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Top 25 Michigan HS football teams after Round 2 of the 2018 postseason: Chaos reigns as 3 unbeatens fall, 8 ranked teams lose district finals
Round 1 of the playoffs was relatively mild, with only a couple of Top 25 upsets.
Not so the district finals, where eight ranked teams got knocked off, including a trio of teams — No. 2 Cass Tech, No. 16 Mt. Pleasant and No. 18 South Lyon — suffering their first losses of the season. Dearborn Fordson’s emphatic decision — it’s hard to even call a 26-point road win an upset, even if it was unexpected — over the Technicians was one of three lopsided losses by top-10 teams, as well. Saline continued to motor along, handing East Kentwood its first loss since Week 1, while Oak Park was stifled by the defense of defending Division 2 champ Warren De La Salle.
1 Muskegon (11-0, 6-0 OK Black) — Cameron Martinez ran for 301 yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries, and threw for another touchdown, as the Big Reds beat Grand Rapids Christian, 49-17, for their seventh straight district title. (Last week: 1) Up next: D3 regional vs. No. 20 Cedar Springs at Grand Haven’s Gene Rothi Field.
2 Belleville (11-0, 7-0 KLAA East) — After Monroe jumped out to a 12-0 lead early in the first quarter, Belleville scored twice on four plays in the span of 55 seconds, and on six straight first-half possessions, beating the Trojans, 49-33. Christian Dhue-Reid threw six touchdown passes, five of them in the first half. (Last week: 3) Up next: D1 regional vs. No. 10 West Bloomfield
3 Clinton Twp. Chippewa Valley (11-0, 5-0 MAC Red) — Andre Chenault ran for 227 yards and five touchdowns — giving him nine in two playoff games — and David Ellis ran for two more scores, as the Big Reds beat then-No. 24 Macomb Dakota, 51-10, to win their second straight district title. (Last week: 4) Up next: D1 regional vs. No. 11 Dearborn Fordson
4 Saline (10-1, 5-0 SEC Red) — Alex Morrison returned two interceptions for touchdowns, and the Saline defense dominated, as the Hornets beat then-No. 5 East Kentwood, 42-7. Tight end Brendan Murphy caught eight passes for 187 yards and three TDs, while Brendan Munday ran for a score for Saline. Kionte Blakely ran for 154 yards and had a 77-yard scoring catch for East Kentwood. (Last week: 6) Up next: D1 regional vs. Rockford, 1 p.m. Saturday
5 Lapeer (11-0, 6-0 SVL Blue) — The Lightning gave the Wildcats a bit of a taste of their own medicine, with a power running game and defense, as Lapeer got past its district final (and OAA) hex by beating then-No. 22 Oxford, 35-10, for a program-record 11th win. Jalen Kirkland ran for 120 yards and two scores, while Brandon Lilly and Phoenix Dixon added a rushing score each for Lapeer, which racked up 22 first downs, and an eight-minute time-of-possession advantage. Drew Carpenter threw a TD for Oxford. (Last week: 7) Up next: D1 regional vs. No. 8 Clarkston
6 Detroit King (9-2, 5-0 PSL Black) — Peny Boone had 250 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries, as King beat Warren Woods-Tower, 34-14. Richard Miller blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown for the Crusaders, who won their third straight district title, and fifth in seven seasons. (Last week: 9) Up next: D3 regional at Allen Park
7 Muskegon Mona Shores (10-1, 5-1 OK Black) — The Sailors squeaked out a seven-point win over Jenison in Week 7, but won handily in the district final rematch, 49-10. Caden Broersma ran for 154 yards and a score, and threw for 70 more yards and a TD. Sincer’e Dent added a pair of rushing scores for Mona Shores, which won its first district title since the 2014 D2 runner-up squad. (Last week: 10) Up next: D2 regional vs. Portage Northern
8 Clarkston (9-2, 5-1 OAA Red) — The Wolves built up an early lead and beat White Lake Lakeland, 26-6, for their third straight district title, and sixth in seven seasons. Jacob Honstetter ran for two scores, and Josh Luther and Keagan King rushed for one each. (Last week: 11) Up next: D1 regional at No. 5 Lapeer
9 Warren De La Salle (9-2, 2-1 CHSL Central) — The Pilots ran for 212 yards as a team — Evan Vaillancourt and Jordan Rogers scored once each on the ground, and Brett Stanley twice — and the defense forced four Oak Park turnovers, as De La Salle beat the then-No. 8 Knights, 35-7. The Pilots held Oak Park to 113 yards of offense, 70 of that on its final play, a 70-yard scoring pass from D’Wan Mathis to Maliq Carr. (Last week: 12) Up next: D2 regional at No. 15 Port Huron Northern
10 West Bloomfield (9-2, 4-2 OAA Red) — Lance Dixon caught the game-winning touchdown pass in overtime, as the Lakers beat then-No. 17 Novi Detroit Catholic Central, 20-17. West Bloomfield forced a short field goal from the Shamrocks to start the overtime, then won it on Dixon’s catch. Dixon had a rushing touchdown in regulation, while Tre Mosley had an 82-yard TD catch. Marco Genrich and Cole Price scored rushing touchdowns for CC. (Last week: 13) Up next: D1 regional at No. 2 Belleville
11 Dearborn Fordson (10-1, 6-1 KLAA East) — Hussein Ajami threw for 183 yards and four first-half touchdowns as Fordson beat then-No. 2 Detroit Cass Tech, 41-14, to snap a four-year playoff losing skid to the Technicians, jumping the Tractors eight spots in this week’s rankings. Ahmed Allay caught four passes for 164 yards and two scores, while Hadi Hamid had two touchdown catches, as well. James Wheeler had two second-half touchdown runs for Fordson. Kyron McKinnie-Harper had a touchdown catch, and Jaren Mangham a touchdown run for Cass, which was ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 all season long. (Last week: 19) Up next: D1 regional at No. 3 Clinton Twp. Chippewa Valley
12 DeWitt (11-0, 6-0 CAAC Blue) — Nicholas Flegler kicked the go-ahead 25-yard field goal on the first drive of the second half, and the Panthers’ defense made it stand up, getting a defensive stop in the final seconds to beat East Lansing, 9-7. (Last week: 14) Up next: D3 regional vs. Farmington at Lansing Catholic, 1 p.m. Saturday
13 Zeeland East (10-1, 6-0 OK Green) — The Chix scored three third-quarter touchdowns to erase a two-point halftime deficit and beat Zeeland West, 42-24. Quarterback Gabe Taylor threw for 192 yards and two scores and ran for 171 and two more scores. Alex Stockdale ran for 92 yards and a pair of scores. West’s Carson Gulker threw a pair of TD passes, and ran for another score. (Last week: 15) Up next: D3 regional vs. Parma Western
14 Birmingham Groves (9-2, 6-1 OAA White) — Markis Alexander threw four TD passes, two of them to Khalil Dawsey, who also returned an interception for a score, as Groves beat Birmingham Brother Rice, 38-24. It was the second Falcons win over Rice in the playoffs in three seasons, and avenged last year’s first-round loss. (Last week: 20) Up next: D2 regional vs. Livonia Franklin
15 Port Huron Northern (10-1, 5-0 MAC Blue) — Theo Ellis Jr. scored the go-ahead touchdown for Northern in overtime, and an Austin Eagle interception on St. Clair Shores Lakeview’s OT possession sealed the 14-7 OT win. James Delong had two interceptions for Northern. Now the Huskies face a De La Salle team that beat them 50-0 in last year’s district final. (Last week: 21) Up next: D2 regional vs. No. 9 Warren De La Salle
16 Grand Rapids Catholic Central (10-1, 6-0 OK Blue) — Joe Collins threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns, as the Cougars beat Whitehall, 42-7, to win their third straight district title. The two-time defending D4 champs have now won 12 straight playoff games. (Last week: 23) Up next: D4 regional vs. Escanaba at Cougar Stadium, noon Saturday
17 Saginaw Swan Valley (11-0, 5-0 TVC Central) — Chase Mendoza rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns, as Swan Valley ran for 313 yards as a team to beat Freeland, 55-10. The Vikings held the run-oriented Falcons to negative rushing yards in the game. Alex Fries threw for 111 yards and a pair of scores for Swan Valley. (Last week: 24) Up next: D5 regional vs. Reed City, 1 p.m. Saturday
18 Jackson Lumen Christi (11-0, 8-0 Interstate-8) — Lumen Christi scored on its first five possessions, Nick Thomas ran it 25 times for 168 yards and three TDs, and Joe Barrett threw one touchdown and ran for two more, as the Titans beat Michigan Center, 41-14, for their fifth straight district title. (Last week: NR) Up next: D6 regional vs. Blissfield
19 Pewamo-Westphalia (11-0, 7-0 CMAC) — Pewamo-Westphalia beat Saugatuck, 42-20, in a rematch of last year’s Division 7 championship game, ending the Indians’ season for the fifth time in six seasons. Cameron Wirth had 295 yards and three scores on the ground for P-W, which now has a 1 vs. 2 matchup on the road. The Pirates have now won eight straight district titles, 12 straight playoff games and 24 straight games overall. (Last week: NR) Up next: D7 regional vs. No. 24 New Lothrop at Chesaning
20 Cedar Springs (10-1, 6-0 OK White) — The Red Hawks intercepted three passes, with Ben Shaw and Sage Serbenta each returning one for a touchdown, as Cedar Springs beat then-No. 16 Mt. Pleasant, 44-14. Serbenta added 98 yards rushing and two more scores for Cedar Springs, which won its first district title since 2000, breaking an 0-4 streak in district title games. (Last week: NR) Up next: D3 regional at No. 1 Muskegon
21 Edwardsburg (11-0, 9-0 Wolverine Conf.) — The Eddies held beat Wolverine Conference rival Paw Paw to negative-61 yards rushing and 30 yards overall, beating the Redskins for the eighth straight time, 49-10, and winning their third straight district title. Caden Goggins, Isaiah Mitchell and Tre Harvey all ran for two scores. (Last week: NR) Up next: D4 regional vs. Holland Christian, 7 p.m. Saturday
22 Madison Heights Madison (11-0, 5-0 MAC Silver) — Troye Williams had 120 yards receiving and a pair of touchdown catches from quarterback Austin Brown, who also ran for 113 yards and two scores, as Madison beat Detroit Loyola, 38-0, for its third straight district title, and eighth since 2006. While everyone (rightfully) talks about the Eagles’ offense, the defense hasn’t given up a point in three weeks, and just 102 all season. (Last week: NR) Up next: D7 regional vs. Riverview Gabriel Richard
23 Traverse City St. Francis (11-0, 6-0 NMFL-Legends) — Artie Dutmers intercepted three passes, as the Gladiators forced seven turnovers total, and beat previously undefeated Calumet, 42-6. George Mackey ran for 175 yards and scored three times for the Gladiators. Regional foe Kingsley’s only loss was 43-8 to TCSF in Week 4. (Last week: NR) Up next: D6 regional vs. Kingsley at Thirlby Field.
24 New Lothrop (10-1, 7-0 MMAC) — Will Muron and Avery Moore ran for two touchdowns each, while Julius Garza caught a TD and ran for another, as New Lothrop beat Cass City, 44-20. It sets up a 1 vs. 2 matchup in D7 between the Hornets and Pewamo-Westphalia. The Pirates beat N-L, 35-14, in last year’s district final. (Last week: NR) Up next: D7 regional vs. No. 19 Pewamo-Westphalia at Chesaning
25 Flint Hamady (11-0, 4-0 GAC Blue) — Kori Moore threw three TD passes and ran for another, while DeShawn Gibson had 332 yards from scrimmage an a pair of scores, as Hamady beat Ecorse, 47-22, for the program’s first-ever district title. (Last week: NR) Up next: D6 regional vs. Montrose, 2 p.m. Saturday
Dropped out: No. 2 Cass Tech (10-1, 4-0 PSL Green), No. 5 East Kentwood (9-2, 6-0 OK Red), No. 8 Oak Park (8-2, 6-0 OAA White), No. 16 Mt. Pleasant (10-1, 6-0 SVL Red), No. 17 Novi Detroit Catholic Central (7-4, 2-1 CHSL Central), No. 18 South Lyon (10-1, 8-0 LVC), No. 22 Oxford (8-3, 4-2 OAA Red), No. 24 Macomb Dakota (8-3, 3-2 MAC Red)
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