2017 Week 6 Football Playoff Listing
September 26, 2017
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 fifth 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.
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. 27. 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 32 programs will then be divided into two divisions of 16 each based on enrollment. The playoff in that division also begins Oct. 27.
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. 22 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, 3016, 4-1, 72.800
2. Dearborn Fordson, 2741, 5-0, 92.800
3. Utica Eisenhower, 2689, 5-0, 108.800
4. Grand Blanc, 2660, 5-0, 92.800
5. East Kentwood, 2639, 4-1, 72.600
6. Clarkston, 2603, 4-1, 82.000
7. Rockford, 2485, 3-2, 59.000
8. Clinton Township Chippewa Valley, 2434, 4-1, 79.200
9. Detroit Cass Tech *, 2434, 3-1, 56.600
10. Troy, 2422, 4-1, 75.600
11. Southfield Arts & Technology, 2345, 3-2, 52.600
12. Brighton, 2247, 3-2, 60.200
13. Canton, 2212, 4-1, 76.000
14. Holland West Ottawa, 2200, 4-1, 69.600
15. Detroit Catholic Central, 2080, 3-2, 56.000
16. West Bloomfield, 1990, 3-2, 63.400
17. New Baltimore Anchor Bay, 1956, 5-0, 89.600
18. Monroe, 1934, 3-2, 53.067
19. Utica, 1907, 3-2, 57.200
20. Saline *, 1869, 4-1, 75.600
21. Bloomfield Hills, 1842, 3-2, 55.600
22. Lapeer, 1837, 4-1, 72.600
23. Livonia Stevenson, 1811, 4-1, 77.200
24. Walled Lake Central, 1804, 3-2, 59.000
25. White Lake Lakeland, 1765, 4-1, 78.800
26. Romeo, 1753, 3-2, 56.600
27. Holt, 1752, 3-2, 47.000
28. Grandville, 1750, 4-1, 77.400
29. Grand Ledge, 1726, 4-1, 79.000
30. Warren Mott, 1712, 3-2, 52.400
31. Belleville, 1709, 5-0, 97.600
32. Detroit Western International, 1701, 3-2, 48.800
33. Davison, 1695, 5-0, 92.800
34. Walled Lake Northern, 1678, 3-2, 48.800
35. Grosse Pointe South, 1644, 3-2, 59.850
36. Rochester Adams, 1626, 4-1, 75.600
37. Waterford Mott, 1586, 4-1, 79.000
38. Traverse City West, 1582, 5-0, 97.600
39. Brownstown Woodhaven, 1569, 3-2, 52.800
40. Temperance Bedford, 1548, 4-1, 71.000
41. Warren DeLaSalle, 1538, 4-1, 75.267
42. Flint Carman-Ainsworth, 1502, 3-2, 49.600
43. Livonia Churchill, 1486, 4-1, 79.000
44. Livonia Franklin, 1469, 3-2, 52.400
45. Jenison, 1457, 3-2, 52.800
46. Roseville, 1412, 3-2, 53.800
47. Detroit Martin Luther King, 1404, 4-1, 64.267
48. Dearborn Edsel Ford, 1396, 3-2, 48.000
49. Oak Park, 1395, 4-1, 77.600
50. Portage Central, 1353, 4-1, 79.200
51. Traverse City Central, 1345, 3-2, 55.800
52. Wyandotte Roosevelt, 1345, 5-0, 91.200
53. Royal Oak, 1332, 3-2, 50.400
54. Okemos, 1326, 4-1, 63.000
55. Walled Lake Western, 1318, 4-1, 77.400
56. Midland, 1316, 4-1, 74.400
57. Flushing, 1312, 4-1, 75.800
58. Birmingham Groves, 1300, 4-1, 74.200
59. Port Huron Northern, 1277, 4-1, 67.800
60. St. Clair Shores Lake Shore, 1273, 3-2, 50.800
61. Pinckney, 1272, 4-1, 74.200
62. Detroit East English, 1270, 5-0, 76.800
63. Midland Dow, 1263, 4-1, 69.200
64. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, 1258, 5-0, 94.400
65. Muskegon Mona Shores, 1238, 5-0, 105.600
66. Ypsilanti Lincoln, 1222, 3-2, 55.400
67. Lowell, 1195, 4-1, 79.200
68. Muskegon Reeths-Puffer, 1186, 3-2, 48.000
69. Ferndale, 1180, 4-1, 67.600
70. Mattawan, 1171, 3-2, 54.000
71. Holly, 1166, 3-2, 54.000
72. Fenton, 1163, 5-0, 94.400
73. Holland, 1140, 4-1, 63.200
74. Hamtramck, 1135, 3-2, 49.000
75. Detroit Renaissance, 1131, 3-2, 47.600
76. Gibraltar Carlson, 1125, 5-0, 97.600
77. Bay City Central, 1116, 3-2, 55.800
78. East Lansing, 1108, 3-2, 52.600
79. Redford Thurston *, 1102, 4-1, 61.000
80. Warren Woods Tower, 1095, 5-0, 91.200
81. Byron Center, 1083, 3-2, 54.000
82. Muskegon, 1058, 5-0, 99.200
83. St Joseph, 1043, 4-1, 76.000
84. Auburn Hills Avondale, 1033, 3-2, 61.800
85. Farmington Hills Harrison, 1030, 3-2, 59.000
86. East Grand Rapids, 1010, 5-0, 96.000
87. DeWitt, 994, 4-1, 72.800
88. Zeeland East, 994, 5-0, 88.000
89. St. Johns, 990, 3-2, 49.000
90. Ortonville-Brandon, 969, 3-2, 54.200
91. Zeeland West, 960, 3-2, 60.600
92. Melvindale, 956, 3-2, 55.400
93. Cedar Springs, 946, 3-2, 54.000
94. Coldwater, 933, 4-1, 62.200
95. Riverview, 928, 4-1, 66.000
96. Detroit Cody, 924, 3-2, 49.200
97. Linden, 924, 4-1, 79.200
98. Trenton, 911, 3-2, 55.400
99. Warren Fitzgerald, 903, 4-1, 66.400
100. Grand Rapids Christian, 896, 5-0, 97.600
101. Stevensville Lakeshore, 891, 5-0, 100.800
102. Hazel Park, 889, 3-2, 60.600
103. Battle Creek Harper Creek, 884, 5-0, 78.400
104. Parma Western, 880, 4-1, 64.200
105. New Boston Huron, 877, 4-1, 65.800
106. Adrian, 865, 3-2, 53.800
107. Romulus, 864, 3-2, 49.400
108. Haslett, 856, 4-1, 69.200
109. Carleton Airport, 855, 3-2, 46.000
110. Dearborn Divine Child, 852, 5-0, 83.200
111. Tecumseh, 850, 3-2, 55.200
112. Chelsea, 841, 4-1, 75.600
113. River Rouge, 836, 4-1, 72.800
114. Edwardsburg, 835, 5-0, 73.600
115. Detroit Mumford, 829, 4-1, 66.200
116. Coopersville, 824, 3-2, 49.200
117. Wayland Union, 816, 3-2, 50.600
118. Sparta, 815, 4-1, 58.000
119. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 812, 4-1, 61.600
120. Marysville, 808, 3-2, 46.200
121. Plainwell, 808, 4-1, 61.400
122. Vicksburg, 801, 4-1, 63.000
123. Ionia, 792, 3-2, 47.000
124. Milan, 772, 3-2, 44.400
125. Madison Heights Lamphere, 768, 3-2, 41.000
126. Detroit Old Redford, 763, 3-2, 39.400
127. Goodrich, 759, 4-1, 58.200
128. Escanaba, 739, 4-1, 64.200
129. Harper Woods Chandler Park Academy, 727, 3-2, 46.150
130. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 718, 4-1, 52.000
131. Three Rivers, 707, 4-1, 70.600
132. Armada, 685, 3-2, 44.600
133. Wyoming Godwin Heights, 679, 5-0, 64.000
134. Wyoming Kelloggsville, 678, 5-0, 73.600
135. Romulus Summit Academy North, 674, 4-1, 58.200
136. Yale, 672, 3-2, 36.400
137. Paw Paw, 662, 3-2, 47.800
138. Whitehall, 661, 3-2, 46.400
139. Lake Fenton, 660, 4-1, 66.400
140. Flat Rock, 658, 3-2, 53.400
141. Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 646, 5-0, 68.800
142. Alma, 642, 5-0, 76.800
143. Comstock Park, 636, 4-1, 64.400
144. Corunna, 633, 3-2, 44.200
145. Williamston, 628, 3-2, 49.200
146. Lansing Sexton, 620, 3-2, 55.000
147. Lake Odessa Lakewood, 608, 5-0, 76.800
148. Hudsonville Unity Christian, 606, 3-2, 53.800
149. Grand Rapids South Christian, 602, 4-1, 66.400
150. Belding, 597, 4-1, 61.600
151. Bridgeport, 594, 3-2, 44.800
152. Muskegon Oakridge, 592, 4-1, 59.600
153. Saginaw Swan Valley, 586, 4-1, 69.600
154. Hancock, 584, 4-1, 51.933
155. Macomb Lutheran North, 581, 3-2, 40.000
156. North Muskegon, 579, 3-2, 38.200
157. Freeland, 564, 4-1, 61.400
158. Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard, 555, 5-0, 68.800
159. Olivet, 552, 5-0, 76.800
160. Lansing Catholic, 551, 4-1, 66.200
161. Remus Chippewa Hills, 550, 4-1, 61.400
162. Kingsford *, 542, 3-1, 64.933
163. Algonac, 534, 4-1, 58.200
164. Portland, 534, 4-1, 72.400
165. Frankenmuth, 528, 5-0, 80.000
166. Carrollton, 520, 4-1, 58.200
167. Ida, 520, 4-1, 54.800
168. Marine City, 514, 4-1, 74.400
169. Grant, 512, 3-2, 42.800
170. Kalkaska, 512, 3-2, 34.400
171. Richmond, 510, 5-0, 78.400
172. Grand Rapids West Catholic, 505, 4-1, 63.000
173. Onsted, 505, 4-1, 50.000
174. Reed City, 501, 4-1, 61.600
175. Almont, 494, 4-1, 59.800
176. Gladstone, 493, 5-0, 64.000
177. Grayling, 492, 4-1, 55.200
178. Perry, 489, 3-2, 38.400
179. Berrien Springs, 484, 4-1, 54.600
180. Coloma, 480, 4-1, 48.400
181. Menominee, 479, 4-1, 62.533
182. Kalamazoo Hackett, 474, 4-1, 50.400
183. Newaygo, 474, 3-2, 47.600
184. Detroit Denby *, 461, 4-0, 68.800
185. Ovid-Elsie, 458, 4-1, 51.800
186. Clare, 457, 4-1, 61.600
187. Detroit Voyageur, 446, 4-1, 56.400
188. Parchment, 443, 4-1, 56.400
189. Boyne City, 428, 5-0, 72.000
190. Brooklyn Columbia Central, 426, 3-2, 50.800
191. Michigan Center, 419, 4-1, 54.800
192. Harrison, 410, 3-2, 36.600
193. Montague, 409, 5-0, 78.400
194. Millington, 407, 5-0, 76.800
195. Hemlock, 405, 3-2, 39.000
196. Morley Stanwood, 405, 5-0, 60.800
197. Ithaca, 403, 5-0, 70.400
198. Clinton Township Clintondale, 401, 5-0, 81.600
199. Calumet, 396, 3-2, 37.633
200. Byron, 387, 3-2, 49.200
201. Constantine, 386, 3-2, 36.200
202. Detroit Henry Ford, 385, 3-2, 28.300
203. Warren Michigan Collegiate, 382, 5-0, 78.400
204. Montrose, 381, 4-1, 59.800
205. Quincy, 376, 3-2, 44.600
206. Kent City, 375, 5-0, 64.000
207. Napoleon, 373, 3-2, 49.000
208. Schoolcraft, 372, 4-1, 53.400
209. Blissfield, 371, 3-2, 52.600
210. Niles Brandywine, 370, 3-2, 32.800
211. Detroit Central, 369, 4-1, 58.350
212. Laingsburg, 367, 4-1, 42.200
213. Grass Lake, 365, 3-2, 34.200
214. Traverse City St. Francis, 362, 5-0, 76.000
215. Jackson Lumen Christi, 361, 4-1, 64.800
216. Houghton Lake, 357, 3-2, 43.000
217. Watervliet, 355, 5-0, 68.000
218. Beaverton, 353, 5-0, 72.000
219. Elk Rapids, 353, 4-1, 55.200
220. Burton Bendle, 352, 3-2, 31.800
221. L'Anse, 351, 4-1, 49.533
222. Vermontville Maple Valley, 346, 3-2, 32.000
223. Allen Park Cabrini, 344, 3-2, 31.400
224. Hanover-Horton, 342, 3-2, 34.600
225. Ishpeming Westwood, 342, 4-1, 47.200
226. Riverview Gabriel Richard, 341, 5-0, 54.400
227. Lake City, 333, 5-0, 72.000
228. Oscoda, 332, 4-1, 42.400
229. Detroit Delta Prep, 329, 3-2, 49.600
230. St Louis, 329, 3-2, 36.400
231. Flint Hamady, 327, 3-2, 43.000
232. Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian, 327, 5-0, 72.000
233. Union City, 327, 5-0, 64.000
234. Madison Heights Madison, 323, 5-0, 77.867
235. Hartford, 318, 4-1, 47.200
236. McBain, 314, 4-1, 52.000
237. New Lothrop, 311, 5-0, 67.200
238. Clinton, 309, 3-2, 37.600
239. Harbor Springs, 306, 3-2, 35.600
240. Pewamo-Westphalia, 305, 4-1, 51.400
241. Reese, 301, 3-2, 42.800
242. Homer, 299, 3-2, 41.000
243. Saugatuck, 297, 3-2, 42.800
244. Saranac, 285, 4-1, 48.600
245. Springport, 285, 3-2, 35.000
246. Cass City, 282, 4-1, 56.600
247. Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest, 279, 5-0, 55.600
248. Evart, 270, 3-2, 34.600
249. Cassopolis, 268, 5-0, 60.800
250. Unionville-Sebewaing, 267, 3-2, 36.400
251. Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker, 263, 4-1, 55.200
252. Hudson, 263, 5-0, 72.000
253. Reading, 263, 4-1, 54.600
254. Carson City-Crystal, 258, 3-2, 34.600
255. Breckenridge, 254, 4-1, 45.600
256. Addison, 253, 4-1, 48.600
257. Auburn Hills Oakland Christian *, 248, 3-1, 43.600
258. Beal City, 247, 3-2, 33.400
259. Iron River West Iron County, 245, 4-1, 45.733
260. Ubly, 243, 4-1, 50.200
261. Ottawa Lake Whiteford, 239, 5-0, 64.000
262. St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic, 238, 3-2, 31.750
263. Petersburg-Summerfield, 235, 4-1, 50.400
264. Decatur, 234, 3-2, 35.000
265. Lincoln Alcona, 233, 4-1, 45.600
266. Norway, 230, 5-0, 62.667
267. Johannesburg-Lewiston, 228, 3-2, 32.600
268. White Pigeon, 228, 3-2, 35.200
269. Harbor Beach, 218, 4-1, 50.400
270. Saginaw Nouvel, 208, 5-0, 63.467
271. Mendon, 205, 5-0, 62.400
272. Newberry *, 205, 3-2, 32.800
273. Pittsford, 204, 4-1, 51.800
274. Morenci, 200, 3-2, 39.800
275. Munising, 200, 3-2, 30.200
276. Bark River-Harris, 197, 3-2, 38.000
277. Muskegon Heights Academy, 188, 3-2, 44.200
278. Adrian Lenawee Christian, 181, 4-1, 43.800
279. Athens, 181, 4-1, 35.800
280. Gaylord St. Mary, 173, 5-0, 64.000
281. Frankfort *, 170, 4-1, 45.550
282. Muskegon Catholic Central *, 169, 4-0, 68.000
283. Fulton-Middleton, 167, 3-2, 30.000
284. Climax-Scotts, 162, 4-1, 43.800
285. AuGres-Sims *, 148, 5-0, 59.200
286. Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, 133, 3-2, 33.000
287. Waterford Our Lady *, 124, 3-1, 35.200
288. Clarkston Everest Collegiate, 112, 4-1, 46.000
8-Player Playoff Listing
1. Deckerville, 182, 5-0, 52.800
2. Onekama, 136, 5-0, 52.800
3. Rapid River, 118, 5-0, 49.200
4. Camden-Frontier, 156, 5-0, 48.000
5. Bellevue *, 174, 5-0, 46.400
6. Cedarville, 152, 5-0, 44.800
7. Central Lake, 191, 5-0, 44.800
8. Morrice, 175, 5-0, 44.800
9. Stephenson, 160, 5-0, 44.000
10. Pickford, 151, 5-0, 41.600
11. Portland St. Patrick, 103, 4-1, 39.200
12. Bay City All Saints, 97, 4-1, 37.600
13. Marion, 136, 4-1, 36.800
14. Flint International Academy, 150, 4-1, 36.000
15. Rudyard, 193, 4-1, 34.400
16. Ontonagon *, 187, 3-1, 32.000
17. Battle Creek St. Philip, 135, 3-2, 31.600
18. Engadine, 95, 4-1, 31.200
19. Crystal Falls Forest Park, 146, 3-2, 30.400
20. Kinde-North Huron, 148, 4-1, 28.800
21. Kingston, 191, 3-2, 28.600
22. Webberville, 179, 3-2, 28.600
23. Lawrence, 181, 3-2, 28.400
24. Suttons Bay, 201, 3-2, 28.200
25. Hale, 129, 3-2, 25.600
26. Brimley, 164, 3-2, 24.600
27. Wyoming Tri-unity Christian, 182, 2-3, 24.400
28. Peck, 127, 3-2, 23.400
29. Waldron *, 79, 3-2, 23.400
30. New Haven Merritt Academy, 164, 3-2, 21.600
31. Atlanta, 74, 3-2, 21.400
32. Mayville, 197, 2-3, 21.400
33. St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran, 99, 3-2, 20.200
34. Powers North Central *, 112, 2-2, 20.100
35. Brethren *, 159, 2-2, 19.800
36. Mesick, 180, 2-3, 19.400
37. Tekonsha, 145, 2-3, 19.400
38. Manistee Catholic Central *, 178, 2-3, 18.450
39. Carney-Nadeau, 133, 2-3, 16.267
40. Bear Lake, 93, 2-3, 15.600
41. North Adams-Jerome, 150, 2-3, 14.800
42. Onaway, 195, 2-3, 14.600
43. Bellaire, 142, 1-4, 14.000
44. Fife Lake Forest Area, 165, 1-4, 12.800
45. Eben Junction Superior Central, 131, 1-4, 12.100
46. Felch North Dickinson, 101, 1-4, 11.950
47. Burton Madison Academy, 171, 1-4, 10.000
48. Posen, 87, 1-4, 9.000
49. Carsonville-Port Sanilac, 106, 1-4, 8.400
50. Owendale-Gagetown, 57, 1-4, 7.800
51. Baldwin, 105, 1-4, 7.250
52. Pellston, 167, 0-5, 3.000
53. Litchfield, 81, 0-5, 2.600
54. Big Rapids Crossroads Academy, 187, 0-5, 2.250
55. Akron-Fairgrove, 76, 0-5, 2.200
56. Burr Oak, 74, 0-5, 2.200
57. Caseville, 93, 0-5, 2.200
58. St. Helen Charlton Heston Academy, 140, 0-5, 2.000
59. Flint Michigan School for the Deaf *, 47, 0-3, 0.800
Lessons Learned, Goodrich Laughs Last
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
October 25, 2017
The joke wasn’t incredibly original, nor was it incredibly funny, especially if you had any connection to the Goodrich football program.
But when you suffer through a winless season like the Martians did in 2016, people are going to have jokes.
This one was a knock-knock joke, and Owen was at the door. Owen Nine.
Goodrich senior defensive back and captain Ryan Aylmer can at least smile now when he tells it, because with the Martians having just completed an 8-1 regular season, there are no more jokes.
“This year, people go through the school and they talk about who we got next week, and what we’re looking like in the playoffs,” Aylmer said. “Now teachers are talking about the games in school, and I’ve got little kids recognizing who I am. People are back into the program now that we’re succeeding. It feels great, especially after last year when it felt like we were nothing, that forgotten team. But now we’re back in the community.”
This isn’t a story of some moribund program finally finding its way to the postseason. In fact, when Goodrich hosts Pontiac Notre Dame Prep on Friday in the first round of the MHSAA Division 4 playoffs, it will be in a familiar spot.
From 2008 through 2015, Goodrich qualified for the playoffs six times, and had a losing record just once.
The question in Goodrich was how does 0-9 happen?
“That team we had last year, they weren’t an 0-9 team,” Goodrich coach Tom Alward said. “I should have done a better job last year, and we should have won several games. It just didn’t happen. This year, kids are making things happen that we couldn’t make happen last year.”
Alward took over the Goodrich program in 1993, and in 1995 led the Martians to the postseason for the first time ever. His 146 wins since are the most in program history, and he already has been inducted into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Despite all of that previous success, a moment at the end of last season led Alward to say he had never been more proud of any team he had ever coached.
“After our ninth game last year at St. Johns, when we just got beat 52-0 to finish an 0-9 season, that entire team stayed on the St. Johns football field for probably a half hour, 40 minutes just talking to one another, hugging one another -- they knew it was the end,” Alward said. “They played their tails off all year. I can’t say enough about them. I just feel so bad that they have that 0-9 stigma. I’ve got that stigma myself from when I played at Tampa on the 0-14 team (for the NFL’s Buccaneers in 1976). But I just feel bad, because they didn’t deserve that.”
Alward and his staff didn’t panic and make drastic changes following the winless season, but in his 25th with the Martians, he was able to look at all aspects of the program, including himself, to see where things needed to be different.
“We did exit interviews at the end of last year, because we were concerned about the culture,” Alward said. “We’ve been able to win here for a number of years, and we didn’t want to all of the sudden have kids thinking that they couldn’t win because we went 0-9. We wanted to address that part of it, so we did exit interviews, we did a lot of offseason bonding exercises, team building and all of that stuff. This team is pretty close. We were fortunate to get off to a good start, and the rest has kind of just taken care of itself.”
That bond, players say, is what has sparked the rebound.
“We would go out to dinner together, we would do everything together all summer long,” senior defensive lineman and captain Sebastian Foglio said. “We would work out together, we would push each other. There’s no age, there’s no ‘freshmen get the water,’ none of that stuff. We just came together and did what we had to do. Everybody is close with everybody, nobody dislikes anybody. If we do, we’ll talk and change that.”
And the start, well, it couldn’t have been much better.
In Goodrich’s opening game against Burton Bendle, freshman Tyson Davis returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. It was an immediate announcement that the 2017 season would be different.
“It was a sigh of relief,” Aylmer said. “Last year we scored (66) points all year. Seeing, literally, the first play of the brand new year getting taken back, and scoring (44) points our first game, it was just a sigh of relief getting that out of the way and realizing that we can do that this year.”
Goodrich rolled to a 3-0 start, outscoring opponents by a combined score of 132-12 before falling 20-7 in Week 4 against Genesee Area Conference Red rival Lake Fenton. But a resounding 42-0 win the next week against Otisville-LakeVille started a five-game winning streak to end the regular season for the Martians, who outscored opponents by an average of nearly 26 points on the year.
Suddenly all of the social media chatter from the area was gone, along with the jokes. But the lessons learned from an 0-9 season were not.
“There’s been a chip on our shoulder,” Aylmer said. “It seems like every week these guys last year thought we were bad, or we played them last year and they beat us. We had a chip on our shoulder and everybody has taken it to heart, and it seems like we’ve been fighting every week as an 0-9 team, but we’re really a good team this year.”
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) Goodrich celebrates seeing itself on the playoff bracket during Sunday’s selection show on FOX Sports Detroit. (Middle) Goodrich freshman Tyson Davis contends for a loose ball during the season opener against Burton Bendle; he returned the opening kickoff that game for a touchdown. (Top photo by Paul Costanzo; bottom photo by Terry Lyons.)