CLEVELAND, Ohio — A Cuyahoga County judge put Cleveland Glenville back into the Ohio high school football playoffs on Friday, Oct. 30, but the Tarblooders’ first-round opponent, University School, says it will not play the game, according to reporting by The Canton Repository. The standoff leaves one Division III, Region 9 matchup unresolved heading into the weekend, with a court hearing scheduled for Monday, Nov. 2.
Common Pleas Judge Andrew Santoli granted a temporary restraining order sought on behalf of two Glenville players, temporarily reversing the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s Oct. 29 decision to remove Glenville, the No. 5 seed in Region 9, from the postseason, The Repository reported. Attorneys Michael L. Nelson Sr., Stanley Jackson and James L. Hardiman filed the motion Oct. 29, arguing the entire team would suffer permanent and irreparable harm without immediate relief.
The OHSAA said in a statement issued shortly after 5 p.m. Friday that it stands by its ruling but will comply with the court order, and that it was working with both schools to reschedule the game sometime this weekend, according to The Repository. The association said it first requested student residential information from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District on Sept. 28, received an initial batch Oct. 22, and met with Glenville on Oct. 29, where the school did not object to the audit’s findings.
The dispute centers on students at Ginn Academy, a non-member magnet school without sports programs that is controlled by the Cleveland district. Athletes from Ginn Academy may play only at the Cleveland school closest to their residence. OHSAA Executive Director Doug Ute said in an Oct. 29 statement, quoted by The Repository, that an audit found several irregularities and confirmed that many Glenville football players should have been playing at other schools this season, and that reviewing the full scope could take time and reach into previous seasons.
University School, however, declined to take the field. According to reporting from The News-Herald that was cited by The Repository, University coach Ben Malbasa confirmed his team decided not to show for the scheduled 7 p.m. Friday game at Glenville and will not play the Tarblooders this weekend either. In a statement released Oct. 30, University said it was disappointed by Thursday’s cancellation and surprised by the restraining order, which led the OHSAA to reschedule the game for Saturday afternoon, Oct. 31.
“We will not compete in the now rescheduled contest, respect the court’s prudence in deciding the ultimate outcome of the legal dispute, and will prepare to compete with Salem on (Nov. 6) if that is the resolution,” University said in the statement quoted by The Repository.
What happens next rests with the court and the OHSAA. A hearing is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 2, according to the OHSAA statement reported by The Repository. No game was played Friday night, and NewsForce247 is not reporting a result in this matchup. The winner of the Glenville-University pairing is slotted to face Salem in the next round on Nov. 6, though which team advances — and how — remains undecided.