1st & Goal: 2026 Week 4 Preview
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 18, 2026
We’re just three weeks into the 2026 high school football season, and a great sign that Michigan teams are challenging themselves is that only 116 – or just under 20 percent – are still undefeated.
That total also is guaranteed to be reduced by 15 this weekend, and will likely fall well below the century mark with several high-powered matchups kicking off all over the state. Five of those games are among those featured below.
Games below are Friday unless noted. Tune in to the NFHS Network to watch the majority and follow the MHSAA Scores page for results as they’re submitted.
Bay & Thumb
Linden (3-0) at Holly (3-0)
Holly is 3-0 for the first time since 1984, and a 42-7 win over Pontiac Notre Dame Prep is notable even though the Fighting Irish are struggling early after finishing Division 5 runner-up last season. The Bronchos also haven’t defeated Linden since 2011 and fell last year 42-6. But a win would open up the Flint Metro League Stripes race significantly and provide a giant assist as Holly works to make the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY North Branch (2-1) at Imlay City (3-0), Caro (3-0) at Millington (3-0), Montrose (2-1) at Chesaning (2-1), Shepherd (2-1) at Gladwin (2-1).
Greater Detroit
Clarkston (3-0) at Rochester Adams (2-1)
Even as Adams has reached Division 1 Semifinals the last two seasons, it hasn’t won the Oakland Activities Association Red since sharing the title with Clarkston and West Bloomfield in 2022. Clarkston won last year’s matchup on the way to the OAA Red championship. Both faced 2025 league champions to open this season, Adams falling to Romeo and Clarkston defeating South Lyon, and there’s always a chance this will be just the first of multiple meetings as they’ve seen each other in the playoffs as well two of the last four years.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Warren De La Salle Collegiate (2-1) at Detroit Catholic Central (3-0), Detroit Denby (2-1) at Detroit Cody (3-0), Romeo (3-0) at Macomb Dakota (2-1), Monroe Jefferson (3-0) at Riverview (3-0).
Mid-Michigan
McBain (2-1) at Beal City (3-0)
Beal City has only three Highland Conference losses since the start of 2019 – all to McBain, but with the most recent in 2024. The Aggies won last season’s meeting 42-7 and are coming off a major defeat last week of Springport plus have downed two more 2025 playoff teams in Ravenna and Manton. McBain’s only Highland loss since the start of 2024 came to Beal City, and the Ramblers’ defeat this season came to unbeaten Division 4 power Edwardsburg.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY McBain (2-1) at Beal City (3-0), Traverse City Central (2-1) at Mount Pleasant (3-0), Birch Run (3-0) at New Lothrop (2-1), Brighton (2-1) at Hartland (2-1), Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary (2-1) at Ithaca (3-0).
Northern Lower Peninsula
Grand Blanc (3-0) at Traverse City West (2-1)
Grand Blanc has dominated all four games of the recent series between these two, but there’s reason to believe this meeting might be closer. It may start with Grand Blanc having to travel much farther than usual – although the Bobcats also won at West in 2025. But the bigger positive for the Titans may not be 56 points put up in a win last week over Bay City Central but the 35 scored in a Week 1 loss to Howell. Grand Blanc has two straight shutouts but must be ready for another challenge on that side of the ball.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Kingsley (3-0) at Grayling (2-1), Midland Bullock Creek (2-1) at Ogemaw Heights (3-0), Johannesburg-Lewiston (2-1) at Frankfort (2-1), Traverse City St. Francis (1-2) at Maple City Glen Lake (2-1)
Southeast & Border
Tecumseh (3-0) at Chelsea (3-0)
Tecumseh has reached 40 points scored in all three of its games, which is more than it did either of the entire 2024 or 2025 seasons. A win over Chelsea would be a first since 2022, when Tecumseh put together a perfect regular season, and this is the team’s best start since that fall. Chelsea also has strung together an impressive first three weeks with the Bulldogs’ most recent win over Adrian a rematch of last year’s Southeastern Conference White title decider and the Week 1 victory over Harper Woods one that will be referenced all fall.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Jonesville (2-1) at Brooklyn Columbia Central (3-0), Saline (3-0) at Dexter (2-1), Adrian Madison (3-0) at Hudson (3-0), Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard (3-0) at Jackson Lumen Christi (3-0), Hanover-Horton (2-1) at Napoleon (3-0).
Southwest Corridor
Edwardsburg (3-0) at Paw Paw (3-0)
Paw Paw has won this Wolverine Conference rivalry game three straight seasons but also finished runner-up in the league to Niles the last three years. The Red Wolves downed Niles 42-14 last week, making them potential frontrunners in the conference unless Edwardsburg spoils that plan. Paw Paw has been impressive giving only 28 points total against teams that went a combined 21-10 a year ago. But the Eddies are ripping through yards again like during their best years, topping 50 points twice already after not doing so once all of last season.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Berrien Springs (3-0) at Buchanan (3-0), Battle Creek Harper Creek (3-0) at Marshall (3-0), Kalamazoo Central (2-1) at Portage Central (2-1), Constantine (2-1) at Schoolcraft (3-0), Quincy (3-0) at Union City (3-0).
Upper Peninsula
Calumet (3-0) at Menominee (3-0)
This game sets up identically as last season’s matchup, won by Menominee 25-15 on the way to claiming the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference Copper title. The Maroons have won their games by 54, 30 and 50 points so far, but Calumet should bring that average down especially after giving up only 24 points over its first three victories. A win over Menominee would be the Copper Kings’ first since the 2021 District Semifinals.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Negaunee (2-1) at Kingsford (3-0), Iron Mountain (1-2) at L’Anse (2-1), Petoskey (2-1) at Escanaba (1-2). SATURDAY Cadillac (2-1) at Marquette (1-2).
West Michigan
Ludington (2-1) at Fremont (3-0)
Fremont is staring down a potential first winning season since 2013 and after earning a combined three victories over the last two. They avenged last year’s 56-0 loss to Whitehall with a 32-19 win in Week 2 and with 24 more points will equal their scoring output for all of last year. Enter Ludington, which won the 2025 matchup 49-0 and the West Michigan Conference Lakes title during a perfect regular season. The Orioles graduated a significant senior class in the spring and opened with a loss to Coopersville, but have bounced back with a pair of close wins.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Grand Rapids West Catholic (2-1) at Ada Forest Hills Eastern (3-0), Grand Rapids South Christian (2-1) at Hudsonville Unity Christian (2-1), Middleville Thornapple Kellogg (3-0) at Holland Christian (2-1), East Kentwood (3-0) at Grand Haven (2-1).
8-Player
Mio (3-0) at Mendon (3-0)
Mio has strung together two straight playoff seasons and charged into this one impressively, already avenging one of its two 2025 losses by downing Hillman 30-16 in Week 2. The Thunderbolts now have the opportunity to test themselves against one of the annual elite, as Mendon is a combined 20-3 over the last two years and averaging 51 points per game during this early going despite replacing the leading scorer in MHSAA 8-player history.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Climax-Scotts (3-0) at Colon (3-0), Ishpeming (2-1) at Crystal Falls Forest Park (3-0), Pickford (3-0) at St. Ignace (3-0). SATURDAY Norway (3-0) at Lake Linden-Hubbell (3-0).
MHSAA.com's weekly “1st & Goal” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a division within the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP). 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 scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Click to connect with MI Student Aid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO An Ada Forest Hills Eastern ball carrier attempts to hold off a Flint Elite defender during FHE’s Week 3 win. (Photo by Michigan Sports Photo.)
Rodammer Stacks 44 Years, 451 Games Tracking Frankenmuth's Football Numbers
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
September 20, 2024
While Al Rodammer's abbreviated scouting career may have lasted all of one night, it didn't take him long to figure out how he'd spend Friday evenings for the next 44 years.
Rodammer remembers being asked by former Eagles football coach Ralph Munger to drive to Bullock Creek to scout an upcoming playoff opponent. But Rodammer and fellow scout Jeff Reinbold wound up getting lost en route and missed most of the first quarter.
The mix-up didn't sit well with Munger, who "reassigned" Rodammer to a different task: keeping stats for the program.
Instead of fretting about the switch, Rodammer, a former baseball and basketball player at Frankenmuth, embraced the move. Four and a half decades later, Rodammer has kept track of virtually every football stat you can imagine for 451 Eagles games. Starting in 1981, Rodammer has dragged, at first, his trusty pencil and paper, and now laptop to hundreds of cramped press boxes, unsteady roof tops, chilly sidelines or whatever dinky corner space may have been available.
Many people may believe that totaling rushing yards or deciphering passing percentages is a thankless task. The 70-year-old Rodammer, who had the Frankenmuth press box named after him in 2022, prefers to think of his work as a labor of love.
Acting as a bridge between past and present Eagles teams and staying in touch with a community which loves its Friday Night Lights is his way of honoring a highly-successful football program.
"It's a commitment, but it's also a labor of love," he said. "When they named the press box after me, I thought, "Gosh, I don't know if I deserve this.' I don't do it for the recognition. But when the alumni come back, and to see what the work means to them, that's what I get out of it."
Rodammer's connection with the program far exceeds keeping track of how many passes are attempted or how many yards the Eagles' defense surrenders. He's written two books about the program, including an 82-page history of the Frankenmuth-Millington rivalry. While his initial connection may have been as a failed scout, he's recognized as the program's official historian and leading goodwill ambassador as he's constantly stopped on the street and asked what the Eagles’ chances are for the upcoming season.
One of Rodammer's passions is organizing reunions of past teams, a couple of which included his two sons who played football at Frankenmuth.
When you consider all of Rodammer's contributions to the program, Frankenmuth coach Phil Martin said keeping stats is just a small part of his overall contribution to the program. The data turned in to coaches helps them plot offensive and defensive strategies. But Rodammer's work in writing game stories for community media, digging into archives for long-sought but pertinent information and communicating with past teams is his true value.
"But more than statistics, he's cared for the program for 40-plus years," Martin said. "He's helped tradition and the community in understanding what we have in 69 years of Frankenmuth football."
Rodammer, whose statistics career has covered a half-dozen athletic directors and five head coaches, takes particular pride in not just assembling the typical Friday night numbers, but in putting the long history of Eagles football into perspective. His boundless research of Frankenmuth football has taken him from local libraries to Detroit-area facilities which may contain older stories on the team. He uses that information to ensure the accuracy of his records.
"We've been successful in a lot of athletics like soccer or basketball, but Frankenmuth is a football town," said Rodammer, who added tabulating junior varsity statistics to his resume in 2002. "There's something about football that brings out the community. There are always a lot of older people in the stands who get into it.
"Athletics has a definite impact on the community, no doubt about it."
Rodammer has missed only four games over his 44 seasons, 28 of which he has been joined by spotter Frank Bender. Two were for weddings, there was one funeral and once the fastpitch softball team he played for was in Minot, N.D., for a tournament. Rodammer is a member of the American Softball Association Hall of Fame.
He admits to being a "numbers guy," who developed programs for the Vassar Building Center before retiring 13 years ago, and he also kept statistics for his softball team for 20 years. Rodammer has his own definition of what numbers mean to him.
"I was only an average student, but there is something about stats," he said. "Yeah, I'm probably a little geekish about numbers."
Making the job easier – if not more fun – has been the wild success of the Frankenmuth program. The Eagles have won 62 consecutive conference games, including 12 league titles. Frankenmuth has been to two MHSAA Finals at Ford Field over the last four seasons. The Eagles have had 14 consecutive winning seasons, been to the playoffs 13 straight years and 29 times since 1987. The team is off to a 3-0 start this season and last week became the 14th program in state history to reach 500 victories.
Such success has left Rodammer with more than a few memories. For instance, he lists the team's 1987 playoff upset of Cheboygan as his personal favorite moment. Cheboygan was unbeaten, but the unraked Eagles prevailed 28-21. He also mentions a 28-20 win over powerhouse Ithaca in 2016 that interrupted a stunning string of Yellowjackets successes during an 118-5 run that included four MHSAA Finals titles and two more runner-up finishes between 2009-17. Another memory is Frankenmuth playing in its first championship game at a near-empty Ford Field due to COVID restrictions in January 2021.
Rodammer is hard-pressed to answer what he'd do with his Friday nights if he wasn't toiling away in a press box at a Frankenmuth football game. Maybe he'd work closer with his church, travel to see other local teams play or check off a couple stops toward his ultimate goal – to visit every Big 10 school for a game.
For the moment, at least, skipping a Friday night perched on a rickety chair tucked into the corner of a cramped press box isn't in the plan.
"I have a passion, but I don't do it for recognition," he said of connecting with the Eagles program "I want to keep a commitment from past teams to the present. That's what motivates me.
"I love summers, but every year I can't wait for the fall."
PHOTOS (Top) Al Rodammer, left and Eagles coach Phil Martin take a photo on the night the facility was named for its longtime stat person during the 2022 season. (Middle) The Al "Chick" Rodammer Press Box stands tall before the start of a Frankenmuth game this season. (Below) Rodammer does his work in the corner of the press box. (Top two photos by Chip DeGrace; below photo courtesy of Al Rodammer.)