A Texas judge has denied Liberty Christian School’s request for a temporary restraining order, clearing the way for the TAPPS Division I football playoffs to begin Friday, Nov. 14.
The Argyle school went to court after the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools ruled on Nov. 3 that Liberty Christian had used an ineligible player this season and would have to forfeit the games in which he appeared. TAPPS said the issue centered on a transfer student-athlete who had participated on a 7-on-7 team coached by Liberty Christian assistant football coach Antonio Griffin before transferring to Liberty.
“It was determined that a transfer student-athlete participated on a 7-on-7 team coached by Liberty Christian assistant football coach Antonio Griffin in the year prior to transferring to Liberty,” TAPPS said in a news release last week. “Furthermore, the athletic department leadership and football coaching staff knew or should have known of these facts prior to the start of the 2026 football season.”
Liberty Christian filed the TRO on Nov. 6 in an effort to get back into the postseason. The Warriors entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed and were viewed as the favorite to win the TAPPS Division I title.
Judge Bruce McFarling ruled on Nov. 10 that TAPPS had provided due process, saying the court was bound to follow the law rather than decide the player’s athletic eligibility.
“TAPPS appreciates the opportunity to address the 362 Judicial District Court in Denton, Texas to defend our process and procedure regarding the eligibility of a student athlete,” TAPPS posted online Nov. 10. “With the denial of the Temporary Restraining Order requested by our member school, the TAPPS Division I playoffs will be played as scheduled beginning this Friday, November 14.”
In a letter sent to parents when the TRO was filed, school president Dr. Blair McCullough wrote, “As you know, we continued to fight the recent unfair ruling by TAPPS against our football team.
Our young students have done nothing wrong, and we must do everything we can to set the record straight, restore our season and allow our team in the playoffs. … In the name of basic fairness and decency, TAPPS has a duty to reconsider the clear and unambiguous evidence we provided them.”
The dispute also triggered a change to the playoff schedule. TAPPS pushed the start of the Division I bracket back to Nov. 14, which also moves the state championship game to Nov. 28.
The revised matchups are Austin St. Michael’s Prep vs.
Dallas Parish Episcopal, Plano Prestonwood Christian vs. Lutheran South Academy, Frisco Legacy Christian Academy vs.
San Antonio Central Catholic, and Addison Trinity Christian Academy vs. Houston St.
Thomas Catholic.
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