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A Hudsonville Unity Christian defender wraps a Forest Hills Eastern ball carrier Friday.

1st & Goal: 2026 Playoffs Week 2 Review

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

November 10, 2026

We’re entering the third week of these 2026 MHSAA Football Playoffs, and at least a handful of teams have reached this stage of the season for the first time since before their current players were born. 

MI Student AidThis week's "Review" highlights some of those below, along with other notable accomplishments both for teams advancing to this week’s rounds but also those whose seasons have come to a close.  

11-Player Division 1

HEADLINER Northville 17, Saline 14 Division 1 provided the biggest stunner of the week for the second straight as the Mustangs (9-2) handed the first and only loss to Saline (10-1). Both were league champions this fall, but Saline had reached the Regional Finals a year ago and hadn’t had a game closer than 14 points this fall. Click for more from the Ann Arbor News.

District Digest East Kentwood 42, Grand Ledge 21 The Falcons (10-1) advanced from this meeting of undefeated teams, ending the Comets’ season for the second straight. Clarkston 27, Grand Blanc 26 Grand Blanc (10-1) led 20-7 at halftime, but Clarkston (10-1) came back to end the previously undefeated Bobcats’ season also for the second consecutive year. Rochester Hills Stoney Creek 21, Rochester Adams 7 The Cougars (9-2) avenged a Week 7 loss to the Highlanders (7-4), ending an eight-game losing streak against their rivals.

11-Player Division 2

HEADLINER Livonia Franklin 17, Gibraltar Carlson 6 Franklin (9-2) clinched its first District title since 2022 by handling Carlson (10-1) its only loss of the season. The Marauders entered the matchup averaging 35 points per game, but the Patriots held their opponent to single digits for the third time over the last four weeks. Click for more from the Detroit News.

District Digest Milford 31, Midland Dow 19 The Mavericks (10-1) claimed their first District championship since 2006, ending a seven-game winning streak by the Chargers (8-3) as they sought to repeat as District winners. Muskegon Mona Shores 49, Caledonia 35 Mona Shores (10-1) has scored 49 points in both of their playoff games to outpace their high-powered opponents including this time the Fighting Scots (8-3). South Lyon 55, South Lyon East 32 The Lions (9-2) finished a season sweep of the rival Cougars (8-3), extending their winning streak in the series to four after winning both matchups last year as well.

DeWitt’s Krew Koutsoubos (30) brings down Coopersville’s Champ Kelly during a 54-21 Division 3 District Final win.

11-Player Division 3

HEADLINER Harper Woods 20, Detroit Martin Luther King 6 Harper Woods ran its District title streak to four seasons in a row with this one, its first in Division 3, holding King (7-4) to its lowest-scoring output of the season. The loss also ended the Crusaders’ District championship streak at 11. Click for more from the Detroit Free Press.

District Digest Warren De La Salle Collegiate 27, Port Huron 10 The Pilots (7-4) handed Port Huron (10-1) its only loss to advance to what will be another highly anticipated matchup this week with Harper Woods. Middleville Thornapple Kellogg 41, St. Joseph 13 After last year reaching the District Finals for the first time since 2020, the Trojans took the next step with their first District championship since 2001 and ended St. Joseph’s run at 8-3. Chelsea 51, Redford Thurston 14 The Bulldogs claimed their first District title since their Division 4 championship season of 2021, ending Thurston’s winningest season in 15 years at 9-2.

11-Player Division 4

HEADLINER Portland 35, Edwardsburg 17 The Raiders ran their District championship streak to six with this win in a matchup of undefeated teams. Portland (11-0) outscored the Eddies 21-0 during the second half and for the game held Edwardsburg (10-1) to its fewest points scored this season. Click for more from the South Bend Tribune. 

District Digest Macomb Lutheran North 48, Marysville 20 Lutheran North (10-1) clinched its third District championship over the last four years, downing a league co-champion in Marysville (6-5). Hudsonville Unity Christian 49, Ada Forest Hills Eastern 23 Unity Christian repeated as a District champion and ended Forest Hills Eastern’s winning season since 2015 at 9-2. Detroit Country Day 35, St. Clair 13 The Yellowjackets (8-3) returned to the playoffs this season for the first time since 2022 and now have their first District title since that season as well, as they ended St. Clair’s return to the postseason after the Saints (8-3) missed last year’s playoffs.

11-Player Division 5

HEADLINER Negaunee 20, Kingsford 14 Even with four losses this season, Negaunee (7-4) looked like a dangerous opponent for the undefeated Flivvers (10-1) – and indeed proved to be in avenging a 21-16 loss from Week 4. The District title was the Miners’ first since 2022 and the win also ended a three-game losing streak against Kingsford. Click for more from My UP Now. 

District Digest Romulus Summit Academy 30, Detroit Denby 28 Summit (8-3) has strung together 10 straight winning seasons and now has its first District championship as well after hanging on against a Denby team (7-4) that hadn’t given up more than 14 points in a game this fall. Saginaw Swan Valley 29, Imlay City 12 Swan Valley has reached 10-1 for the second-straight year and now will face Frankenmuth, which dealt the Vikings their lone loss in Week 8. Imlay City finished 8-3 and has plenty to celebrate after having won a combined 11 games over the previous five seasons. Grand Rapids West Catholic 45, Hopkins 14 West Catholic clinched its fourth District title over the last five seasons by downing another league champion in Hopkins (9-2).

11-Player Division 6

HEADLINER Detroit Edison 26, Clinton 24 Edison held off a Clinton second-half comeback attempt to repeat as a District champion and claim its third title over the last four seasons. The Redwolves (9-2) had reached the Division 7 Semifinals a year ago. The Pioneers (9-1), who haven’t lost since Week 1, earned a rematch with Ecorse and won the first meeting between those two 30-20 in Week 7. Click for more from the Detroit News.

District Digest Marine City 37, Montrose 29 The Mariners (11-0) won another matchup of league champions, ending Montrose’s season at 8-3. Belding 28, Olivet 20 Belding (9-2) clinched its first District title since 2017 with its fifth win (and second in a row) by nine points or fewer. Olivet ended its 18th-straight playoff season at 7-4. Ecorse 26, Warren Michigan Collegiate 6 As noted above, Ecorse (9-1) earned a rematch with Edison after getting past another rival in Michigan Collegiate (5-5) for the second time this season and third in a row going back to last fall. 

11-Player Division 7

HEADLINER Ithaca 39, Millington 16 Ithaca’s high-powered offense scored the most points the Cardinals (10-1) gave up this season. Yellowjackets quarterback Gibson Rondy ran for 144 yards and a score and threw for 183 and another touchdown as Ithaca (10-1) won its fourth District title over the last five seasons. Click for more from the Mount Pleasant Morning Sun.

District Digest Ottawa Lake Whiteford 38, Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central 34 Whiteford (9-2) avenged a 37-28 Week 1 loss to the Falcons (9-2) to clinch its first District title since 2023. Jonesville 52, Union City 30 The Comets (7-4) continued their hot streak with a fifth-straight win and first District title since 2002 after starting this season 2-4. Union City finished 8-3. Ravenna 42, Constantine 12 Ravenna has found its scoring stride; its first District title since 2016 came with its third straight game of scoring at least 42 points after the Bulldogs did so only once during the regular season. Constantine (9-2) had given up only 19 points combined over its previous six games.

11-Player Division 8

HEADLINER Springport 34, Decatur 22 Springport (10-1) handed Decatur its first and only loss of the season, in doing so repeating as a District champion and setting up a Regional rematch with Hudson, which ended the Spartans’ playoff run a year ago. The Raiders’ 10-1 finish pushed its record over the last three seasons to a combined 28-6. Click for more from WOOD TV.

District Digest Bark River-Harris 38, Maple City Glen Lake 13 The Broncos (9-2) clinched a second-straight District title with a second playoff win over Glen Lake (8-3) in two years after also edging the Lakers in a Regional Final last fall. Clarkston Everest Collegiate 24, Royal Oak Shrine 14 Everest (10-1) finished a season sweep of Shrine after also defeating the Knights (9-2) in a Week 9 Prep Bowl matchup 34-7. Ubly 32, Unionville-Sebewaing 8 Ubly (8-3) made five weeks make a big difference, avenging a 30-16 loss to USA (8-3) from Week 6 that decided the Big Thumb Conference Black championship.

8-Player Division 1

HEADLINER Deckerville 62, Dryden 22 Deckerville reversed its 44-38 Week 5 loss to the Cardinals to clinch a fourth-straight Regional title. The Eagles (10-1) topped 60 points for the first time since Week 2 of last year in ending Dryden’s most successful season since 2008 at 10-1. Click for more from the Huron Daily Tribune. 

Regional Roundup Pickford 28, Ishpeming 22 Pickford left for a new league this fall and didn’t see Ishpeming (8-3) during the regular season, but the Panthers (9-2) capitalized on this opportunity and extended their 8-player record over the Hematites to 4-0. Colon 30, Climax-Scotts 20 After returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2022, the Magi (10-1) clinched their first Regional title since 2021 by adding to a 32-8 Week 4 win over Climax-Scotts (8-3). Blanchard Montabella 54, Merrill 36 Montabella (10-1) also won a league rematch, adding this win over Merrill (9-2) to a 60-20 victory in Week 7. 

8-Player Division 2

HEADLINER Gaylord St. Mary 32, Lake Linden-Hubbell 14 St. Mary (11-0) returned from the northern Upper Peninsula with arguably its best win of an impressive last four weeks, handing the Lakes (10-1) their only defeat. The Snowbirds most notably slowed down an LL-H attack that hadn’t scored fewer than 42 points in a game, and in doing so claimed their first Regional title since 2002. Click for more from the Petoskey News-Review. 

Regional Roundup Portland St. Patrick 47, Grand Rapids Sacred Heart 14 The Shamrocks (11-0) repeated as Regional champions in part by slowing down a Sacred Heart offense that had scored at least 49 points in six straight games. The Falcons finished 9-2. Mendon 60, Marcellus 14 The Hornets (11-0) ground out 427 rushing yards and took advantage of four turnovers to win a third Regional title in five years and end Marcellus’ run at 7-4. Britton Deerfield 36, Bay City All Saints 8 The Patriots clinched their second Regional title in three seasons, winning a matchup of league champions and ending All Saints’ run at 9-2. 

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PHOTOS (Top) A Hudsonville Unity Christian defender wraps a Forest Hills Eastern ball carrier Friday. (Middle) DeWitt’s Krew Koutsoubos (30) brings down Coopersville’s Champ Kelly during a 54-21 Division 3 District Final win. (Unity Christian/Forest Hills Eastern photo by Michigan Sports Media. DeWitt/Coopersville photo by TCP Photography.)

Dearborn Divine Child coaches and players receive the Class B championship trophy after winning the inaugural title game in 1975.

'Refuse to Lose' Divine Child Set Tone for Teams to Come with 1st Class B Title

By Brad Emons
Special for MHSAA.com

November 15, 2024

There was no more conjecture, no newspaper or Associated Press polls to determine the state football champions.

The champion was no longer decided on paper, but out on the field as the MHSAA launched its first playoff tournament in 1975.

Only 16 total teams over four classes were invited to the dance.

And a school with an already a rich football heritage in Dearborn Divine Child proved it on the field with a 21-0 win over Saginaw MacArthur in the Class B title game before 4,000 fans at Central Michigan University’s Perry Shorts Stadium in Mount Pleasant.

In the Semifinals, MacArthur had outlasted Flint Ainsworth, 44-38, as senior halfback Mark Neiderquill rushed for 285 yards and four touchdowns, while Divine Child ousted Sturgis, 20-3.

In the frigid championship final on Nov. 22, the Falcons’ defense held MacArthur’s high-octane offense to seven first downs and 74 yards rushing. They caused three turnovers, with two fumble recoveries and an interception leading to all three of their TDs.

“I thought we could move the ball, but MacArthur was tough,” DC coach Bob LaPointe told the Detroit Free Press.

In the second quarter, Pat Doyle returned an interception 28 yards for a TD, and Mike Surmacz added the PAT for a 7-0 Divine Child advantage.

Falcons quarterback Dan Faletti throws a pass during the Final.“That first interception really got us rolling,” LaPointe said. “Doyle can run the 40 in 4.9 and speed is what made that touchdown. But he got good blocking, too.”

Two minutes later, Mike Wiacek gave DC another scoring opportunity when he recovered a MacArthur fumble at the Generals’ 24. Nine plays later, senior quarterback Dan Faletti swept right end and scored on a three-yard bootleg for a 14-0 lead.

“The big thing is that they had a good running back that we had to make sure we kept under control,” said Faletti, who went on to play at Eastern Michigan University before a neck injury prematurely ended his career as a sophomore. “We pretty much got the lead, and Bob was conservative. I just remember scoring that touchdown, and my picture made the paper the next day.”

Neither team could move the ball in the third quarter. There were no first downs.

All-stater Mike Svihra then picked up a fumbled lateral in the fourth quarter and ran 10 yards for the game’s final TD.

“It was not a lot of offense; it was a bitter, cold day,” said Faletti, who went on to work for the Department of Defense for 20 years and Ford Motor Co. before recently retiring. “Bob LaPointe ran a conservative offense. We did ball-control, we didn’t put tons of points on the board ... we didn’t fumble the ball. We didn’t throw interceptions.”

The game, ironically, was played on AstroTurf, not on real grass.

“Everyone makes a bit deal of it, but there really isn’t that much difference,” LaPointe added afterwards. “The only thing I regretted about this game was that I could dress only 44 of my 56 players under the rules. It was tough (to) tell the other 12 they couldn’t suit up.”

An 18-12 loss to Madison Heights Bishop Foley during the final regular-season game, spoiling what would have been an undefeated season in 1974, had left the Falcons distraught – but even more galvanized as they made preparations for the 1975 campaign.

The Falcons also changed their offense in 1975, switching to a triple-option attack that LaPointe got from Notre Dame. The offense proved to be good enough for a 9-0 regular season and an MHSAA playoff berth.

“We were an underdog the whole thing, the whole time, we were the underdog in every big game we played in, but we didn’t allow people to beat us,” said Wes Wishart, who coached the linebackers and offensive line that season before taking over the head coaching reins for the Falcons from 1978-95. “We refused to lose, and that was the motto. From ’74 on those group of kids said, ‘We refuse to lose.’ You use that phrase as a coach all the time, but this group of kids lived it. They were the ones that invented it. When things got tight, ‘refuse, refuse, refuse.’ We’re not backing off from anybody. Great group of young men, great players.”

Divine Child players and coaches raise their Prep Bowl trophy in celebration.During the regular season, DC earned victories over highly-touted Flint Powers Catholic (20-14), previously unbeaten Southgate Aquinas (26-12) and Allen Park Cabrini (12-8).

That set up a Catholic League Prep Bowl showdown in the final game of the regular season against highly-touted 8-0 Birmingham Brother Rice, which was ranked No. 1 in the final regular-season AP Class A poll.

Although the Falcons were a decided underdog, the AA division champs upended Rice, 7-0, before a packed crowd at Eastern Michigan University’s Rynearson Stadium to snap the Warriors’ 22-game winning streak thanks to Jim Kempinski’s fumble return for a seven-yard touchdown as he snagged the ball in mid-air and never broke stride while crossing into the end zone.

“We played our butts off,” Faletti said. “It was a dog-eat-dog game.”

It was DC’s 11th Catholic League title, but more importantly put the Falcons into the first MHSAA Playoffs against Sturgis in a Semifinal match at C.W. Post Field in Battle Creek.

“I remember everything was brand new; nobody knew what they were doing,” said Wishart, who guided the Falcons to the 1985 Class A crown as their head coach. “Coach LaPointe on Monday had to get the school to get our hotel rooms in Battle Creek.”

Steve Toepper booted a 27-yard field goal for Sturgis to open the scoring, but DC responded with 20 unanswered points.

In the final quarter, DC’s Rick Rogowski scored on a seven-yard run with 9:23 left (after Steve Savini recovered a fumble caused by Joe Wiercioch) followed by a 10-yard TD run by Faletti with only six minutes to go (after Svihra recovered a fumble).

That sent the Falcons into the Final at CMU, where their defense suffocated MacArthur (9-2).

“We kind of ran a special outside zone. We had to quickly change (how) we would defend that. We shut them down,” said Wishart, who spent 50 years in CYO and high school coaching before retiring to live in New York. “There was no doubt, we were more physical than they were. We were blue collar kids. Typical Divine Child kids, hard-working, never give up.

“We believed desperately in defending Divine Child at all costs because we were a smaller school, so we had an attitude that still lingers there today that we all cultivated. We were going to be a physical squad.”

Meanwhile, what made the Falcons special and unique that title season was their “one for all and all for one” attitude.

“Everybody was the same,” Faletti said. “When we went between the lines, we were all equal. As captain, I got to be command as quarterback in the huddle. But off the field we were all equal. We played like 22 seniors. We were ready for this game.”

PHOTOS (Top) Dearborn Divine Child coaches and players receive the Class B championship trophy after winning the inaugural title game in 1975. (Middle) Falcons quarterback Dan Faletti throws a pass during the Final. (Below) Divine Child players and coaches raise their Prep Bowl trophy in celebration. (Championship game photos courtesy of Dearborn Divine Child yearbook. Prep Bowl photo provided by Dan Faletti.)