2014 Week 5 Football Playoff Listing
September 23, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Here is a list of Michigan High School Athletic Association football playing schools, displaying their win-loss records and playoff averages through the fourth week of the season.
Schools on this list are in enrollment order for 11-player teams, with 8-player teams ordered by playoff average. An asterisk (*) beside a record indicates a team has eight or fewer games scheduled. A caret (^) beside a school’s name indicates a team is one win away from playoff qualification.
Those schools with 11-player teams with six or more wins playing nine-game schedules, or five or more wins playing eight games or fewer, will qualify for the MHSAA Football Playoffs beginning Oct. 31. Schools with 5-4, 4-3 or 4-4 records may qualify if the number of potential qualifiers by win total does not reach the 256 mark. Schools with six or more wins playing nine-game schedules or five or more wins playing eight games or fewer may be subtracted from the field based on playoff average if the number of potential qualifiers exceeds the 256 mark.
Once the 256 qualifying schools are determined, they will be divided by enrollment groups into eight equal divisions of 32 schools, and then drawn into regions of eight teams each and districts of four teams each.
Those schools with 8-player teams will be ranked by playoff average at season’s end, and the top 16 programs will be drawn into regions of eight teams each for the playoff in that division, which also begins Oct. 31.
To review a list of all football playoff schools, individual school playoff point details and to report errors, visit the Football page of the MHSAA Website.
The announcement of the qualifiers and first-round pairings for both the 11 and 8-player playoffs will take place on Oct. 26 on the Selection Sunday Show on FOX Sports Detroit. The playoff qualifiers and pairings will be posted to the MHSAA Website following the Selection Sunday Show.
11-Player Playoff Listing
1. Macomb Dakota, 2814, 3-1, 72.750
2. Sterling Heights Stevenson, 2767, 3-1, 66.250
3. Clarkston, 2742, 4-0, 98.000
4. Grand Blanc, 2668, 3-1, 66.500
5. East Kentwood, 2592, 4-0, 90.000
6. Rockford, 2555, 4-0, 98.000
7. Dearborn Fordson, 2411, 4-0, 88.000
8. Northville, 2298, 3-1, 64.750
9. Holland West Ottawa, 2293, 3-1, 74.500
10. Canton, 2289, 3-1, 66.500
11. Detroit Cass Tech, 2277, 4-0, 86.000
12. Plymouth, 2116, 3-1, 62.750
13. Lapeer, 2112, 4-0, 82.000
14. Hartland, 2007, 3-1, 72.000
15. Monroe, 1992, 3-1, 66.750
16. Grand Haven, 1960, 3-1, 70.500
17. West Bloomfield, 1929, 3-1, 66.750
18. Westland John Glenn, 1872, 3-1, 62.750
19. Warren Mott, 1870, 3-1, 70.500
20. Oxford, 1864, 4-0, 94.000
21. Livonia Stevenson, 1848, 3-1, 58.250
22. Saline, 1844, 3-1, 68.500
23. Walled Lake Central, 1815, 3-1, 68.500
24. Hudsonville, 1759, 3-1, 64.750
25. Waterford Mott, 1738, 3-1, 66.750
26. Livonia Churchill, 1696, 4-0, 98.000
27. Flint Carman-Ainsworth, 1568, 3-1, 64.500
28. Warren DeLaSalle, 1562, 3-1, 52.750
29. Detroit Western International, 1521, 3-1, 54.500
30. Detroit Martin Luther King, 1507, 4-0, 88.000
31. Walled Lake Western, 1502, 4-0, 88.000
32. Traverse City Central, 1490, 3-1, 66.250
33. Oak Park, 1486, 3-1, 66.750
34. Brownstown Woodhaven, 1484, 4-0, 92.000
35. Southgate Anderson, 1374, 3-1, 60.750
36. Dearborn Edsel Ford, 1356, 3-1, 66.250
37. Wyandotte Roosevelt, 1351, 3-1, 72.500
38. Detroit East English, 1345, 3-1, 66.750
39. Portage Northern, 1345, 3-1, 71.833
40. Port Huron, 1336, 3-1, 72.750
41. Ypsilanti Community, 1300, 3-1, 66.250
42. Birmingham Brother Rice, 1298, 4-0, 96.000
43. Garden City, 1290, 3-1, 50.750
44. Muskegon Mona Shores, 1274, 3-1, 74.750
45. Birmingham Groves, 1270, 4-0, 84.000
46. Berkley, 1265, 4-0, 80.000
47. Flushing, 1260, 3-1, 70.250
48. Midland Dow, 1255, 4-0, 90.000
49. South Lyon, 1254, 4-0, 94.000
50. Southfield, 1239, 3-1, 68.750
51. Farmington Hills Harrison, 1212, 3-1, 68.500
52. Fenton, 1181, 4-0, 92.000
53. Farmington, 1178, 3-1, 66.500
54. Grand Rapids Northview, 1177, 3-1, 62.500
55. Warren Woods Tower, 1175, 4-0, 86.000
56. Muskegon, 1157, 4-0, 98.000
57. Lowell, 1145, 4-0, 78.000
58. Greenville, 1130, 3-1, 52.250
59. Gibraltar Carlson, 1129, 3-1, 62.500
60. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, 1113, 4-0, 86.000
61. Holland, 1109, 3-1, 60.250
62. Marquette, 1090, 3-1, 58.100
63. St. Johns, 1088, 4-0, 88.000
64. Byron Center, 1085, 3-1, 62.750
65. Allen Park, 1069, 3-1, 68.750
66. Auburn Hills Avondale, 1056, 3-1, 58.500
67. Orchard Lake St. Mary's, 1054, 4-0, 88.000
68. Mt. Pleasant, 1050, 3-1, 70.750
69. St. Joseph, 1028, 3-1, 70.750
70. Petoskey, 965, 3-1, 60.750
71. Romulus, 950, 3-1, 50.500
72. Riverview, 935, 4-0, 84.000
73. DeWitt, 930, 4-0, 92.000
74. Gaylord, 927, 4-0, 74.000
75. Linden, 921, 3-1, 60.750
76. Detroit Mumford, 919, 3-1, 56.250
77. Cedar Springs, 910, 3-1, 52.250
78. Grand Rapids Christian, 895, 3-1, 62.750
79. Stevensville Lakeshore, 887, 4-0, 97.333
80. Niles, 885, 3-1, 60.500
81. Carleton Airport, 879, 3-1, 52.750
82. Coldwater, 876, 4-0, 72.000
83. New Boston Huron, 867, 3-1, 58.750
84. Warren Fitzgerald, 857, 3-1, 60.750
85. Zeeland West, 850, 4-0, 74.000
86. Dearborn Divine Child, 848, 3-1, 57.583
87. St. Clair, 844, 3-1, 60.750
88. Edwardsburg, 839, 3-1, 58.750
89. Chelsea, 838, 3-1, 70.500
90. Plainwell, 812, 3-1, 56.500
91. Detroit Denby, 800, 3-1, 68.500
92. Vicksburg, 794, 4-0, 80.000
93. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood, 790, 3-1, 50.500
94. Cadillac, 747, 4-0, 88.000
95. Goodrich, 737, 3-1, 64.750
96. Dearborn Heights Robichaud, 717, 4-0, 64.667
97. Yale, 716, 3-1, 50.750
98. Muskegon Orchard View, 662, 3-1, 52.250
99. Williamston, 659, 4-0, 80.000
100. Paw Paw, 657, 3-1, 56.750
101. Lansing Sexton, 652, 4-0, 98.000
102. Whitehall, 644, 4-0, 72.000
103. Kalamazoo Hackett, 635, 4-0, 64.000
104. Richmond, 630, 4-0, 80.000
105. Wyoming Kelloggsville, 610, 3-1, 50.750
106. Wyoming Godwin Heights, 609, 4-0, 58.000
107. Saginaw Swan Valley, 602, 4-0, 64.000
108. Birch Run, 575, 4-0, 72.000
109. Remus Chippewa Hills, 567, 4-0, 80.000
110. Marine City, 553, 4-0, 74.000
111. Flint Powers Catholic, 553, 3-1, 66.500
112. Freeland, 549, 4-0, 80.000
113. Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, 545, 3-1, 46.750
114. Stanton Central Montcalm, 539, 3-1, 54.250
115. Portland, 538, 3-1, 62.750
116. Menominee, 532, 4-0, 81.467
117. Detroit University Prep, 530, 3-1, 52.750
118. River Rouge, 530, 3-1, 62.000
119. Frankenmuth, 528, 3-1, 54.750
120. Gladwin, 528, 3-1, 48.750
121. Ida, 527, 4-0, 66.000
122. Hopkins, 522, 3-1, 52.250
123. Lansing Catholic, 515, 4-0, 78.000
124. Almont, 512, 4-0, 64.000
125. Newaygo, 506, 3-1, 52.750
126. Olivet, 505, 3-1, 48.000
127. Muskegon Oakridge, 501, 3-1, 46.750
128. Onsted, 499, 3-1, 40.750
129. Chesaning, 480, 3-1, 52.750
130. Manistee, 479, 3-1, 50.500
131. Gladstone, 473, 3-1, 40.750
132. Stockbridge, 462, 3-1, 52.500
133. Reed City, 461, 3-1, 46.500
134. Harrison, 444, 4-0, 62.000
135. Kingsley, 439, 3-1, 48.750
136. Grand Rapids West Catholic, 438, 4-0, 82.000
137. Lakeview, 426, 3-1, 42.000
138. Beaverton, 422, 3-1, 42.250
139. Jonesville, 419, 3-1, 46.500
140. Jackson Lumen Christi, 417, 4-0, 72.000
141. Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central, 417, 4-0, 78.000
142. Millington, 414, 4-0, 74.000
143. Warren Michigan Collegiate, 414, 4-0, 66.000
144. Ithaca, 405, 4-0, 66.000
145. Sanford Meridian Early College, 404, 3-1, 44.250
146. Hillsdale, 401, 3-1, 50.750
147. Hanover-Horton, 399, 4-0, 48.000
148. Boyne City, 395, 4-0, 64.000
149. Grass Lake, 395, 4-0, 48.378
150. Madison Heights Madison, 393, 4-0, 86.000
151. Montrose, 392, 4-0, 66.000
152. Tawas, 385, 3-1, 52.500
153. Niles Brandywine, 383, 3-1, 47.833
154. Manchester, 379, 3-1, 46.750
155. Watervliet, 378, 3-1, 40.500
156. Quincy, 375, 3-1, 32.500
157. Vassar, 375, 3-1, 44.750
158. St. Charles, 373, 3-1, 54.500
159. Constantine, 371, 4-0, 70.000
160. Clinton, 367, 4-0, 62.000
161. Vandercook Lake, 366, 3-1, 36.500
162. Laingsburg, 361, 3-1, 42.750
163. Flint Beecher, 350, 4-0, 72.000
164. Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian, 347, 3-1, 46.500
165. Ravenna, 342, 4-0, 58.000
166. Carson City-Crystal, 330, 3-1, 42.500
167. Ishpeming Westwood, 318, 3-1, 38.750
168. Marlette, 316, 3-1, 44.250
169. Homer, 312, 4-0, 50.000
170. Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker, 308, 4-0, 60.000
171. Ishpeming *^, 307, 4-0, 64.000
172. Traverse City St. Francis, 305, 3-1, 48.750
173. Burton Atherton, 304, 3-1, 44.750
174. Pewamo-Westphalia, 302, 3-1, 42.750
175. Dansville, 301, 3-1, 48.500
176. Gobles, 301, 3-1, 48.750
177. Flint Hamady, 295, 4-0, 50.000
178. Union City, 294, 4-0, 48.000
179. Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest, 289, 3-1, 42.500
180. Whittemore-Prescott, 283, 4-0, 64.000
181. Mancelona, 282, 3-1, 30.750
182. Detroit Loyola, 278, 4-0, 80.000
183. Manton, 276, 3-1, 38.250
184. Royal Oak Shrine Catholic, 273, 4-0, 58.000
185. Hudson, 271, 3-1, 40.750
186. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, 270, 3-1, 46.750
187. Decatur, 262, 4-0, 66.000
188. Lincoln Alcona, 260, 3-1, 38.500
189. Iron River West Iron County, 259, 4-0, 60.000
190. New Lothrop, 259, 4-0, 66.000
191. Blanchard Montabella, 256, 3-1, 40.000
192. Norway, 244, 3-1, 37.933
193. Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary, 243, 3-1, 46.750
194. Suttons Bay, 243, 3-1, 43.667
195. Indian River Inland Lakes, 242, 3-1, 30.750
196. Ottawa Lake Whiteford, 238, 3-1, 42.750
197. Johannesburg-Lewiston, 237, 4-0, 52.000
198. Harbor Beach, 232, 4-0, 64.000
199. Bessemer *, 231, 3-1, 34.500
200. Beal City, 222, 4-0, 60.000
201. Lutheran Westland, 221, 3-1, 42.500
202. Coleman, 217, 3-1, 44.250
203. Mendon, 214, 3-1, 50.500
204. St. Ignace, 211, 4-0, 48.000
205. Pittsford, 205, 3-1, 30.750
206. Bark River-Harris, 194, 3-1, 30.333
207. Munising, 194, 3-1, 35.417
208. Fowler, 189, 4-0, 58.000
209. Morenci, 184, 4-0, 62.000
210. Muskegon Catholic Central, 183, 4-0, 72.000
211. Climax-Scotts, 169, 4-0, 44.000
212. Waterford Our Lady, 169, 3-1, 56.750
213. Lake Linden-Hubbell, 163, 3-1, 42.600
214. Hillman, 139, 4-0, 50.000
215. Baldwin, 137, 3-1, 36.500
216. Bay City All Saints, 133, 3-1, 40.500
217. Felch North Dickinson *, 113, 3-1, 30.500
218. Clarkston Everest Collegiate *, 105, 3-0, 59.333
8-Player Playoff Listing
1. Deckerville, 183, 4-0, 42.000
2. Cedarville, 158, 4-0, 42.000
3. Peck, 158, 4-0, 42.000
4. Portland St. Patrick, 96, 4-0, 42.000
5. Rapid River, 108, 4-0, 40.667
6. Battle Creek St. Philip, 157, 4-0, 40.000
7. Owendale-Gagetown, 49, 4-0, 40.000
8. Bellaire, 151, 4-0, 38.667
9. Lawrence, 191, 4-0, 32.000
10. Waldron, 89, 3-1, 28.750
11. New Haven Merritt Academy, 145, 3-1, 26.750
12. Webberville, 189, 3-1, 24.500
13. Posen, 90, 2-2, 21.500
14. Eben Junction Superior Central, 126, 2-2, 19.000
15. Kingston, 191, 2-2, 17.500
16. Engadine, 85, 2-2, 17.500
17. Burr Oak, 69, 2-2, 17.250
18. Morrice, 196, 2-2, 16.750
19. Ontonagon *, 138, 1-2, 12.167
20. Kinde-North Huron, 172, 1-3, 12.000
21. Caseville, 81, 1-3, 11.250
22. Brimley, 144, 1-3, 9.750
23. Akron-Fairgrove, 99, 1-3, 9.250
24. Big Rapids Crossroads Academy, 188, 0-4, 3.000
25. St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran *, 101, 0-4, 2.500
26. Tekonsha, 146, 0-4, 2.250
27. Carsonville-Port Sanilac, 147, 0-4, 2.000
28. Ewen-Trout Creek, 135, 0-4, 2.000
29. Litchfield, 106, 0-4, 2.000
30. Flint Michigan School For The Deaf, 56, 0-4, 2.000
31. Charlton Heston Academy, 54, 0-4, 0.750
Rebuilt Culture Driving Success as Roelens Steps Away at Port Huron Northern
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 13, 2024
The spark that helped ignite the past decade of success for the Port Huron Northern football program came early in Larry Roelens’ tenure, and, ironically, during the one full season that the Huskies finished with a losing record under him.
Northern, which had just three winning seasons over the previous 15, started 0-2 in 2015, but rattled off four straight wins under its first-year coach, who was noticing that things were changing for the better.
“I’ll be honest, Northern wasn’t in a very good state when I got the job,” Roelens said. “But for me and the guys that stayed around (on the coaching staff), I could never have done what I did without the guys on my staff. They’re like family to me and to my kids; they call them uncles. We went in with the mindset that we have to change the culture.
“We started 0-2 that first season, but then won four in a row. We lost three tough games to end the season, but that kind of changed the culture. We built on that, and the next year went 6-3.”
That next season was the beginning of the most successful stretch of football during the playoff era for the Huskies, as they made the postseason nine straight years, tripling the number of playoff appearances they had made during the 40 years prior.
The ninth postseason appearance was the last for Roelens, however, as he stepped down as Northern coach following a Division 2 District Semifinal loss to Warren De La Salle Collegiate on Oct. 24. He has accepted a position as assistant principal at the school, and administrators in the district are not allowed to hold head coaching positions.
“Honestly, that was a very hard decision to make for me,” Roelens said. “I went into education to be a coach and a teacher. But it was very much based on a family decision. I’ll be able to spend more time with my kids (Audrey, 5, and Brady, 3), and coach their teams.”
Roelens leaves the Northern program in as good a place as it’s been, perhaps ever.
He was 69-30 over his 10 seasons, with the nine playoff appearances and four Macomb Area Conference Blue titles. Northern also won four postseason games under Roelens.
Before he took over the program, Northern had three playoff appearances in program history – 1986, 1999 and 2010 – and a single postseason victory.
The program had not won eight games in a season since 1987, but did so four times under Roelens, including with a 10-2 mark in 2018, which matched the school record for wins.
“It’s pretty crazy,” said Northern senior quarterback Ty Fletcher. “He kind of morphed the program to what it is today. … I feel like, when he started getting into the playoffs and they had all those playoff appearances in (consecutive) seasons, that started that trend of winning football. Then we ended up staying there and being a competitive team.”
As it so often does, the success built an excitement around the program that found its way through the youth levels.
“We were all coming up through the youth teams, and we all stayed together on the freshman level, and we always talked about how everyone wants to play for Northern,” Fletcher said. “About how cool it was to play under the lights there.”
A lot of that excitement at the youth level has also been buoyed by a string of Division I college talent that has come through the program during Roelens’ time, led by Braiden McGregor. The defensive end was among the top recruits in the country in 2020 and played a key role on Michigan’s national title team. He is now playing for the New York Jets.
He wasn’t a one-off for the Huskies in terms of DI talent, as Luke Fletcher is now in his second year at Eastern Michigan, and current juniors Amir Morelan and Lincoln Watkins have both received Power 4 offers.
“Braiden’s class, we had a few kids that went on to play college football,” Roelens said. “That right there was proof that, even in a small town, they’re going to find you if you’re good enough. I think that pushed a lot of kids, because they started to understand that if you’re good enough and you work hard enough, they’ll find you.”
Roelens even being at Northern in the first place was a bit of a surprise for those in the area, as he was a star athlete at cross-town rival Port Huron High. Roelens played quarterback at Port Huron and went on to play baseball at Saginaw Valley State after graduating in 2004.
He student taught at Northern during the 2009-10 school year, but even then he helped out with the Port Huron football program.
His journey with Northern athletics began with assistant roles in the basketball and baseball programs later that year, and in the fall of 2010 he became the JV head football coach.
For four of the next five seasons he was on the Huskies staff, before taking over the program prior to the 2015 season.
With his new position, he’ll remain in the school and around the coaches and players in the program. And, while the thrill of coaching was something Roelens cherished, those relationships are what he’s valued most.
“I’ve been very blessed with the people I’ve had around me throughout those 10 years,” he said. “The support I had from Northern, the support of the parents, the Northern community, it’s been a blessing. My family, my wife and kids, they’ve all been tremendous.”
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) Port Huron Northern football coach Larry Roelens, middle, is surrounded by his kneeling players during a postgame huddle. (Middle) Roelens holds daughter Audrey, and wife Kelsey holds son Brady on the field. (Below) Roelens hoists the Brick Fowler Trophy after a Northern win over rival Port Huron. (Photos courtesy of the Roelens family.)