Week 4 Our Thoughts, Not Yours

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• The Huron League will survive in some shape or form. There has been rumors for 2 years now that Milan and Jefferson have wanted out. My guess is the LCAA. I would guess that opens the door for one of the smaller DRL teams and Dundee to join since they are almost 600 kids in their high school. I don't see SMCC ever leaving nor Airport. Huron is a big question mark because they are close to many leagues. Being a former school administrator in Ohio, I can tell you that football drives alot of decisions because it usually brings in the most revenue.

  • I think Trenton and maybe even Southgate would be a good fit for the Huron if a couple small schools left. Close Proximity to Riverview and similar in size to Huron and Airport.

  • Jefferson wont leave. Football doesn't run that school.

• Do people understand football ?

• For SMCC D7 maybe 325 kids in school yes they are good as advertised. Very difficult up hill task to beat a D3 school. Riverview plays smaller schools all year. No idea why they would not want into a D3 level league other than it would hurt their record.
  SMCC has nothing to lose against Riverview.
  SMCC should make a run at D7 title regardless of Riverview game.

  • I'm going to give you a little history on enrollments to help you understand why the Huron league is the proper conference.

    2000
    Milan 611
    Jefferson 906
    Huron 583
    Riverview 679
    FR 510
    Airport 869
    GI 674
    CC 432
    Riverview 679

    2011
    Milan 1016
    Jefferson 724
    Huron 841
    Riverview 928
    FR 569
    Airport 920
    GI 674
    CC 432

    2023
    Milan 602
    Jefferson 475
    Huron 797
    Riverview 875
    FR 476
    Airport 760
    GI 525
    CC 324

    As you can see, enrollments rise and fall and Riverview as a city is about the same size as Flat Rock, they do not have land to develop the way Huron, Jefferson, Milan, and Airport does. The current numbers are driven by school of choice with 60 percent being non resident. It's safe to say that future enrollment will be between 500-800 students. At the moment, Riverview is the largest, but I wouldn't expect it to stay that way. Riverview did not join the Huron League 44 years ago with some intent to bully smaller schools, they joined because the Huron league Geographically made sense and based on the other school sizes being similar. The DRL cities are at a minimum double the size of Riverview and those schools have the potential to be double the enrollment or larger. Sure, Riverview would do just fine in the DRL right now, but long term, it makes no sense to be in a league with schools who could be double or triple the size. What drives the success of the Riverview program is a strong RJFA, solid coaching, and an effective offense. It's always been a very good football city with great tradition over the years but the offense brings it to another level. There is no other conference that makes sense at this point. At the moment they're the biggest, but that will change. Milan, Huron, Airport, those could all be D2 schools in the coming years.

    The kicker is the most successful Huron league team over that 44 years is the smallest one, SMCC. If enrollment was everything, Taylor and Woodhaven would be the best teams in the area year after year.

    • A lot to digest here, but the numbers basicly show Riverview is 40% large than over 1/2 the league. Not sure how that shows it’s a good league for them.

      My guess in the future Milan is the first to leave, their enrollment is in line with other schools out that way which wasn’t the case 20 years ago. Then Jefferson, and the league evaporates and Riverview joins the DRL.

      • The Huron League will never go away. LOL

        • Western Wayne athletic conference, lol. Similar size schools and larger, more playoff points and a much easier schedule every year. I guess there are options for D3 leagues after all. Thing is, I'd really miss some of the good games in the Huron. Look at what's coming up. This Flat Rock team and SMCC team are both very good and could win the ball game. There'd be no games that competitive in that conference. The Huron may be down, but it will at least produce three good teams every season. If this year's Huron team Played in the WWAC, they'd probably win the conference.

      • I'm not sure the DRL would want a potential D5 in their league with the one opening they have. It doesn't help those larger schools who need the playoff points. Milan has options, like the SEC west, but that situation wouldn't be any better.

      • Yes but for years Riverview were middle of the pack it’s new that there the biggest he’s saying this because look at the DRL they’d be the smallest by 50 kids and the other schools can get bigger where Riverview as a city and school cannot and that the Huron league teams can go back to the 2000 or 2011 sizes so it’s a good league because they can fall back into the middle of the size pack where in the DRL the best case is 3rd smallest and more than likely smallest if they get a small freshman class 1 year and have to go back down to 4

    • Good explanation
      I hope Jefferson and GI can make a comeback both with enrollment and on the football field. We should all want a strong league with great competition.
      If Huron can get out of their own way they could be a powerhouse of a team.  

      • I think coaches have to be creative enough to be less creative. You don't need a fancy passing league offense to win high school football games. Just focus on the fundamentals and let the talent perform. Everybody wants to look like the NFL, but the NFL is changing back to pounding the rock right now.

    • Thanks!

      And you are right, enrollment isn't everything.

      • You guys do good work here and give us all something to talk about even if we don't always agree.

        • Thank you...

          We are working on rounding up some state wide guru's to do a podcast covering all of Michigan.
          So standby for that.

          If anyone reading this would like to maybe throw their hat in the ring, and be a part of the podcast.

          Email us at fridaynightvictors@gmail.com

  • If there was actually a D3 league in the area, sure. At one time the HL was mostly schools of similar size with Riverview being in the middle, they were a D3-4 league. Only thing I could think would be for Southgate and Trenton to enter the Huron league and CC and Jefferson to leave it and form a smaller school league. At one time, Jefferson had the larger enrollment. Riverview is about 850 students last year, this year they are below the D3 threshold and are at D4 numbers. 60 percent of the students at the school are out of district. They can’t jump to the DRL, there are no available spots with next years new playoff format so there really is no other league locally the school can enter with D3 schools. To make you feel better, the majority of the starters are residents I believe.

    • What is the new playoff format next year?

      • The field will be expanded and playoffs begin week 9, with teams who missed playing an at large match up. that means 8 league games in the max. It could be good, especially for the teams who didn't win a game all season to get matched up and somebody come out with a win.

        • This has not been voted in yet, also received very little support from multiple coaching groups. I don't expect that this will occur.

        • According to a very reliable source, this has yet to be voted on and did not have a lot of support.

• The downriver football gods were not looking down at us. D-3 starts at 1,074 students , Carlson has 1,076… they were 2 students too big to be D-3. I think everyone wants to see a Carlson vs riverview playoff game.

  Riverview is doing a disservice being in the Huron. Most schools are d4 and below and 1/2 the league is d5 and below.

  They have maybe 1 to 2 competitive games a year in the Huron.

  Put them in downriver league, they play 3-4 competitive games a year.

  • Downriver Football God, you are crazy....The HL, year in and year out is better than the DRL top to bottom. Sure AP is the annual Powerhouse, but overall HL is better.

  • D3 starts right around 800.

• Heres a few questions for the bloggers and fans
  Riverview. Are they too good, too big for the Huron League anymore?

  Monroe. In a school of 1700+, how are you playing that many sophomores? I am not blaming the coaches, but do that many kids just not play football anymore there?

  Jefferson. Why? Bless those kids for wanting to be better. There are many adults in that community setting them up to fail. Their egos come before the kids.

  SMCC. Are they as good as advertised? If Airport didn't shoot themselves in the foot last week, that could have easily been 28-21 game.

  Huron. Who is in charge? No discipline with so much talent.

  • Huron had the talent to beat out Riverview.

    • 51-0 2 plays into the 3rd says otherwise but I think with better line play/coaching I think they could have maybe gone 6-3 this year and made the playoffs but now we’ll have to see how they finish out the season after a 1-3 start

      • I don't know what's going on this year but they definitely had the talent at Huron for the years 2021 and 2022.

  • Welsh - I agree with you 100%.

  • I thought Jefferson did a good job against Flat Rock, the problem with Jefferson is they handed FR a bunch of short TD's because they refuse to punt or do a real kick off. They're young, but they're growing up.

    • It can only be said that the Bears played a great first half vs a state ranked team.
      Flat Rock was not asleep at the wheel and did not take the Bears lightly.
      kudos to Jefferson.

      • I hope those young guys at Jefferson realize that they are headed in the right direction. They just demonstrated that they could be competitive against a good football team. Their line was actually creating a pocket for Beadrie and they were running the football up the middle. The first td that got called back was very questionable, second was a clear block in the back. The coach needs to at least make the other team drive the distance of the field and have a real punt and a real kick off. Going for it on every 4th down is what killed the bears from staying in the game.

• Sorry, Dundee isn’t going to get in.
  They might not win 5 games.

  • The only scenario where they get in with 5 wins is if they go 4-1 with a loss to Ida

• Listen to me, like I have been saying all year. No one in the Huron league is beating Riverview. I hate to say it because I’m a Smcc fan. They are going to kill Smcc and Flat Rock. They will put running clocks on both teams and I do agree with the guys from FNV this is Riverview best team.

  • I agree,Riverview is special this year.

  • After playing all 3 of the undefeated teams in the league and Carlson… I would put them in this order of strength. Riverview, Carlson, SMCC, then Flat Rock. Riverview and Carlson are on a different level than the other two. I think Riverview has the best backs… more physical than Carlsons, but would give the edge to Carlson’s line (albeit close). Flat Rock will have a tough week versus them this week. I could see them having a running clock. I will be surprised if anyone in the HL will give Riverview much of a fight and they will beat Monroe in week 9. I see them going 9-0.

    • Based off the scores this just far from the truth but I’d be in my feelings too if my rival just held me to 0 #Getusedtothis

• Wow, quite a statement regarding Riverview when you consider the ‘98, ‘02, ‘04, 17, and ‘22 teams. Hope you’re right though. They look great so far, but haven’t been tested in the least yet. CC and Flat Rock games should be battles. Unfortunately they face a real gauntlet early through D3 locally. If they were still D4 I could definitely see Ford Field as realistic, but going through Rouge, King, etc. will probably be too much of a talent disparity to overcome.

  • Riverview Offensively can play with those teams. Its their Defense vs those Teams massive Offensive lines is the problem. Riverview basically has to score on every possession. Then if they fall behind by a score or more, their whole game plan goes up in flames.

    Trenton had them beat last year, it took a miracle "trap" with less than 30 seconds left. So dont' forget riverview will more than likely have to play a pretty talented Southgate Anderson team early in the playoffs. That will be a very tested Anderson team that had to play both Allen Park, Carlson, Woodhaven, Trenton, and Lincoln Park.

    • Plenty of playoff history against DRL teams, but never Anderson . Sounds good if it could happen. If they play some team like Rouge, yes, they have to score on every possession, just like any other team in this area would to stay in that ballgame, but the rest of the schedule, no that wasn't the case. It was by no means a great defense, but it wasn't a horrible one either. As for the gameplan, they run the T, if it doesn't work for an entire game, they lose the ballgame. I wouldn't call it a miracle trap. They ran that play all season and scored on it quite often. That was a very young team out there last season and they did really well considering. I've been around both leagues and it's the same story, a few good teams, and a bunch of bad ones. Just last year we had a league champ match up between the Huron and the DRL and the Huron came out on top.

      • I am pretty sure you are talking about Airport vs Carlson and I don’t think anyone thinks the Carlson week 1 team was the same the week 9 team.

        Trenton was 5-4 last year and should have beat the co-champ of the Huron league.

        • Ok, so how come Trenton almost beat Carlson? That wasn't a bad football team, they almost won 4 times last season.

  • I think Riverview was only D4 once, when they lost to Goodrich 51-26 in the semi. Correct me if I’m wrong.

    • Yes, they were D3 for many years back to 2003. Next year they return to D4. Very small freshmen class this year, D4 numbers right now but it’s based on the year before. Good football players in that class though.

      • The funny thing is, the league would rather have View at 3 vice 4. More playoff points if anyone happens to beat them. But at 4, they won’t have to run into King or Rouge in the playoffs.

        • King and Rouge could easily follow them into four. I think we’d be better off in 2 than three.

  • What I remember is Ian Adams running an 85 yarder on them. They certainly do have the talent to compete.

• 53 points per game! Maybe at least allocate time for defense at practices!! I know, it’s hard to pad defensive stats but the “Master Plan” is to win in two years with a veteran Senior class… maybe my beloved Bears are developing defensive players on their JV team… Oh wait… but hey, it’s 2026 or bust!

  • I did notice an above average lineman on that team that’s only a freshmen.

  • Jefferson has problems

• Can dundee upset enough teams to sneak into the playoffs

  • Dundee missed out last year with a 5-4 record. They have a very tough schedule the rest of the way. Sitting at 1-3, it would take a miracle.