- Michigan
Top 25 Michigan HS football teams after Week 4 of 2018 season: Grand Blanc, DeWitt make debuts in the rankings
Week 4 of the MHSAA 11-man football season didn’t provide a lot of movement in our top 25, as each of the top 13 teams won their game Friday, and 22 of the 25 were victorious. A pair of teams — Utica Eisenhower and Harper Woods — dropped out after losses to unranked teams, while Holland West Ottawa dropped five spots after being manhandled by East Kentwood. That opened up two spots on the top 25, and unbeaten Grand Blanc and DeWitt jumped in. Both of those face huge challenges this coming Friday, so they’ll have to keep winning to stay in — as with everyone on the list. The list of 10 others to keep an eye on also has a couple of new programs, as well.
Top 25 after Week 4:
1 Cass Tech (4-0, 2-0 PSL Green) — All three running backs — Jaren Mangham (40 yards), Lew Nichols (25) and Jordan Lowe (6) — scored rushing touchdowns in a 56-0 win over East English Village. Linebacker Logan Brown had a 77-yard kickoff return for a score that was the highlight of four defensive or special teams TDs for the Technicians. (Last week: 1) Up next: at Detroit Collegiate Prep 4 p.m. Friday.
2 Muskegon (4-0, 1-0 OK Black) — Question answered. Quarterback Cameron Martinez was 9-for-10 passing with 193 yards and three touchdowns, as the Big Reds opened OK Black play by beating Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills 72-14. Hyrosha Wilson had a touchdown catch, while Lamarion Sherrill had two. Four different players scored at least one rushing touchdown, as the Big Reds still racked up 226 yards on the ground. (Last week: 2) Up next: at Fruitport Friday.
3 Belleville (4-0, 3-0 KLAA East) — Julian Barnett’s 60-yard kick return for a touchdown was the deciding factor, as Belleville beat Westland John Glenn 26-21. The Tigers fell behind 14-0 five minutes in, before Deon Selma got them on the board with a 65-yard rushing TD, and Christian Dhue-Reid threw a pair of scoring passes to bring Belleville back to within two, 21-19, at the half. (Last week: 3) Up next: vs. Wayne Memorial on Friday.
4 Detroit King (3-1, 2-0 PSL Black) — Dequan Finn threw for 165 yards and two touchdowns on 7-for-11 passing, and added three rushing scores, as King beat Detroit Central 55-7. Marvin Grant had 10 tackles a sack and three tackles for loss and Ray Williams had an interception. (Last week: 4) Up next: vs. Detroit Renaissance, 4 p.m. Friday.
5 Clarkston (4-0, 3-0 OAA Red) — Jake Billette (110) and Jacob Honstetter (145) both went over 100 yards with a touchdown, as Clarkston beat Rochester Adams, 30-8, avenging the loss that cost Clarkston a share of the OAA Red title a year ago. (Last week: 5) Up next: at Southfield A&T Friday.
6 Oak Park (4-0, 3-0 OAA White) — Jumped out to a 28-0 halftime lead, and beat Stoney Creek 41-14. (Last week: 6) Up next: at Troy Athens Friday.
7 Clinton Twp. Chippewa Valley (4-0, 2-0 MAC Red) — Quarterback Tommy Schuster was nearly perfect, going 8 of 9 passing for 166 yards and a trio of scores — two to Martice Bunting — as the Big Reds beat New Baltimore Anchor Bay 42-6. (Last week: 7) Up next: at Macomb Dakota Friday.
8 Novi Detroit Catholic Central (3-1, 1-0 CHSL Central) — The Shamrocks rebounded from their first loss of the season to beat Detroit U-D Jesuit handily, 42-7, and now get set for the rivalry showdown with Brother Rice. Alabama transfer Bryson Trantham scored on a 40-yard run and on a fumble recovery, while Cole Price, Noah Shanlian and Keegan Koehler all added touchdown runs, and Jack Beno tossed a 65-yard touchdown pass. (Last week: 8) Up next: at Birmingham Brother Rice Saturday 7 p.m.
9 Warren De La Salle (3-1, 1-0 CHSL Central) — Evan Vaillancourt ran for a touchdown and Josh DeBerry scored on a 69-yard pass, as the Pilots opened the Catholic League regular season with a 13-0 win over previously unbeaten Birmingham Brother Rice. The win might have been costly, though, as junior quarterback Anthony Stepnitz and running back Gino Pelione both left the game with injuries. (Last week: 9) Up next: vs. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Friday.
10 West Bloomfield (3-1, 2-1 OAA Red) — The Lakers racked up three scoring plays of 60-plus yards, as they beat Bloomfield Hills, 50-7, to avenge last year’s regular season loss that forced them to share the OAA Red title with Rochester Adams. Anthony May had a pair of touchdown runs and scored on a 90-yard kickoff return, while C.J. Harris threw a pair of touchdown passes, one to Tre Mosley. (Last week: 10) Up next: vs. Lake Orion Friday.
11 Walled Lake Western (3-1, 3-0 LVC) — C.J. Brown had two rushing touchdowns and a goal-line-to-goal-line interception return for a touchdown, as the Warriors burned the boats, and beat Waterford Mott 52-13 in an LVC showdown. Abdul-Ramaan Yaseen had a receiving TD, and picked off two passes. (Last week: 11) Up next: vs. Walled Lake Northern Friday.
12 River Rouge (3-1, 1-0 Michi-Metro Blue) — Beat Hamtramck 73-0. (Last week: 12) Up next: vs. Detroit University Prep Friday.
13 Muskegon Mona Shores (4-0, 2-0 OK Black) — The Sailors beat Rockford 33-14, earning their first road win in the series since 1990. Sincer’e Dent had 232 yards and three touchdowns, and added an interception and a blocked field goal. Caden Broersma had a touchdown pass and a touchdown run.(Last week: 13) Up next: vs. Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills Friday.
14 Macomb Dakota (4-0, 2-0 MAC Red) — Mark Tocco threw for a touchdown and ran for another, while Dustin Solomon ran for three and caught another, as the Dakota beat Sterling Heights Stevenson 58-14. (Last week: 15) Up next: vs. Clinton Twp. Chippewa Valley Friday.
15 East Kentwood (3-1, 2-0 OK Red) — The past three weeks was sort of how we expected the Falcons to play, as they’ve begun to dominate in the trenches. Friday, it was 300 yards of first-half offense, as the Falcons knocked off previously unbeaten, No. 14 Holland West Ottawa 56-7. Kionte Blakely had 112 yards and two rushing touchdowns, and added a 95-yard kickoff return for a score. Kyle Dent threw for three touchdowns and ran for another. (Last week: 16) Up next: vs. Grandville Friday.
16 Farmington Hills Harrison (3-1, 2-1 OAA White) — The Hawks rolled up 290 rush yards (346 total), and held Troy to 147 total yards, forcing three turnovers, as they beat the Colts, 39-10. Rod Heard had four touchdowns and one of the two interceptions on defense. (Last week: 17) Up next: vs. Stoney Creek Saturday 1 p.m.
17 Saline (3-1, 1-0 SEC Red) — The Hornets used big plays to build an 18-point halftime lead, but had to hold on in the second half to beat Temperance-Bedford 31-26. Andrew Arbaugh returned to the lineup for the first time since Week 1, and threw four touchdown passes, three of them covering more than 50 yards. Brendan Murphy had three touchdown catches and 153 yards receiving in the win. (Last week: 18) Up next: vs. Ann Arbor Skyline Friday.
18 Lapeer (4-0, 2-0 SVL South) — Beat Flint Southwestern 54-14 to stay undefeated. The Lightning now head into a five-week stretch where they face a playoff team from last year each week. Grand Blanc (Sept. 28) and Davison (Oct. 19) are currently unbeaten, as well. (Last week: 19) Up next: at Flint Powers Friday.
19 Holland West Ottawa (3-1, 1-1 OK Red) — The Panthers were shut down by a stingy East Kentwood defense, losing 56-7, as a West Ottawa offense averaging more than 40 points per game was held to a fourth-quarter TD pass from Isaac Van Dyke to Blake Bosma. West Ottawa managed just 48 first-half yards, as East Kentwood built a 35-0 lead. (Last week: 14) Up next: at Caledonia Friday
20 Canton (3-1, 3-0 KLAA West) — Beat Salem 42-9. (Last week: 22) Up next: at Brighton Friday.
21 Davison (4-0, 2-0 SVL South) — Cannon Hall threw two touchdowns and ran for three more, as Davison beat Flint Powers, 50-20, to stay undefeated. Ray Cole intercepted two passes, returning one for a touchdown. (Last week: 23) Up next: at Grand Blanc Friday.
22 Zeeland East (3-1, 1-0 OK Green) — Hamilton’s Marcus McIllwain had two second-half touchdowns to make it close, but Zeeland East counterpart Gabe Taylor had two TD passes and a touchdown run as the Chix bounced back to beat Hamilton 39-14. Josh Fusco intercepted a pass and had a touchdown run. (Last week: 24) Up next: vs. Holland Christian Friday.
23 Hudsonville (4-0, 2-0 OK Red) — Brennan Hayes hit Jordan Wenzel with a 56-yard TD pass to put the Eagles ahead in the third quarter, and they rolled from there, beating Caledonia 31-17, going to 4-0 for the first time since 2007. Mason Piper had three touchdown runs and 156 yards. The Eagles step out of OK Red play to play a 3-1 Jenison squad from the OK Black Division. (Last week: 25) Up next: at Jenison Friday.
24 DeWitt (4-0, 2-0 CAAC Blue) — The Panthers scored on six of seven first-half drives, as they beat Holt 49-7 to stay undefeated. JoJo Martinez had a kickoff return for a touchdown as the only offense for Holt, as the Panthers — who have allowed just 31 points in four games — held the Rams to 73 yards of offense. (Last week: NR) Up Next: at East Lansing Friday.
25 Grand Blanc (4-0, 2-0 SVL South) — The Bobcats opened the game with a successful onside kick and scored three times in the first five minutes, beating Flint Carman-Ainsworth 42-14. The Bobcats are one of three remaining unbeatens in the Saginaw Valley League’s South Division, along with No. 21 Davison and No. 18 Lapeer. (Last week: NR) Up next: vs. Davison Friday.
Dropped out: No. 20 Utica Eisenhower (1-3, 0-2 MAC Red), No. 21 Harper Woods (3-1)
Ten others to keep an eye on: Mt. Pleasant (4-0, 2-0 SVL North), South Lyon (4-0, 3-0 LVC), Dearborn Fordson (4-0, 3-0 KLAA East), East Lansing (4-0, 1-0 CAAC Blue), Saginaw Swan Valley (4-0, 2-0 TVC Central), Grand Rapids Catholic Central (3-1, 1-0 OK Blue), Jackson Lumen Christi (4-0, 3-0 Interstate-8), Pewamo-Westphalia (4-0, 3-0 CMAC), New Lothrop (4-0, 3-0 MMAC), Edwardsburg (4-0, 4-0 Wolverine Conf.)
For Week 1 rankings, CLICK HERE
For Week 2 rankings, CLICK HERE
For Week 3 rankings, CLICK HERE
