Glenville will be allowed to play its high school football playoff game as scheduled in Ohio after Judge Andrew Santoli of the Cuyahoga County Common Please Court granted students at Ginn Academy with a temporary restraining order against the OHSAA. However, it is unclear as to when exactly the game will be played.
Neither team was expecting to suit up on Friday so that seems unlikely.
According to Judge Santoli’s ruling, the high school football game must be completed this weekend, prior to 12:00 a.m. on Monday. That gives these two teams the chance to play on Saturday or Sunday.
Glenville was banned from the high school football playoffs in Ohio.
Glenville High School is a 134-year-old public school in Cleveland, Ohio. It enrolls less than 350 students in Grades 9-12. And yet, the Tarblooders have one of the largest (and most successful) high school football programs in the Buckeye State.
Why is that? Glenville allows players from other schools on the roster. Therein lies the problem. Allegedly.
The Tarblooders have won three state championships since 2022. They earned the No. 5 seed in the Division III, Region 9 playoffs in 2026 with a regular season record of 8-2. They were scheduled to play their first game of the postseason on Friday night.
It was announced on Thursday afternoon that Glenville would not be allowed to compete. The Ohio High School Athletic Association banned the program from the playoffs due to an eligibility violation.
Nearby Ginn Academy, which was founded by Ted Ginn Sr. in 2007, does not have a football team. Students who attend Ginn Academy have the option to play high school football for the Cleveland Metro school that is closest to their place of residence.
According to the OHSAA, Glenville did not adhere to the eligibility rule as it is written. Ginn Sr. is actually the head football coach for the Tarblooders. His team allegedly rostered players from Ginn Academy who should be playing at other schools. Glenville is not the metro school that is closest to their place of residence.
As a result of its findings, the OSHAA removed the Tarblooders from the postseason on the day prior to their first game. The game was canceled. They were told that their season was over. Their scheduled first round opponent was to advance to the next round.
Cleveland Metropolitan School District CEO Dr. Warren Morgan sent the following letter to the OHSAA on Friday morning:
Thank you for your office’s continued engagement with CMSD on the residency review of Glenville High School student-athletes. We have cooperated fully with each of your requests and remain committed to doing so.
We continue to have serious concerns about the abrupt and irreparable step OHSAA has taken to remove Glenville from the playoff tournament, and the process by which OHSAA reached this decision.
This investigation focused on a group of students and examined whether they were eligible to play based on their residency. We have documentation for these students that we are submitting to OHSAA. Based on that, we request that tonight’s playoff proceed as scheduled. We understand that you may need time to review the information we’ve provided. In the interim, we request that our students be allowed to play. We have attached all the documentation, and the information below provides additional context we would like for you to consider:
The timeline of OHSAA’s determination, made in immediate proximity to the playoff game, has effectively denied CMSD the opportunity to appeal or take any other remedial action with enough time to effect OHSAA’s sanction.
OHSAA’s sanction has been uncharacteristically issued in advance of any investigative determination being issued. OHSAA has specifically confirmed that its investigation is still in process. In other cases, OHSAA has issued sanctions only after concluding an investigation. Waiting for such a determination allows the full picture of whether violations have actually occurred to come to light, including a thorough evaluation of responsibility for any identified infractions. In this case, rushing to impose a sanction before the investigation is completed severely harms our students and community.
CMSD serves a highly mobile student population. Families move frequently, often within the same neighborhood, and documentation does not always keep pace with where a child lives on any given day. This is the daily reality for many of our scholars, and it makes establishing residency to a records-system standard genuinely difficult — even when a student in fact resides where the family reports.
In the interest of full transparency, I want to be direct about what we are providing. The families provided additional documentation within the limited timeframe available. While our internal enrollment verification processes could not be fully updated before OHSAA’s deadline, we are providing these materials so the review can be informed by the most complete information available.
OHSAA’s decision to exclude Glenville from tonight’s playoff game would harm the entire community. The District proposes allowing the review process the time it needs to be conducted without impacting the OHSAA playoff scheduled to begin tonight.
Given that OHSAA has confirmed it does not intend to reshuffle its playoff bracket and will simply allow Glenville’s projected opponent to advance by forfeit, an identical outcome is possible even if Glenville were permitted to play tonight. In the event the teams do play tonight as originally scheduled, it gives this process more time. If Glenville were to lose in tonight’s game, the impact would be moot. However, in the event Glenville were to win tonight, its opponent could still advance in the bracket and continue to play next week, exactly as OHSAA intends at this time, if OHSAA’s full review of available information still leads it to conclude at the end of next week that such forfeiture is necessary.
Our priority is our students. We are committed to full compliance and working in partnership with OHSAA on a path forward that both honors your rules and reflects the realities our students face. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss next steps, and I seriously hope you consider our request.
— Dr. Warren Morgan
The Ohio High School Athletic Association did not budge. The playoff ban is still in effect and the investigation remains ongoing.
A temporary restraining order allows the Tarblooders to compete.
Families of at least two Glenville football players filed a formal complaint in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas on Friday morning. It sought an injunction against the OHSAA and its decision to disqualify the Tarblooders from the playoffs.
The lawsuit states that the OHSAA “has not been able to ‘independently’ verify the residence of certain Glenville student-athletes that were scheduled to participate in the forthcoming football game on October 30, 2026.” It also states that Emiere Lemons and LaNeil Watson “had verifiable address within the appropriate boundaries of Glenville High School or initially enrolled at Glenville Senior High School, prior to transferring to Ginn Academy.”
Judge Andrew Santoli granted the injunction. He ruled in favor of the student-athletes.
“Plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order, filed on 10/30/2026, is granted. The football game between Glenville High School and University School is to proceed as previously scheduled.”
The No. 5-seed Tarblooders are cleared to play in the playoffs. They are legitimate state championship contenders and heavy favorites in their first round matchup against the No. 12-seed.
If I had to guess, the University School was prepared for this exact situation. Although the game was canceled as of Thursday afternoon, this kind of litigation is not uncommon in the modern era of high school football. It had to stay prepared.
As of this writing, it is unclear as to whether the game will be played on Friday night as planned. Likely not. The judge’s official order says it must be completed by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday. Stay tuned for updates.