Here are the FNV Staff picks for the MHSAA Football playoffs for Divisions 5-8. Let us know what you think in the comments sections down below.
Division 8
Chris
- Final Four :Everest Collegiate, Centreville, Unionville-Sebewaing, Beal City
- Sleeper: Detroit Southeastern-the Jungaleers have an elite QB and a possible recipe capable of beating the elite teams in D8.
- Champion: Beal City-the Aggies last won a state title in 2009 and have a good nucleaus returning from last year’s team which fell to Reading in the title game last season.
Gary
- Final Four: Johannesburg-Lewiston, Ubly, Centreville, Everest Collegiate
- Sleeper: Hudson-The Tigers play in a tough league with bigger schools.
- Champion: Centreville-D8 has 5 teams, in my opinion, that all have an equal shot at winning it. Ask 5 different people and you might get 5 different answers. Only 2 of those will make it out of a Regional.
Frank
- Final Four: Clarkston Everest, Addison, Iron Mountain, Flint Beecher
- Sleeper: West Iron County- The Wykons went 6-0 without a lot of fanfare.
- Champion: Clarkston Everest. The Mountaineers have shown that they are on another planet after throttling Riverview Gabriel Richard in the Catholic League Championship.
Division 7
Chris
- Final Four: Schoolcraft, New Lothrop, Cass City, McBain
- Sleeper: SMCC-tough to call the defending D6 champions a sleeper, but this year has been a total rebuild for the Falcons.
- Champion: Schoolcraft-Elite QB separates the Eagles from a field of 10 or more capable of winning the title.
Gary
- Final Four: Traverse City St. Francis, Pewamo-Westphalia, New Lothrop, Schoolcraft
- Sleeper: Jackson Lumen Christi-Hard to believe the Titans would be a sleeper but at 2-4, they qualify.
- Champion: Schoolcraft-I could have gone with a few teams here but the Eagles have it all and are extremely balanced. Will be on the road in the Regional.
Frank
- Final Four: New Lothrop, Schoolcraft, Ithaca, Traverse City St. Francis
- Sleeper: Riverview Gabriel Richard-The Pioneers have the talent, but can they get over getting thumped by Clarkston Everest in the Catholic League Championship?
- Champion: Ithaca. The Yellow Jackets are on a revenge tour after getting bounced in Round 1 last season.
Division 6
Chris
- Final Four: Michigan Collegiate, Jonesville, Montague, Glen Lake
- Sleeper: Sanford Meridian- it would most likely take a miracle for the Mustangs to emerge from the district, but if they do, watch out.
- Champion: Montague-if the Wildcats can get out of a tough district, they should be the favorites in D6.
Gary
- Final Four: Menominee, Montague, Constantine, Erie-Mason
- Sleeper: Glen Lake- With the loss of Head Coach, still making waves. Will be a tough out.
- Champion: Montague-True blue blood in Division 6. Battle-tested. Been my #1 all year long, not going to change now. Excluding the Finals, toughest games might be in round 2 or 3.
Frank
- Final Four: Maple City Glen Lake, Muskegon Catholic Central, Constantine, Blissfield
- Sleeper: Jonesville-The Comets dethroned Reading in the Big 8, and their only loss was to Division 4 power Edwardsburg
- Champion: Muskegon Catholic Central. Defense wins championships, and the Crusaders have only allowed a scant 18 points all season.
Division 5
Chris
- Final Four: Kingsley, Grand Rapids Catholic Central, Lansing Catholic, Frankenmuth
- Sleeper: Muskegon Oakridge-the Eagles have lost to Whitehall and Montague. Those teams could very well win State titles this year.
- Champion: Grand Rapids Catholic Central-the Cougars are the favorites, but unlike last year, this is no cakewalk. In my opinion, 5 of the top 10 teams in D5 are in their district.
Gary
- Final Four: Reed City, Grand Rapids Catholic Central, Lansing Catholic, Frankenmuth
- Sleeper: Grosse Ile-The Red Devils can win their district. Things get tougher from there but strange things can happen.
- Champion: Grand Rapids Catholic Central-Some consider the Cougars a top 10 team in the entire state. D5 should be no problem, right?
Frank
- Final Four: Grand Rapids Catholic Central, Lansing Catholic, Frankenmuth, Kingsley
- Sleeper: Kalamazoo Hackett-I’ve kind of been driving the Fighting Irish bus all season, as they have been in my top ten regularly
- Champion: Grand Rapids Catholic Central. The Cougars return a boatload of talent from last year’s team that won it all in Division 4. Need I say more?
Dundee, Flat Rock and Grosse Ile have an interesting district. If someone can knock off Summit Academy, they should win that district. I looked at the teams I knows schedules and I have to say Grosse Ile looks like the favorite.
I know we are talking about playoffs here (insert your Jim Mora quote) but I am really frustrated by by home district. Dundee, when are you going to announce who your new athletic director is and what the coaching situation will be next year? As a a taxpayer with a boy in the middle school, I don’t think its very fair that they don’t know who their coach will be year to year anymore.
In fairness, they had the job posted for 2 weeks, then have to discern the candidate’s resumes, schedule interviews, interview candidates, then make an offer. That candidate then has to accept. That is a good solid 3 week or so process. I would say closer to four. I would expect you would hear something very soon.
With all due respect Chris, everyone in town already knows who it is.
Okay, then wait until the season is over. Make the announcement and then hire a new guy for any vacancy. What is the problem then?
Are they already talking about getting a new coach in Dundee?
The new football coach which most likely be announced as the new AD to replace the guy who left to go to Airport. Dundee doesn’t allow administrators to coach anymore, so most likely they will be hiring a new coach. It doesn’t seem like a big deal to me, but some over here seem to think so.
Bingo. Why wouldn’t the Dundee administration let him continue to coach for the sake of continuity in building a program? 3 coaches in 3 years is a problem.
I’ll chime in on this. AD’s seem to do a better job when they can focus on all sports. When an AD is a coach, there is a tendency to consciously or sub-consciously to focus on or favor your own program that you coach. I would say a vast majority of the time it is not a conscious effort. It’s just human nature. I noticed this when I was an AD and coach. Actually, I noticed it afterward when I was able to step away and be the AD only. If you take a look around the state, programs that are coached by the AD have a tendency to be the best program in the school. Not always, but it is quite often the case. This could be due to many factors, but subconsciously favoring your program is many times one of them. This isn’t to slight or to call out my fellow AD’s who coach, it is strictly just human nature. I think it would be in the best interest of that program at Dundee to hire a coach that is a teacher and one whom you can find a job in the building for. I know a few very successful coaches who would make a move to a Dundee and coach if there was a teaching job to go with it. Just my two cents.
So the cat is out of the bag. The new football coach at Dundee is going to be named to be the Athletic Director, likely at the next board meeting and thus resign as the head coach because of the superintendent’s policy towards administrations who coach.
Who does Dundee turn to now? Is there anyone on staff that wants it? Would they see if Mack would come back? I don’t get why we continue to do this cycle.
D5- Kingsley. For those of you who are fans of the T, Tim Wooer has resurrected the Kingsley program with it in the span of 3 years.
D6- This was extremely difficult to call. If SMCC was D6 again, I would say that they make it to the finals but they are not. I think the winner of the district with Mason/Ida/Blissfield and Montague will meet in the finals.
D7- I know SMCC lost a ton from last year but you can’t count them out. For whatever reason, they always seem to find their stride late in the season. I know their pass defense is a liability but they have a veteran coaching staff with plenty of young talent that improves every game. If you asked me to pick a winner today, I would say New Lothrop
D8- Clarkston Everest Collegiate. I watched them dismantle Riverview GR who is suppose to be a D7 favorite. I have heard from my CC friends that Detroit Southeastern is good as well and you can never count out Whiteford but right now I have to go with Clarkston Collegiate.
Sand creek ranked #1 but not in any final 4? How do you figure?
The top of D8 is very close. SC having to travel to Addison and Centreville is too tough a task in my opinion.
I wasn’t a fan of their 18 point loss to Erie Mason, but more importantly, Addison rolling Grass Lake and Everest rolling Gabriel Richard makes everyone in D8 realize that the Aggies will have a hard time beating those two teams just to get to a final.
Erie mason was holding teams to 13 points a game and sand creek put 38 on a team that at least one of you has in your final 4 d6. Seems like a quality loss to me
I don’t know about the other teams but Addison beat a ranked grass lake last year and sand creek just beat the brakes off Addison. I don’t think much of the cascades at all
Best part is the games will be played! Can’t wait to find out who wins!
And for the record, if SC wins it all, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit. I can say the same for about 5-6 teams in D8.
Sand Creek’s biggest line man, 6’5″ 310 got his cast off last week and will be practicing today for the first time since August. Third biggest line man,6’3″ 280 has missed the last three games due to concussion protocol, actually cleared to play last week but kept on the sidelines. This is huge for Sand Creek. They’ll be much more physical on both sides of the ball.
Menomonee a top 4?? The sleeper should be Ishpeming-Westwood. They are 5-1 and outscored opponents 124-23 in 6 games. Might wanna put a asterisk by them to keep a eye out.
That is a “weak” district.
Westwood’s 3 wins are against teams that have 2 total victories.
I realize Meno’s wins arent much better(if at all)… but when in doubt go with the team that has a terrific past.
Who would you have coming out of that Region?
Also remember, these arent our “top 4” teams.
These are the 4 teams we think will come out of their Regions.
Iron mountain hasn’t played a game
I would consider Addison to be a legitimate contender in D8. They rushed for over 600 yards on a very good Grass Lake team that is a favorite in their respective district. The staff at Addison has done a fantastic job the last couple of years despite shrinking enrollment. They are quick, physical, and get after people. I think the finals will feature one of the 3 teams. Addison, Clarkston Everest Collegiate, or Detroit Southeastern (I keep hearing good things about from my Monroe peeps)
I consider Addison a top 5 team in D8. They surely have a shot.