 13, Middletown’s football coaching staff sought to add a kicker from the school’s soccer program. According to a firsthand account provided to Kings of the 845 from within the coaching staff, head coach Tim Strenfel consulted athletic director Justin Sturge before proceeding.
Sturge, in his first year as athletic director following the retirement of longtime AD David Coates, reportedly reviewed the eligibility requirements and informed the coaching staff that the new player needed to complete 10 football practices before participating. Coates has continued to serve in an advisory capacity during Sturge’s transition, according to the account.
The staff understood that completing the required practices would make the kicker eligible to participate. The separate three-contest postseason representation requirement was reportedly not included in the guidance provided at that time.
The kicker completed the 10 practices, according to the account, then played in Middletown’s final two regular-season games: a 50–12 victory over Monroe-Woodbury on October 23 and a 31–0 win over Kingston on October 30. Those appearances are supported by Middletown’s schedule, though the athlete’s individual participation is reported here from the firsthand account.
He subsequently handled kickoffs in the November 6 playoff semifinal against Valley Central, a 48–15 Middletown win that pushed the team to 10–0 on the field.
That is where the numbers stopped adding up: two regular-season football appearances, three required for the postseason.
Why 10 practices were not enough
The 2026 NYSPHSAA handbook separates the minimum practice requirement for competing in football from the postseason representation requirement. Under the three-contest standard, a football player must have been an eligible participant for at least three regular-season football contests before entering postseason competition.
Playing soccer for the same school does not, by itself, meet the requirement for three football contests. Nor does completing the necessary football practices substitute for that game-based representation requirement.
Postseason eligibility rules also carry substantial penalties when an ineligible participant appears in a tournament game. The consequences can include forfeiture and disqualification, regardless of whether that player scored, played an offensive snap, or changed the outcome of a game.
For Middletown, the player in question was a kicker. His participation came on special teams while the Middies produced seven touchdowns against Valley Central. The team’s commanding margin on the field is not, by itself, an exception to an eligibility rule.
Who noticed the issue — and what happened next?
There are competing accounts of which opponent first identified the eligibility issue. Mid Hudson News reported that Valley Central brought it to Section IX. Other accounts surrounding the program have identified Newburgh, Middletown’s scheduled championship opponent, as having noticed or raised the concern.
The precise order of those communications has not been established. Middletown also self-reported the matter to Section IX, according to firsthand information provided to KOT845.
In their November 9 letter, Middletown officials confirmed that they requested a waiver from Section IX and, after it was denied, appealed directly to the NYSPHSAA Executive Director. That second appeal was also denied at approximately 11:30 a.m. Monday, the district said. The team is currently barred from advancing to the championship.
The district has exhausted its administrative appeals and is pursuing possible legal recourse. As of this update, no court-issued stay or other order restoring the Middies’ berth has been confirmed.
Middletown has been here before: the 2019 forfeitures
The current dispute brings back an earlier chapter of Middletown football history. In 2019, the program forfeited four victories, including three divisional games, after an ineligible player was used.
Contemporaneous reporting described that player as a 19-year-old, fifth-year senior who had transferred to Middletown after beginning his high school career at Liberty. He had exceeded the applicable age and four-year eligibility limits. Middletown self-reported that violation, and Section IX upheld the four-game penalty. The lost wins contributed to the Middies missing the postseason.
Both situations involve a violation discovered after football games had already been played, followed by consequences that reached the whole team. The rules at issue, however, differ: the 2019 case involved age and years of eligibility, while the current controversy concerns the required number of regular-season football contests for a late-added kicker.
Seven years later, the same program once again faces the possibility that an off-field eligibility decision could outweigh its on-field victories.
The Newburgh history that adds another layer
The current situation also arrives against a complicated history of postseason decisions involving Middletown and Newburgh. That history is real, although it does not establish who first reported the present violation or why anyone might have done so.
Spring 2021: Newburgh loses a chance at the final
During the COVID-delayed 2020 season, played in spring 2021, Newburgh was unable to play a scheduled league game against Pine Bush because of a quarantine. Section IX did not allow the contest to be made up.
There was another layer to the questions surrounding that decision: David Coates was serving as Middletown’s athletic director and a Section IX football co-chair at the time. The overlap between his school position and his sectional football leadership role has been cited in discussion of the 2021 outcome, particularly because Middletown ultimately benefited from the championship matchup that resulted. That dual role is relevant context, but it does not establish that Coates personally made the decision to prevent Newburgh from rescheduling Pine Bush or that the outcome involved misconduct.
In an April 18, 2021 report, Section Nine Football historian Rich Arnott wrote that a Newburgh win over Pine Bush would have produced a three-way tie, with the tiebreaker placing the Goldbacks in the championship against Middletown. Instead, Monroe-Woodbury reached the final, where Middletown won 17–14 to claim its first sectional championship since 1994.
2023: Middletown wins the title on the field
In 2023, Middletown and Newburgh did meet for the Section IX Class AA title. The Middies defeated the Goldbacks 26–14, ending Newburgh’s two-year run as sectional champion.
2024: Newburgh’s season ends before the semifinal
In November 2024, Newburgh’s school district canceled the remainder of its varsity football season amid an investigation into alleged locker-room misconduct. The district’s decision resulted in Newburgh forfeiting its scheduled semifinal against Middletown. The Middies advanced to the championship, where they lost to Monroe-Woodbury 34–10.
2026: Middletown’s berth is suddenly at risk
This season, Newburgh earned its return to the championship by defeating Pine Bush 21–20 in a dramatic semifinal. Middletown took care of Valley Central 48–15. Both programs earned their places on the field.
Following the denials of the Section IX waiver and state appeal, Middletown is currently barred from playing in the final. Unless the district obtains further relief, Valley Central would replace the Middies. The past helps explain the attention the situation has attracted, but it would be unfair to use previous disputes as proof of retaliation or improper motives in this one.
An entire roster facing the consequences
The reaction around Middletown has focused heavily on the athletes. The Middies finished the regular season 9–0, secured the top Class AA seed, and reached a fifth consecutive championship appearance with their semifinal victory. KOT845’s football archives have documented the unbeaten regular season as the program’s first since 1961.
For supporters, the central question is whether teenagers should lose a championship opportunity because an eligibility requirement was reportedly missed during an administrative review. Their months of preparation, the victories they earned and the contributions of dozens of teammates have not disappeared merely because the status of one specialist was questioned.
There is another principle at stake, however: postseason rules have little meaning if they are applied differently according to a team’s record, its margin of victory or a player’s position on the depth chart. Section IX and NYSPHSAA must account for the integrity of the competition as well as the circumstances surrounding the reported oversight.
Those concerns are now colliding at the worst possible time for Middletown — just days before the sectional championship.
What comes next?
Saturday’s Section IX Class AA championship is scheduled for November 14 at Monroe-Woodbury High School. Middletown had earned a meeting with Newburgh on the field, but both its Section IX waiver request and its appeal to NYSPHSAA have been denied. The Middies are currently barred from the game. Valley Central would take their place unless that status changes through further legal proceedings.
The school district says it has exhausted the available administrative appeals and is working with legal counsel. It has not announced a successful court challenge or a stay that would allow the team to play. The district also acknowledged that a favorable outcome is unlikely, while committing to pursue available avenues on the student-athletes’ behalf.
What cannot be disputed is what Middletown’s players accomplished between the lines. The Middies played ten football games and won every one of them. The question is whether the postseason rulebook will leave that undefeated team without the opportunity to compete for the championship.
Ten games. Ten on-field wins. One regular-season appearance short. Two administrative appeals denied. One final attempt to keep a historic season alive.
How the Middletown community can make its voice heard
Parents, students, alumni and Section IX supporters who want to express their concerns about the impact of this ruling on Middletown’s student-athletes can email the New York State Education Department’s Office of Counsel at legal@nysed.gov. NYSED identifies this as an official Office of Counsel contact, including for inquiries about appeals to the Commissioner of Education.
Readers are encouraged to explain their connection to the Middletown community and share their views respectfully, factually and in their own words. Focus on the effect on the students and the district’s acknowledgment that an adult misunderstanding caused the issue. Do not include any student’s confidential personal information.
Note: NYSED’s Office of Counsel is separate from Section IX and NYSPHSAA. Public emails do not replace the district’s formal legal proceedings or guarantee reconsideration of the ruling.
Kings of the 845 will update this developing report as any court filings, legal rulings or revised championship arrangements are confirmed.
Reporting note: This story combines public reporting, official game records and firsthand information from within Middletown’s football program. KOT845’s publisher is a member of Middletown’s coaching staff. Details about internal eligibility guidance and the order in which other programs reported the concern are attributed accordingly.
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I graduated from Middletown high school in 2018. I’ve since then been serving in US Navy abroad and currently in southern CA. I start with that to make a point that even with that experience, some of the most memorable and truly defining times in my life were when I was playing on that football field on Saturday’s. I’ve been apart of Middletown athletics since I was 8 years old and it shaped how my life is today. I could only imagine for lack of better words the emotional scar that would be left on these young student athletes if they were to be robbed of the opportunity to make history for their city. Think of the sacrifices each young man has made since the summer, the 2 a days, the hot practices, the injuries played through, and all to finally get to the point that they are at in this current moment undefeated. No team that played for Middletown High school has been able to say that since the 60’s and to take that away from these champions would be nothing but a shame. Hold who needs to be held accountable accountable. The adults, the coaches, the AD the people who’s sole job it is to make sure that this does not happen. Not the kids who did there job better than anybody who came before since the 60’s.