1st & Goal: 2022 Week 5 Preview
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 23, 2022
This weekend is the midpoint of this regular season, and stands to be a turning point for several teams this season.
Eight games will match teams undefeated so far this fall. A number of others will pit league title contenders against each other, with the Port Huron and Flint areas, Detroit Catholic League, Macomb County and rural Greater Lansing enjoying some of their best annual rivalry games over the next two days.
Games are Friday unless noted. Click for the full schedule from MHSAA.com and check out the broadcast schedule from MHSAA.tv.
Bay & Thumb
Frankenmuth (4-0) at Freeland (4-0)
This has become a league matchup with statewide appeal over the last few seasons. Frankenmuth has won the last three meetings, last season’s deciding the Tri-Valley Conference 10 title. But both went on to reach MHSAA Semifinals, Freeland in Division 4 and the Eagles in Division 5. Frankenmuth has handed lone losses this fall to Goodrich and Birch Run and given up only 30 points total. Freeland’s defense literally has been one better, giving up only 29 points so far.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Flint Hamady (4-0) at Flint Beecher (2-2), Port Huron Northern (4-0) at Port Huron (3-1), Sanford Meridian (3-1) at Gladwin (4-0), Millington (4-0) at Standish Sterling (4-0).
Greater Detroit
Clinton Township Chippewa Valley (4-0) at Macomb Dakota (4-0)
This is the midpoint as well in the Macomb Area Conference Red schedule – and these are the two contenders left without a defeat. They are frequently at the top, although last season they tied for third in the league standings. Dakota has won the last three meetings (starting with the 2019 playoffs), and both have done the work to make this arguably the best matchup in Week 5. Chippewa Valley’s season-opening win over Detroit Catholic Central keeps looking better and better. Same scenario for the Cougars, who defeated Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice in Week 1 and have given up 17 points over its four victories.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY West Bloomfield (4-0) at Rochester Adams (3-1), Detroit Catholic Central (3-1) at Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (2-2), Brighton (4-0) at Northville (4-0), Detroit Central (4-0) at Detroit Southeastern (3-1).
Mid-Michigan
Bay City Western (3-1) at Mount Pleasant (4-0)
The Warriors have looked like a Saginaw Valley League North contender especially the last two weeks with 20-plus point wins over Traverse City West and Midland Dow, and was on the cusp last season while losing to Dow by a point and Mount Pleasant 31-16. Western can become the team to chase this weekend by avenging that defeat to the Oilers, who are coming off one-score wins over Cadillac and Traverse City Central. Mount Pleasant has won the last seven games in this series.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Holt (2-2) at DeWitt (2-2), Grand Blanc (2-2) at East Lansing (4-0), Pewamo-Westphalia (3-1) at Fowler (4-0), Mason (4-0) at Haslett (3-1).
Northern Lower Peninsula
Cadillac (2-2) at Gaylord (3-1)
With the Big North Conference now at four teams for football, and these two coming off wins in their league openers, this matchup will decide a share of the BNC championship. Gaylord bounced back nicely from its Week 3 loss to Marquette to defeat Petoskey last week, while Cadillac has impressive one-score losses to Midland and Mount Pleasant. The Vikings won last year’s meeting with Gaylord 22-0, their fourth-straight victory in the series.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Kalkaska (2-2) at Boyne City (4-0), East Jordan (2-2) at Maple City Glen Lake (3-1), Lake City (2-2) at McBain (2-2). SATURDAY Sault Ste. Marie (4-0) at Ogemaw Heights (2-2).
Southeast & Border
Parma Western (2-2) at Jackson Northwest (3-1)
Jackson Northwest is on the rise as its third win last week guaranteed the Mounties their best finish since 2013 and equaled their number of victories the last three seasons combined. And suddenly, Northwest could figure into the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference race with four of the other top six teams in the standings coming up over the next five weeks. Western certainly can’t be overlooked among them; its losses were by seven points to Detroit Country Day and five to Jackson Lumen Christi.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Grass Lake (2-2) at Michigan Center (1-3), Hanover-Horton (2-2) at Napoleon (4-0), Petersburg Summerfield (2-2) at Ottawa Lake Whiteford (4-0), Chelsea (3-1) at Adrian (3-2).
Southwest Corridor
Plainwell (3-1) at Edwardsburg (3-1)
Edwardsburg’s Wolverine Conference winning streak lives at 35, but not without two of its most significant challenges over the last six seasons. Three Rivers pushed the Eddies to within eight points in Week 2, and Edwardsburg escaped with a three-point win over Vicksburg last week thanks to a last-second field goal. Plainwell has made the playoffs nine of the last 10 seasons (plus 2020, when all teams qualified) and would be a candidate to challenge the Eddies too – although Edwardsburg won last year’s matchup 49-0.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY St. Joseph (3-1) at Portage Central (2-2), Homer (3-1) at Union City (3-1), Constantine (3-1) at Watervliet (3-1). SATURDAY South Lyon East (3-1) at Paw Paw (3-1).
Upper Peninsula
Bark River-Harris (3-1) at Iron Mountain (3-1)
Iron Mountain has won all six recent meetings, including one in the playoffs. But Bark River-Harris gave the Mountaineers their best matchup of those six last season, falling only 28-22. They play in different divisions of the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference, and both are championship contenders in their respective divisions – plus Bark River-Harris is ranked No. 6 and Iron Mountain No. 10 in Division 8 by the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Negaunee (4-0) at Ishpeming (2-2), Houghton (3-1) at Hancock (1-3), Gladstone (4-0) at Marquette (1-3), Escanaba (1-3) at Kingsford (2-2).
West Michigan
Caledonia (4-0) at Grandville (4-0)
This, along with Rockford/East Kentwood matchup below, will bring the number of teams leading the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red from four to two by Friday night’s end. The intrigue here is both are undefeated overall – plus Grandville sees Rockford next week, and Caledonia sees East Kentwood. Grandville owns a 4-2 edge in this series since Caledonia moved to the Red in 2016, but Caledonia has won two of the last three including 24-14 last fall. The Fighting Scots are stoppers; they’ve given up 28 points total so far. But opening wins over Grand Blanc and Byron Center put Grandville into the spotlight quickly this season.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Rockford (4-0) at East Kentwood (3-1), Beal City (4-0) at Evart (4-0), Ada Forest Hills Eastern (4-0) at Grand Rapids Catholic Central (4-0), Zeeland West (4-0) at Muskegon (3-1).
8-Player
Brown City (4-0) at Martin (4-0)
Brown City is playing 8-player this fall for the first time and showed the fast start isn’t beginners’ luck again last week with a 58-40 win over perennial Finals contender Suttons Bay. Defeating Martin would be a similar if not more substantial accomplishment. The Clippers haven’t given up a point since Week 2 and moved up to No. 1 in Division 1 this week, while Brown City is No. 5.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Climax-Scotts (4-0) at Athens (3-1), Eau Claire (3-1) at Bridgman (4-0), Breckenridge (3-1) at Morrice (4-0). SATURDAY Merrill (4-0) at Portland St. Patrick (3-1).
Second Half’s weekly “1st & Goal” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO Detroit Cass Tech quarterback Leeshaun Mumpfield drops back to pass against Detroit Renaissance during a Week 3 win. (Photo by Chardonne’ U of Olivia B. Photography.)
Dock Putting Dad's Coaching Lessons to Work as Middleville TK Continues Climb
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
November 3, 2025
MIDDLEVILLE – Denny Dock can't pinpoint the exact moment he thought his football-loving son would follow him into coaching, but the signs were there all along.
For starters, there were the countless hours spent tossing a football around the backyard. Or when his young son, Jeff – not even old enough for middle school at the time – eagerly joined other Stevensville Lakeshore coaches watching film on weekends.
Maybe it was all those Friday nights spent trekking along the sideline as a ball boy for Lancers teams. Another clue might have been the Saturday afternoons the two spent together watching college football, or taking in the NFL on Sundays.
When Jeff got older, it may have been how he readily absorbed tips that helped him become a better quarterback in high school and then at Grand Valley State. It could have even been an early, uncanny ability to grasp the importance of fundamentals.
Put it all together, and it seemed inevitable coaching football loomed in Jeff Dock's future.
"That's very fair to say," said Denny Dock, who is 19th on the state's list of all-time winningest football coaches while also the winningest high school softball coach in the country. "The younger years in football were really positive for Jeff, and that doesn't happen all the time. There are negative things that can happen."
While there might have been multiple signs the younger Dock would one day join the coaching ranks, he admits it was far from a done deal. There were thoughts of becoming a biology teacher, a pastor or maybe even an orthopedic surgeon.
But coaching? Even with his father as a classic example of the positive impact a good coach could spread, Dock said it took years for him to eventually land in coaching.
"It dawned on me that there were a lot of all three of those things in being a coach," he said. "Growing up in sports is what I knew, and I ended up developing a passion for it."
That passion is actually the highest it's been in years as his Middleville Thornapple Kellogg football team this past weekend improved to 7-3, continuing the program's first winning season since 2020 and the best fall since the Trojans went 7-3 in 2018. The Trojans defeated Hastings 28-20 in a Division 2 playoff opener, and a win this Friday at Lowell would give Middleville its first District championship since 2001.
Denny Dock coached football at Hartford from 1981-83, Dowagiac from 1984-87, and then Lakeshore from 1988-2013, returning to lead the Lancers for one more season in 2020 and all together totaling a 270-79 career record, 15 league titles and five runner-up MHSAA Finals finishes.
He has kept his hand in football in aiding his son's Trojans program. He's at all the games to add support, critique, advice, strategy, tips on how practices can best be organized and long talks discussing how continual improvement can be furthered.
It's a two-way street as an old football coach who never had a losing season, and is a member of the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame, can remain invested in the game while his son benefits from three decades worth of experience.
Jeff Dock said his father's real value is his ability to spot from the stands the little things that less experienced coaches may miss.
"Play calling, how players are used, maybe a little bit about strategy," Dock said.
After playing for his father, Dock said there's no doubt he's transferred the best of what he learned into his own coaching. The older Dock was not only a highly successful football coach, he's compiled a 1,319-345-2 record in softball with eight Finals titles.
Whether it's about football or the philosophy Dock stresses in his softball program, the advice accepted from his father – who still attends softball clinics for tips on improving the Lakeshore program – is virtually across the board. It begins, however, with how a coach should treat his players.
"I was a manager growing up, and I saw his intensity and a love of his players," Dock said. "He never pushed me in any direction, but he told me about education. He always let me figure it out. One of the coolest things my parents did in raising me was to allow me to figure things out."
As far as the Xs and Os of coaching, Dock said his father prizes an organized practice. In fact, it could even be argued that both Docks enjoy a spirited and productive practice session over the microscope of Friday Night Lights.
"He never had a losing season, and it was ingrained in us just to go back to work and that that work never stops," he said. "He loves practices and being organized. Rule No. 1 with him was to make sure the players are prepared, and that you have to communicate with them. Dad would never belittle us or cuss us out.
"I saw the work he put in, how he'd wake up every Saturday thinking about the game. I saw the nitty gritty of coaching and how it was going to take work."
It was that seemingly endless work, in fact, that Denny Dock made sure his young son understood. Denny had no illusions over the pitfalls of coaching, and the pros and the cons. But before he could teach that to his son the coach, he made sure his son the quarterback understood how athletics worked.
There were challenges as a player and now for his son as a coach.
"He was always a quarterback because I think he liked the ball in his hands," Denny Dock said. "I think he liked the leadership part of the game, understanding the team part, and knowing what he had to do. That always challenged him."
While the challenge of playing is long gone for the younger Dock, the next challenge is building a program which is annually competitive. To do that, Jeff Dock said he accepts what his father knew 30 years ago.
"I'm willing to learn anything from anyone at any time," he said. "I know my dad has always thought about what he can do to become a little better every year. I'm always looking for ways to communicate and do things better. It can always be done better, but how can you get there? How can we do the little things better. That's what I learned."
PHOTOS (Top) Jeff Dock, left, and son Micah – Middleville Thornapple Kellogg’s quarterback this season – stand for a photo at their home field. (Middle) Denny Dock, far left, coaches a base runner during Stevensville Lakeshore’s 2022 Semifinal win. (Top photo by Steve Vedder.)