- All
Top 25 HS Football teams – East Kentwood, De La Salle enter top 10
1. Birmingham Brother Rice (11-0): Quarterback Alex Malzone set yet another school record last week by throwing six TD passes, all in the first half. Brother Rice will face Warren De La Salle for the second time this season on Saturday.
2. Clarkston (11-0): D.J. Zezula threw for over 200 yards as Clarkston slipped past Lapeer 23-20 and will face a surprising Walled Lake Central team on Friday.
3. Detroit Cass Tech (11-0): Good teams find ways to win close games and Cass Tech’s defense made the play, a fumble recovery, late against Dearborn Fordson and reached a regional final for the fifth consecutive season with a 28-21 victory.
4. Muskegon Mona Shores (10-1): The Sailors continue to be the feel-good story of this season. They’d never won a playoff game until this season and the Sailors had an easy time defeating Midland Dow (10-1), 41-14, on Friday.
5. Zeeland West (11-0): Stevensville Lakeshore (8-3) took the Dux to the limit and West hung on for a 30-28 victory. A stop on a two-point conversion try in the fourth quarter was the difference.
6. Lansing Sexton (11-0): The Big Reds slowed down Saginaw Swan Valley (10-1) and running back Alex Grace on Friday and Ja’Von Wray scored five TDs in a 41-20 victory.
7. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (9-2): The Eaglets coasted to their second playoff win (49-15 over Warren Woods Tower). This Saturday Mason (8-3) should provide a tougher test with its power run game.
8. Muskegon (10-1): Cedar Springs (9-2) proved to be a challenge for Muskegon as it won a district title 27-14. Muskegon’s offense sputtered some so with Petoskey (9-2) next the Big Reds might have to be a bit more efficient.
9. East Kentwood (10-1): The Falcons escaped with a 17-14 victory over Grand Ledge and will play in a region final for the first time since 2003 when they lost to Grandville, 28-8. Another O-K Conference Red Division foe, Hudsonville, is next for East Kentwood.
10. Warren De La Salle (8-3): Defensively the Pilots played well to get past Detroit East English Village Prep, 21-14. They had three interceptions and controlled much of the play. Offensively the Pilots must eliminate big mistakes if they expect to upset Brother Rice this Saturday.
11. Saline (10-1): The Hornets will host their third playoff game on Friday against Canton and look for this game to be won on the line of scrimmage. Saline has the size up front to compete with Canton. Saline trailed Monroe 14-7 before quarterback Josh Jackson and the offense awoke for a 28-22 victory.
12. Farmington Hills Harrison (9-2): Without quarterback Jevon Shaw (knee injury) the Hawks leaned on their defense to pull out a 10-9 overtime victory over Walled Lake Western. Harrison was the road team in their first two playoff game. Now they’ll host Flushing on Saturday.
13. Canton (9-2): The Chiefs scored 42 points in their first playoff victory and followed that with 56 last Friday. Coach Tim Baechler has his offense energized.
14. Lowell (10-1): The Red Arrows continue to get the job done, if not in spectacular fashion. Physically, Lowell doesn’t match up well with Zeeland West but look for Lowell to make it a competitive game.
15. Southfield (8-3): The Bluejays continue to fly under the radar. This is a program that seems fair better when it plays the underdog role. Oops. Southfield will be favored when it plays at Wyandotte on Friday.
16. Hudsonville (7-4): The Eagles are on the rise. For the second consecutive season they knocked Rockford, at Rockford, out of the Division 1 playoffs in a district final. Last year the score was 19-14. On Friday Hudsonville won 37-15.
17. Walled Lake Central (9-2): Like Hudsonville, Central is a team that’s had some downs during the season but is playing its best football in the playoffs. Limiting West Bloomfield (11-7 victory) to one touchdown past week was outstanding.
18. Clinton Township Chippewa Valley (8-3): Now it got past its nemesis, Macomb Dakota, the Big Reds get Cass Tech next as its reward. If Chippewa Valley can maintain the level of play it’s shown the last few weeks another upset is possible.
19. Wyandotte Roosevelt (9-2): Wyandotte had a below-par regular season but the Bears have hit another gear in the playoffs. Hosting Southfield will be Wyandotte’s most severe test of this season.
20. Dearborn Fordson (10-1): The Tractors nearly knocked off Cass Tech. One mistake too many in the fourth quarter proved to be too much to overcome.
21. Macomb Dakota (8-3): A blocked conversion kick, that’s all the kept the Cougars from playing overtime last week and possibly advancing to the regionals. It’s a tough way to go out
22. Lapeer (10-1): A tremendous season for the Lightning despite a 3-point loss at Clarkston. Coach Mike Smith and this first-year program (after the merger) accomplished much.
23. West Bloomfield (9-2): The Lakers opened many eyes this season to the job coach Ron Bellamy has done here. Now the program must continue to make positive steps if it expects to gain consistency.
24. Midland Dow (10-1): Dow and Lapeer are the pride of the Saginaw Valley this season. This league has five playoff representatives and all five won first-round games including Dow’s 35-0 victory over Traverse City Central.
25. Walled Lake Western (9-2): The Warriors benefitted from a missed extra point in its plyoff opener (14-13 over South Lyon) then lost to Harrison (10-9) because of a missed conversion.
