COLUMBUS — The battle over where St. Charles plays postseason soccer is heading to an appeals court. The OHSAA is asking a higher court to keep the Cardinals in Division II, days after a Franklin County Common Pleas judge ruled the Columbus school could move up to Division I for this fall’s tournament.
Judge Jeffrey M. Brown’s Oct. 6 decision, seven pages long, sided with St. Charles on every front: irreparable harm, because this tournament is the Cardinals’ only chance to play in the big-school division; no harm to third parties, since none of the other 25 teams in the Division I field would be displaced; and the overriding principle that “blameless student-athletes should not be punished for the errors of the adults.”
If St. Charles moves, the Central District’s Division II tournament drops from five district champions to four, while the Northeast District would gain an eighth champion. Division I currently has six district champions locally. The OHSAA argued the timeline is brutal — Division I and II postseason play begins the week of Oct. 18, with district semifinals Oct. 21 and finals seven days later — and said the only way to fight the ruling at this point is to delay the draws.
The Cardinals, 13-2-1 with one regular-season game left — Oct. 15 at Worthington Kilbourne — are the state’s third-ranked team regardless of division, per MaxPreps, behind only Cleveland St. Ignatius and defending Division I champion Dublin Jerome. St. Charles finished as Division I runners-up in 2024 and state semifinalists last year.
St. Charles attorney Luke Fedlam did not immediately return a request for comment. The OHSAA called the situation “extreme,” and with the postseason two weeks out, the appeals court will have to move fast — or the Cardinals’ big-school run will begin in court, not on the pitch.