Non-League Schedules

Thought I would take a look at the non-league schedules of each team we cover and how it might effect each teams season.

Airport: the Jets open with Dundee (4-5) again and it was the only win on the schedule last season. Probably a pick’em game at this point. The closer is Tecumseh (4-5) again for the seventh consecutive season. The Jets and Indians have split this series at 3 a piece and this is most likely a pick’em game as well. At 1-8 last season, Airport can’t afford to look past anyone this season, but the non-league portion of the schedule is manageable.

Bedford: the Kicking Mules have consecutive games to open the season against Toledo Catholic High Schools. The opener will be the first ever meeting against Toledo St. Johns (6-4) while week 2 will be a match up against Toledo St Francis de Sales (0-10). In week 8 Bedford will be playing an SEC cross over game against Ypsi Lincoln (4-5) and the closer will be against Belleville (7-3) of the Western Wayne Athletic Conference. This is a solid non-schedule and I would expect the Mules to go 2-2.

Carlson: None. This has hurt members of the Downriver League from time to time. With Taylor Kennedy scheduled to close soon, this will open up things for non-league games in the future.

Dundee: the Vikings will open up at Airport (1-8) again this season then play Whitmore Lake (2-7) again in week 2. Traveling to Carleton for the opener will be a 50/50 game. Week 2 against the Trojans should be a victory. If Dundee can open the 2017 season with consecutive wins, the Vikings should find themselves in the playoffs.

Erie Mason: this will be the sixth consecutive year that the Eagles have opened the season with Summerfield (5-5). Week 2 will feature a match up with Britton-Deerfield (0-9), which was Mason’s only win of 2016. Even after losing the past 5 years to Summerfield in the opener, the Eagles have a chance to open the season 2-0 for the first time since 2003 when they finished 12-1 and lost in the Division 5 semi-finals to Jackson Lumen Christi.

Flat Rock: the Rams have switched up the schedule this year. Gone are hapless Summit Academy and Hazel Park. FR will open the season at home against Garden City (2-7) and close against Ann Arbor Huron (0-9).  The Rams will hope to benefit from playing two class A schools in hopes of garnering valuable playoff points, should they finish the season at 5-4. This looks like two wins for the Huron League team, but Garden City will be no pushover.


Grosse Ile: the Red Devils will open the 2017 season at the Prep Football Classic at Wayne State in a game against the Raiders of Almont (7-4). A week 9 opponent has yet to be determined. GI may have their hands full with Almont which has qualified for the playoffs 10 of the last 11 seasons.

Huron: the Chiefs have dropped Avondale and Summit Academy in favor of a tougher non-league schedule this year. Plymouth Salem (4-5) isn’t a football power, but with an enrollment of over 2,000 the Rocks will put some athletes on the field. Redford Thurston (4-5) was down a bit last year, but has been a playoff team much of the last decade. Look for the Chiefs to split the non-league portion of the schedule.

Ida: the Bluestreaks will play the same two opponents as the 2016 season. Week 1 will feature a match up against Monroe Jefferson (5-5) while Week 2 will be against the Rockets of New Haven (4-5). Ida beat these two opponents by a combined score of 116-40 last season, but after graduating the most successful senior class in school history, a repeat might not be in store.


Jefferson: the Bears open the season with Ida (10-2) again and will close with a new opponent, Royal Oak ( 2-7). Jefferson has lost three straight to open the season against the Bluestreaks. The Ravens of the OAA Blue Division will replace Owosso , whom the Bears handled the past two years. This is a palatable non-league schedule for the Bears and could lead to a solid season if they win both.


Milan: the Big Reds have switched up their non-league schedule and will be playing old SEC rivals Chelsea (11-1) and Ypsi Lincoln (4-5). This is a solid non-league slate, but it makes sense from a scheduling stand point. Look for Milan to split these games and have a possible playoff birth.


Monroe: the Trojans will open with Livonia Churchill (5-4) in week 1 and then play Elkhart (IN) Central (2-8) in week 2. Week 8 will feature a match up in an SEC crossover game against Dexter (0-9) which has lost 32 straight games. Week 9 will have Monroe playing arch-rival Fordson (8-2). This is a workable schedule for the Trojans and 3-1 in the non-league would go a long way to them making the playoffs.


Riverview: the Pirates will once again open with Romulus (9-2). The Eagles won that game 32-14. Week 9 will feature a game against Redford Union (7-4). Most schools don’t schedule non-league games against opponents that made the playoffs the previous year,but this is a workable schedule against two teams from the WWAC Blue Division. Both these games would appear to be 50/50 games that could go either way.


SMCC: the Falcons will once again have two tough games in week 1 and week 9, but not nearly as tough as last season. SMCC will host the defending Division 7 State Champions Pewamo-Westphalia (14-0) Pirates in week 1 and will play Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (4-5) in week 9. These are two games the Falcons can win, but they are also games that they could lose.