1st & Goal: 2026 Week 9 Preview
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 22, 2026
By Saturday night, the 2026 football regular season will be over and every league championship race decided. By Sunday evening, the playoff season will be set to begin, with several more championship opportunities ahead.
And a lot can still happen to influence how the first ends up and the second gets started.
Most of the games listed below will affect league title races, playoff qualification and positioning, or both. Make sure to keep an eye this weekend on the Playoff Point Summary page as teams move in (or out) of potential MHSAA Playoff fields, and stream the NFHS Network at 5 p.m. Sunday to find out what’s next for all 288 teams that qualify to continue their seasons next week.
Games highlighted are tonight 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
Chelsea (8-0) at Linden (6-2)
Both of these teams will play in the Division 3 bracket starting next week, with Chelsea entering this matchup No. 3 on the playoff points list and Linden No. 13. The Bulldogs haven’t had a single-digit game since their Week 1 nine-point win over Harper Woods, while Linden’s losses have come by a mere eight and seven points, respectively. Chelsea won last year’s meeting 35-28.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Unionville-Sebewaing (6-2) at Saginaw Valley Lutheran (6-2), Algonac (6-2) at Flint Powers Catholic (6-2), Armada (5-3) at Frankenmuth (7-1), Goodrich (8-0) at Gladwin (5-3).
Greater Detroit
Jackson Lumen Christi (7-1) vs. Dearborn Divine Child (7-1) at Ford Field – Saturday
Two of this weekend’s Prep Bowl games will have implications for Catholic High School League championship races, with this a winner-take-all in the CHSL AA. It’s also a matchup of reigning Finals champions, Divine Child in Division 4 and Lumen Christi in Division 6. The Falcons are coming off their lone loss, to Warren De La Salle Collegiate, while Lumen set up this opportunity with a one-point Week 8 win over Detroit Country Day.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Gibraltar Carlson (8-0) at Allen Park (7-1), Walled Lake Western (7-1) at Milford (7-1), Madison Heights Madison (7-1) at Ecorse (7-1). SATURDAY Detroit Catholic Central (8-0) vs. Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (6-2) at Ford Field.
Mid-Michigan
Ithaca (8-0) at Beal City (8-0)
Beal City is seeking to finish off a second-straight perfect regular season and defeated Ithaca 39-8 last year to complete the first. The Aggies haven’t played a single-digit regular-season game over the last two years, and no opponent has come closer than 19 points this fall. Ithaca’s closest win this season was last week’s 35-0 shutout of Fowler – the Yellowjackets’ third shutout over the last four weeks.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Harper Woods (7-1) at Mason (7-1), Okemos (5-3) at DeWitt (6-2), Temperance Bedford (7-1) at Grand Ledge (8-0), Northville (7-1) at Howell (8-0).
Northern Lower Peninsula
Harbor Springs (7-1) at East Jordan (7-1)
Nearly every season, the Traverse City schools’ Patriot Game owns its week on the schedule in Northern Michigan. But this matchup deserves plenty of attention as well. Harbor Springs has posted three shutouts over the last four weeks and will attempt to claim a share of the Northern Michigan Football Conference championship from East Jordan, which clinched a share last week and has defeated the Rams in five straight meetings.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Oscoda (5-3) at Frankfort (5-3), Fowler (6-2) at McBain (6-2), Traverse City West (5-3) at Traverse City Central (4-4), Manton (6-2) at Johannesburg-Lewiston (3-5).
Southeast & Border
Clinton (7-1) at Monroe Jefferson (8-0)
Jefferson is coming off clinching the Huron League championship outright with an 8-6 win last week over Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central, and the Bears have navigated only two single-digit wins as they’ve pursued a first perfect regular season since 1993. Clinton’s chance at 9-0 dissolved with a Week 6 loss to Hudson, but the Redwolves hung on to claim a share of the Lenawee County Athletic Association title and could add another major highlight heading into the postseason.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY New Boston Huron (6-2) at Adrian (7-1), Tecumseh (5-3) at Adrian Madison (6-2), Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (7-1) at Hanover-Horton (7-1), Berrien Springs (8-0) at Hudson (7-1).
Southwest Corridor
Portage Central (7-1) at St. Joseph (7-1)
These two didn’t play in the same league this season for the first time since 2008, Central winning the larger-school division of the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference and St. Joseph winning the SMAC division made up of the smaller schools. Portage Central’s victories this season have all come by 11 points or more since falling Week 1 to Toledo Central Catholic, while the Bears have been little challenged since suffering their lone defeat in Week 2, by a point, to Lowell.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Cassopolis (7-1) at Galesburg-Augusta (7-1), Portage Northern (5-3) at Stevensville Lakeshore (7-1), Paw Paw (7-1) at Vicksburg (7-1), Hastings (6-2) at Battle Creek Harper Creek (6-2).
Upper Peninsula
Marquette (6-2) at Kingsford (8-0)
Both are riding notable winning streaks – Kingsford hasn’t lost at all this fall, and Marquette hasn’t lost again since starting 0-2. Both are league champions, and both still have plenty to gain – Kingsford sits No. 8 on the Division 5 playoff-points list and could make a jump defeating a strong Division 3 opponent, while the Sentinels are No. 18 on the Division 3 list amidst a large pack of teams with similar averages vying for a home playoff game.
Keep an eye on these THURSDAY Negaunee (5-3) at Iron Mountain (6-2). FRIDAY Menominee (7-1) at Bark River-Harris (7-1), L’Anse (4-4) at Calumet (5-3), Manistique (4-4) at Ishpeming Westwood (3-5).
West Michigan
Hudsonville (6-2) at East Kentwood (8-0)
East Kentwood has taken down all challengers by at least 21 points and last week earned a share of the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red championship. But Hudsonville is the two-time reigning league champ and can still earn a share this season despite falling to Caledonia in Week 5. These two also have met in the playoffs the last two seasons, with Hudsonville winning the regular-season meeting by a point last fall but the Falcons claiming the rematch in the Regional Final by 24.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Coopersville (8-0) at Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills (7-1), Grand Rapids Catholic Central (7-1) at Grand Rapids South Christian (7-1), Traverse City St. Francis (6-2) at Grand Rapids West Catholic (6-2), Montrose (7-1) at Kent City (6-2).
8-Player
Mio (5-3) at Rogers City (6-2)
The North Star League Big Dipper will be decided by these two with Rogers City seeking its first league championship since 2022 and Mio a second-straight after sharing the Little Dipper title last season. But there’s much more on the line as well. Mio sits tied for No. 16 on the Division 1 playoff-points list and Rogers City is No. 20 and one of two 6-2 teams not currently set to qualify in that division but working to climb.
Keep an eye on these THURSDAY St. Ignace (7-1) at Central Lake (6-2). FRIDAY Portland St. Patrick (8-0) at Dansville (7-1), St. Joseph Our Lady of the Lake Catholic (6-2) at Grand Rapids Sacred Heart (7-1), Dryden (8-0) at Kinde North Huron (7-1).
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PHOTO A Boyne City receiver attempts to get his hands on a pass over Charlevoix defenders during the Rayders’ 28-12 Week 2 victory. (Photo by kishba media.)
Saginaw United Era Begins with Memorable Welcome, Game-Like Atmosphere
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
August 13, 2024
SAGINAW – James King wanted to reward his Saginaw United players Monday for their hard work throughout the summer.
He wanted to make a moment for them on the first day of practice for a new program, so they held it under the lights at Saginaw High and invited the public to come watch.
They deserved it, and for what they’re trying to accomplish, they needed it.
But when the moment came, the first-year coach and former Saginaw Arthur Hill star found it was quite a moment for himself, as well.
“That was probably one of the most emotional walkouts I’ve ever took,” King said. “To go back and come back out and kind of breathe it in was like, ‘Damn.’ This was me at one point, following another coach as a leader of a program that I helped lead and build at Arthur Hill from nothing to (Saginaw) Valley champs and the playoffs two years in a row. But (Monday) was probably my most emotional walkout. I didn’t know my playoff game was going to be my last game, so I didn’t have that emotional walkout. That was very emotional.”
Monday was the opening day for fall sports practices in Michigan, and nearly 100,000 student-athletes were expected to be taking practice fields across the state. Some schools began during the earliest morning hours, going under the lights at midnight, while many others had more typical early-morning or afternoon practices.
In Saginaw, where the new season is also part of a new era with the opening of Saginaw United High School, King created a game-like atmosphere for his players, complete with specialists warming up early and the team running onto the field with music playing and fans cheering them on.
“This is for them,” King said while pointing toward his players. “Everybody is here for them. I told them, ‘You worked all summer to get through Hell Week and once you get through Hell Week, this is it. This is football season. It’s August. Nothing else matters in the world to me. It’s football season.’ And these kids have absolutely bought into that, and this is what those kids deserve. They deserve their community, their family, their friends to be able to come out and support them. This is big for them.”
The energy was certainly there for the players.
“We’re just happy to be here for real,” junior receiver Dion’Quavis Hardy said. “New season, new coaches, so we’re excited to see how this program is going to be this year.”
For the past three seasons, Arthur Hill and Saginaw High have combined forces as a co-op during football season. That co-op has finished a combined 0-27 over the past three seasons, but on Monday, it was stressed that this is a clean slate and a chance to build a program from scratch.
“New coaches, new players, new everything,” junior quarterback Jordan Allen said. “We’re a brotherhood, like a family. One big happy family.”
King added that the program is 0-0, and this group of players represents a beginning, not a continuation of that co-op.
“We’re Saginaw. It’s Saginaw United. We’re the Phoenix. We’re rising,” he said. “This is for Saginaw, and these kids deserve it. This community absolutely deserves it. I’m going to bleed (Arthur Hill) blue and gold for the rest of my life, but on top of that blood now is black and silver, and that will never change. This city will absolutely love what we’re doing, and the Phoenix represents everything that we’re about to accomplish and what we’re doing right now, not only as a football team, but as a community and as a school.”
Saginaw will play in the Saginaw Valley League Red and is listed as a Division 2 school, based on an enrollment count of slightly more than 1,200 students.
With its football complex still under construction, it is practicing and playing at Saginaw High this season. But six of the Phoenix’s nine regular-season games will be played on the road, including the opener Aug. 29 at Freeland.
Turnout has been good throughout the summer, as King said there are about 85 players from freshmen through varsity, and as many as 15 others who could be in the mix as the season starts. He expects the Saginaw United freshmen team to have more than 30 players, a good sign for the future.
While that group has been turning up for workouts, it’s also been showing up the community, as King said the team has participated in 12 events throughout the city during the spring and summer. It’s the program’s way of giving back, and, for King, another way to help his players grow off the field.
“No. 1 for me is our youth,” he said. “And this is our youth, and I’m able to give back the way people gave back to me. Without the coaches I had, I could tell you right now, I wouldn’t be where I’m at. And that’s what I want to be, that’s what all our coaches want to be for them. This coaching staff, I couldn’t ask for more. It’s the most dedicated program I could ask for.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Saginaw United players take to the field at the former Saginaw High on Monday for their first practice as a new school and program. (Middle) United coach James King joins his players in walking out to the field. (Below) Phoenix players play catch during their first practice. (Photos by Paul Costanzo.)