2015 Week 5 Football Playoff Listing
September 22, 2015
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. 30. 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. 30.
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 at 7 p.m. on Oct. 25 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, 2921, 3-1, 72.750
2. Grand Blanc, 2727, 3-1, 64.750
3. Utica Eisenhower, 2669, 3-1, 74.500
4. Sterling Heights Stevenson, 2634, 3-1, 66.500
5. Clinton Township Chippewa Valley, 2611, 3-1, 76.500
6. East Kentwood, 2581, 4-0, 94.000
7. Howell, 2567, 4-0, 90.000
8. Detroit Cass Tech, 2285, 4-0, 90.000
9. Northville, 2281, 4-0, 86.000
10. Brighton, 2211, 4-0, 101.111
11. Detroit Catholic Central, 2138, 3-1, 45.167
12. Utica Ford, 2080, 3-1, 68.750
13. Canton, 2076, 4-0, 92.000
14. Monroe, 2066, 3-1, 66.750
15. Lapeer, 2059, 4-0, 80.000
16. Plymouth, 2057, 3-1, 64.500
17. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 2025, 4-0, 84.000
18. West Bloomfield, 1932, 4-0, 92.000
19. Saline, 1879, 4-0, 84.000
20. Livonia Stevenson, 1831, 4-0, 92.000
21. Warren Mott, 1810, 4-0, 94.000
22. Hudsonville, 1763, 3-1, 68.500
23. Belleville, 1735, 3-1, 66.250
24. Romeo, 1673, 4-0, 96.000
25. Grand Ledge, 1663, 4-0, 80.000
26. Walled Lake Northern, 1611, 3-1, 66.750
27. Warren DeLaSalle, 1572, 3-1, 58.750
28. Sterling Heights, 1561, 4-0, 78.000
29. Detroit Martin Luther King, 1537, 4-0, 94.000
30. Warren Cousino, 1514, 3-1, 64.500
31. Waterford Kettering, 1512, 3-1, 62.750
32. Detroit U-D Jesuit, 1486, 3-1, 45.417
33. Traverse City Central, 1474, 4-0, 86.000
34. Walled Lake Western, 1462, 4-0, 98.000
35. Midland, 1419, 4-0, 84.000
36. Lincoln Park, 1363, 3-1, 68.750
37. Portage Central, 1351, 4-0, 95.778
38. Wyandotte Roosevelt, 1346, 3-1, 72.500
39. Detroit East English, 1338, 3-1, 64.750
40. Southfield, 1269, 3-1, 74.750
41. Midland Dow, 1256, 3-1, 62.500
42. Berkley, 1248, 3-1, 54.250
43. Birmingham Groves, 1248, 4-0, 82.000
44. Jackson, 1244, 3-1, 58.250
45. Flushing, 1242, 3-1, 68.500
46. Muskegon Mona Shores, 1239, 4-0, 90.000
47. Farmington Hills Harrison, 1218, 3-1, 64.750
48. Farmington, 1176, 3-1, 70.500
49. Lowell, 1168, 3-1, 72.750
50. Gibraltar Carlson, 1140, 3-1, 62.500
51. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, 1124, 4-0, 90.000
52. Muskegon, 1113, 3-1, 76.500
53. Fenton, 1108, 3-1, 68.250
54. Byron Center, 1070, 3-1, 64.750
55. Mt. Pleasant, 1061, 3-1, 70.750
56. Ortonville-Brandon, 1060, 3-1, 64.500
57. Allen Park, 1058, 3-1, 64.500
58. St. Johns, 1053, 3-1, 74.500
59. Zeeland East, 1040, 3-1, 70.500
60. Orchard Lake St. Mary's *^, 1032, 4-0, 90.400
61. St. Joseph, 980, 3-1, 70.500
62. East Grand Rapids, 975, 3-1, 70.500
63. Petoskey, 970, 3-1, 58.250
64. DeWitt, 960, 4-0, 96.000
65. Romulus, 956, 3-1, 62.750
66. Trenton, 953, 4-0, 86.000
67. Linden, 947, 3-1, 66.750
68. Gaylord, 940, 4-0, 76.667
69. Sturgis, 926, 3-1, 54.250
70. Grand Rapids Christian, 905, 3-1, 64.500
71. Haslett, 875, 3-1, 68.500
72. Stevensville Lakeshore, 874, 3-1, 72.750
73. Coldwater, 863, 4-0, 84.000
74. Marshall, 863, 3-1, 64.750
75. Vicksburg, 858, 3-1, 58.750
76. Edwardsburg, 851, 4-0, 74.000
77. Sault Ste. Marie, 850, 3-1, 71.833
78. Chelsea, 845, 4-0, 78.000
79. Zeeland West, 840, 4-0, 82.000
80. Ada Forest Hills Eastern, 828, 4-0, 72.000
81. Milan, 820, 3-1, 60.500
82. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 794, 4-0, 68.000
83. North Branch, 758, 3-1, 54.250
84. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 728, 4-0, 84.000
85. Detroit Country Day, 685, 3-1, 56.500
86. Comstock Park, 682, 3-1, 70.750
87. Detroit Cesar Chavez Academy, 681, 3-1, 40.750
88. Croswell-Lexington, 668, 3-1, 52.750
89. St. Clair Shores South Lake, 668, 4-0, 86.000
90. Hudsonville Unity Christian, 665, 3-1, 48.250
91. Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 658, 3-1, 65.667
92. Williamston, 657, 3-1, 62.500
93. Corunna, 656, 3-1, 56.250
94. Whitehall, 656, 3-1, 64.556
95. Detroit Collegiate Prep, 632, 4-0, 72.000
96. Lake Fenton, 625, 3-1, 50.750
97. Lake Odessa Lakewood, 624, 4-0, 60.000
98. Saginaw Swan Valley, 613, 3-1, 56.500
99. Dowagiac, 611, 3-1, 54.500
100. Flint Powers Catholic, 610, 3-1, 68.500
101. Big Rapids, 609, 4-0, 68.000
102. Richmond, 605, 4-0, 78.000
103. Remus Chippewa Hills, 600, 3-1, 54.500
104. River Rouge, 593, 4-0, 82.000
105. Clawson, 592, 3-1, 44.000
106. Dearborn Heights Robichaud, 573, 4-0, 78.000
107. Freeland, 563, 4-0, 76.000
108. Portland, 563, 4-0, 84.000
109. Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, 556, 3-1, 56.500
110. Southfield Bradford Academy, 550, 3-1, 46.250
111. Ida, 548, 4-0, 74.000
112. Kingsford, 547, 3-1, 59.417
113. Marine City, 540, 3-1, 50.750
114. Muskegon Oakridge, 538, 3-1, 43.833
115. Algonac, 532, 4-0, 68.000
116. Frankenmuth, 529, 4-0, 66.000
117. Olivet, 524, 3-1, 48.000
118. Detroit Henry Ford, 523, 3-1, 44.000
119. Lansing Catholic, 517, 3-1, 60.750
120. Almont, 513, 4-0, 62.000
121. Onsted, 509, 3-1, 44.750
122. Berrien Springs, 495, 4-0, 68.800
123. Parchment, 493, 3-1, 42.000
124. Stockbridge, 493, 3-1, 54.750
125. Ovid-Elsie, 491, 3-1, 56.750
126. Reed City, 491, 4-0, 56.667
127. Grayling, 489, 3-1, 50.750
128. Clinton Township Clintondale, 486, 3-1, 62.750
129. Menominee, 480, 4-0, 76.800
130. Harper Woods, 476, 3-1, 50.500
131. Manistee, 469, 4-0, 68.667
132. Brooklyn Columbia Central, 463, 4-0, 68.000
133. Buchanan, 459, 4-0, 66.000
134. Harrison, 430, 3-1, 50.250
135. Jackson Lumen Christi, 426, 4-0, 80.000
136. Lakeview, 417, 3-1, 48.250
137. Sanford Meridian Early College, 408, 4-0, 66.000
138. Ithaca, 402, 4-0, 62.000
139. Byron, 399, 3-1, 48.500
140. Delton Kellogg, 398, 3-1, 50.500
141. Millington, 398, 4-0, 74.000
142. Montague, 396, 4-0, 60.000
143. Burton Bendle, 393, 3-1, 46.750
144. Oscoda, 391, 3-1, 34.000
145. Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central, 389, 4-0, 82.000
146. Negaunee, 385, 4-0, 64.000
147. Maple City Glen Lake, 384, 3-1, 38.500
148. Boyne City, 383, 4-0, 60.000
149. Vassar, 377, 3-1, 38.750
150. St. Louis, 374, 3-1, 44.250
151. Laingsburg, 373, 3-1, 42.750
152. Watervliet, 372, 3-1, 48.750
153. Madison Heights Madison, 367, 3-1, 62.750
154. Manchester, 365, 3-1, 44.750
155. Schoolcraft, 357, 4-0, 64.000
156. Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian, 345, 4-0, 64.000
157. Lawton, 342, 4-0, 56.000
158. Vandercook Lake, 341, 4-0, 56.000
159. Clinton, 335, 4-0, 60.000
160. Traverse City St. Francis, 320, 4-0, 68.000
161. Hesperia, 310, 4-0, 58.000
162. Sandusky, 310, 4-0, 56.000
163. McBain, 307, 3-1, 50.750
164. Cass City, 304, 3-1, 40.500
165. Bridgman, 303, 4-0, 60.000
166. Gobles, 301, 3-1, 48.000
167. Marlette, 298, 3-1, 42.500
168. Union City, 298, 3-1, 40.500
169. Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker, 296, 3-1, 44.500
170. Homer, 294, 3-1, 40.500
171. Pewamo-Westphalia, 292, 4-0, 60.000
172. Flint Hamady, 291, 4-0, 54.000
173. Dansville, 289, 3-1, 40.750
174. Saginaw Nouvel, 285, 3-1, 45.417
175. Riverview Gabriel Richard, 284, 4-0, 56.000
176. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, 282, 3-1, 46.250
177. Harbor Springs, 281, 3-1, 28.500
178. Flint Beecher, 278, 4-0, 70.000
179. Ishpeming *^, 278, 4-0, 60.000
180. Detroit Loyola, 276, 3-1, 60.750
181. New Lothrop, 276, 4-0, 68.000
182. Saugatuck, 271, 4-0, 56.000
183. Ubly, 271, 3-1, 48.500
184. Cassopolis, 270, 3-1, 40.750
185. Concord, 267, 3-1, 50.500
186. Decatur, 266, 3-1, 44.250
187. Lincoln Alcona, 265, 4-0, 40.000
188. Unionville-Sebewaing, 262, 3-1, 46.750
189. Ottawa Lake Whiteford, 255, 3-1, 36.500
190. Indian River Inland Lakes, 251, 3-1, 38.750
191. Onekama, 250, 4-0, 48.000
192. Petersburg-Summerfield, 240, 3-1, 42.750
193. Beal City, 228, 4-0, 60.000
194. Johannesburg-Lewiston, 226, 4-0, 50.000
195. St. Ignace, 225, 4-0, 48.000
196. Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary, 223, 4-0, 62.000
197. Mayville, 217, 3-1, 40.750
198. L'Anse, 215, 3-1, 50.250
199. Newberry, 211, 3-1, 42.750
200. Pittsford, 211, 3-1, 34.750
201. Vestaburg, 205, 3-1, 36.500
202. Bark River-Harris, 194, 4-0, 54.000
203. Morenci, 191, 4-0, 64.000
204. Munising, 191, 3-1, 43.700
205. Fowler, 183, 4-0, 52.000
206. Adrian Lenawee Christian, 170, 3-1, 28.750
207. Climax-Scotts, 163, 4-0, 48.000
208. Frankfort, 160, 3-1, 46.500
209. Waterford Our Lady, 157, 4-0, 66.000
210. Lake Linden-Hubbell, 155, 4-0, 47.067
211. Colon, 153, 3-1, 36.750
212. Hillman, 146, 3-1, 28.250
213. Bay City All Saints, 118, 3-1, 28.500
8-Player Playoff Listing
1. Rapid River, 111, 4-0, 46.000
2. Owendale-Gagetown, 49, 4-0, 45.333
3. Deckerville, 178, 4-0, 44.000
4. Battle Creek St. Philip, 144, 4-0, 42.000
5. Powers North Central, 198, 4-0, 42.000
6. Posen, 84, 4-0, 40.000
7. Waldron, 88, 4-0, 40.000
8. Cedarville, 144, 3-1, 36.750
9. Webberville, 184, 4-0, 34.000
10. Peck, 152, 3-1, 32.500
11. Lawrence, 189, 4-0, 32.000
12. Morrice, 169, 3-1, 30.750
13. Pickford, 164, 3-1, 28.500
14. Baraga, 164, 3-1, 28.250
15. Portland St. Patrick, 87, 3-1, 26.750
16. Akron-Fairgrove, 99, 3-1, 26.333
17. New Haven Merritt Academy, 148, 3-1, 24.750
18. Stephenson, 186, 2-2, 23.000
19. Marion *, 145, 2-2, 22.583
20. Bellaire, 134, 2-2, 21.500
21. Kingston, 187, 2-2, 21.500
22. Onaway, 196, 2-2, 21.250
23. Engadine, 85, 2-2, 19.250
24. Kinde-North Huron, 147, 2-2, 18.750
25. Tekonsha, 148, 1-3, 12.000
26. Ontonagon, 129, 1-3, 9.750
27. Burr Oak, 75, 1-3, 9.500
28. Caseville, 91, 1-3, 9.500
29. St. Helen Charlton Heston Academy, 108, 1-3, 9.500
30. Eben Junction Superior Central, 123, 1-3, 9.250
31. St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran, 103, 0-4, 2.750
32. Ewen-Trout Creek, 126, 0-4, 2.250
33. Litchfield, 92, 0-4, 2.250
34. Carsonville-Port Sanilac, 120, 0-4, 2.000
35. Big Rapids Crossroads Academy, 190, 0-4, 1.833
36. Flint Michigan School For The Deaf *, 47, 0-3, 1.750
37. Covert *, 91, 0-3, 1.583
38. Hale, 132, 0-4, 1.333
39. Pellston, 170, 0-4, 1.250
40. Brimley, 142, 0-4, 1.000
Central Lake/Ellsworth Remains Model of Football Cooperation
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
September 24, 2021
The year was 1989, and Dutch Essenberg was a freshman at Ellsworth High School. Playing football simply was not an option.
His Lancers hadn’t fielded a team in years.
Little did he know that he would get the opportunity to play football his junior and senior years thanks to the vision of Hugh Campbell and Denny YoungeDyke.
Campbell, a renowned community member of Ellsworth, and YoungeDyke, then the football coach at Central Lake, started discussing a co-operative agreement between the two schools – located just seven miles apart – about the time Essenberg was entering high school.
Also at that time, Jack Roberts became the MHSAA’s executive director, a post he held for 32 years. If you ask Campbell, Roberts got there just in time. Roberts is credited with developing plans for smaller schools to sponsor cooperative teams, and his legacy also includes being a champion of 8-player football.
The co-op produced great results immediately. The Trojans went undefeated the first year and suffered only two losses the second.
Today, without a co-op and the 8-player format, student-athletes at Ellsworth and Central Lake would not be playing high school football.
That’s something of which Daryl Purdy is extremely aware. He was a senior lineman at Central Lake when the schools started playing football together in 1991. Today his son Garrett is a senior at Central Lake playing for the Central Lake/Ellsworth Trojans. And, Daryl serves as assistant coach for the team.
The Trojans share the honor of the longest-running football co-op in Michigan history with Manistee Catholic Central/Mason County Eastern, which also participates in 8-player. Central Lake/Ellsworth moved to 8-player in 2017, and immediate captured the Division 1 championship.
The Trojans are hosting Homecoming and Bellaire, a big rival, tonight on the gridiron.
“Without the co-op today, we would not have football in Central Lake - period,” Daryl Purdy pointed out. “Even with the two schools combined, we have to go 8-man to be competitive.
“As much as it meant to me to play football, it means even more to me to watch my son play and be able to help assistant coach … and be there with him and share the experience with him — it is just mind-blowing to me.”
The co-op is extra special for Garrett, knowing his Dad played on the first team and competed against the Lancers in other sports right after.
“It is special, that’s for sure,” the senior center and nose guard said. “I am pretty good friends with everyone from Ellsworth.
“We all have a bond that lasts after football season too,” he continued. “We are still a family after football.”
Purdy, the coach, agrees.
“That’s what amazes me the most … the kids even then and today,” he said. “We are a family and friends during football season.
“And then we go turn back to warriors again during basketball and baseball season,” he added. “It also makes it more special and even more competitive.”
YoungeDyke, now retired, coached 17 years total at Central Lake. He was assisted in the successful co-op launch by Campbell, then the Lancers’ basketball coach and now president of the Ellsworth village council.
YoungeDyke cites Campbell as the key to all of the co-op’s success today. As a basketball coach, Campbell welcomed the additional training the boys could get in the fall.
“He’s kind of Mr. Ellsworth,” YoungeDyke said. “His whole life has been dedicated to kids of Ellsworth.”
YoungeDyke insisted Campbell come on board for the first season to help the community buy-in process.
“(Campbell) goes, ‘Ah, I am not a football coach,’” YoungeDyke recalled. “I said, ‘You know what Hugh, you’re a coach. A coach is a coach. It’s the only way it’s going to work.’”
Campbell, who remained the assistant coach for nearly a decade, credits Roberts with making the co-op a reality.
“Denny (YoungeDyke) and I and some others in Central Lake had been talking about (a co-op) for a while,” Campbell said. “We didn’t get anywhere until the new MHSAA director (Roberts) came from Wisconsin, and he liked co-ops. It’s really helped a lot of kids.”
The blessing of the co-op by the MHSAA led to a new helmet melding the Ellsworth Lancers and the Central Lake Trojans featuring a Trojan sword crossing an Ellsworth lance. It was designed by the co-op’s first manager, 11-year old Drew YoungeDyke, the coach’s son.
Drew went to play quarterback in the fall of 1996 and 1997 for the Trojans, alongside Nick Hopp, the Trojans’ current athletic director.
The younger YoungeDyke recalls his father wanting to make sure the Ellsworth players felt welcomed in the co-op and thought a new helmet design would extend the welcome mat.
“The two mascots — the Lancers and the Trojans — just made it real simple,” Drew said. “I just took a lance and I took a Trojan’s broadsword, and I just crossed them.
“I was 11, and it wasn’t like I was a design expert then,” he continued. “I remember sketching it out in my little like Trapper Keeper. It’s pretty cool to see that years later.”
Many like Drew believe football in the two communities would have ended within five years had the co-op not been created.
Central Lake/Ellsworth is 1-3 this fall after a 44-40 loss to Pellston last week, but also will be added to the MHSAA record book when this season is done after combining with Indian River Inland Lakes for the highest-scoring 8-player game in state history. The teams combined for 152 points Sept. 11 in Inland Lakes’ 86-66 win.
Today’s coach, Chase Hibbard, is thrilled to have nine Ellsworth student-athletes on the 23-player roster.
“If it wasn’t for Ellsworth, we would not have a team,” Hibbard indicated. “Every year the pool from Ellsworth is growing.”
Essenberg, who played receiver, quarterback and running back, liked the idea of playing for the Trojans even if only to get him in better shape for his junior basketball season with the Lancers.
Now Essenberg hopes the co-op will provide his son Nolan with a chance to play high school football. Nolan is 11.
“We were all kind of nervous because you know it was a rival town,” Essenberg said. “I remember coach YoungeDyke saying ‘if you don’t like it, you can leave.’
“Nobody left.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Central Lake/Ellsworth’s receivers line up during a Week 4 game against Pellston. (2) Coaches (from left) Hugh Campbell, Denny YoungeDyke and Matt Peters talk things over with quarterback Drew YoungeDyke during the 1997 season. (3) Daryl, left, and Garrett Purdy. (4) Drew YoungeDyke’s helmet logo design remains a symbol of the community’s football cooperation 25 seasons later. (Photos courtesy of the Central Lake/Ellsworth football program.)