2018 Week 5 Football Playoff Listing
September 18, 2018
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.
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. 26. 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. 26.
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 Oct. 21 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, 3114, 4-0, 90.000
2. Dearborn Fordson, 2795, 4-0, 88.000
3. East Kentwood, 2651, 3-1, 70.750
4. Grand Blanc, 2637, 4-0, 94.000
5. Clarkston, 2548, 4-0, 96.000
6. Clinton Township Chippewa Valley, 2462, 4-0, 98.000
7. Detroit Cass Tech, 2432, 4-0, 90.000
8. Canton, 2260, 3-1, 68.250
9. Brighton, 2202, 3-1, 70.750
10. Holland West Ottawa, 2190, 3-1, 66.500
11. Oxford, 2170, 3-1, 74.500
12. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 2115, 3-1, 80.667
13. Detroit Catholic Central, 2020, 3-1, 76.750
14. West Bloomfield, 2005, 3-1, 72.750
15. Macomb L'Anse Creuse North, 1994, 3-1, 66.500
16. Monroe, 1949, 3-1, 69.550
17. Hudsonville, 1879, 4-0, 90.667
18. Saline, 1834, 3-1, 70.750
19. Romeo, 1779, 3-1, 72.500
20. Detroit Western International, 1773, 3-1, 54.750
21. Lapeer, 1772, 4-0, 86.000
22. Davison, 1687, 4-0, 88.000
23. Belleville, 1642, 4-0, 98.000
24. Brownstown Woodhaven, 1628, 4-0, 94.000
25. Grosse Pointe South, 1593, 4-0, 92.000
26. Warren Mott, 1585, 3-1, 72.750
27. Waterford Mott, 1558, 3-1, 66.500
28. Warren DeLaSalle, 1474, 3-1, 66.750
29. Jenison, 1464, 3-1, 64.250
30. Livonia Franklin, 1443, 3-1, 64.000
31. Dearborn Heights Crestwood, 1424, 4-0, 76.000
32. Traverse City Central, 1391, 3-1, 70.250
33. Birmingham Seaholm, 1376, 3-1, 68.750
34. Oak Park, 1349, 4-0, 90.000
35. Portage Central, 1349, 3-1, 70.250
36. Roseville, 1303, 3-1, 56.750
37. Port Huron Northern, 1295, 3-1, 70.500
38. St. Clair Shores Lake Shore, 1276, 3-1, 64.500
39. Swartz Creek, 1262, 4-0, 92.000
40. Walled Lake Western, 1258, 3-1, 66.500
41. Jackson, 1229, 4-0, 88.000
42. Ypsilanti Lincoln, 1226, 3-1, 56.500
43. South Lyon, 1225, 4-0, 92.000
44. Muskegon Mona Shores, 1215, 4-0, 90.000
45. Birmingham Brother Rice, 1168, 3-1, 73.567
46. Fenton, 1160, 3-1, 68.500
47. Mattawan, 1153, 3-1, 64.250
48. Detroit Martin Luther King, 1149, 3-1, 54.750
49. Warren Woods Tower, 1126, 4-0, 78.000
50. Auburn Hills Avondale, 1115, 3-1, 64.250
51. Gibraltar Carlson, 1114, 3-1, 70.750
52. East Lansing, 1111, 4-0, 88.667
53. Farmington, 1111, 4-0, 90.000
54. Allen Park, 1105, 3-1, 68.500
55. Garden City, 1080, 3-1, 62.000
56. South Lyon East, 1063, 3-1, 64.500
57. Mt. Pleasant, 1053, 4-0, 84.000
58. Muskegon, 1022, 4-0, 98.000
59. Battle Creek Central, 1014, 3-1, 66.500
60. Gaylord, 1002, 4-0, 80.000
61. DeWitt, 1001, 4-0, 94.000
62. Zeeland West, 997, 3-1, 68.500
63. Cedar Springs, 992, 3-1, 68.750
64. Zeeland East, 955, 3-1, 58.500
65. Detroit Mumford, 943, 3-1, 60.500
66. Trenton, 914, 3-1, 70.500
67. Riverview, 913, 3-1, 58.500
68. Middleville Thornapple Kellogg, 903, 4-0, 80.000
69. River Rouge, 897, 3-1, 58.750
70. Haslett, 895, 4-0, 84.000
71. Ortonville-Brandon, 887, 3-1, 70.250
72. Grand Rapids Christian, 886, 3-1, 66.750
73. Parma Western, 870, 3-1, 56.750
74. Chelsea, 851, 3-1, 70.500
75. Farmington Hills Harrison, 849, 3-1, 66.750
76. Spring Lake, 845, 4-0, 74.000
77. Edwardsburg, 838, 4-0, 76.000
78. Wayland Union, 829, 3-1, 64.750
79. Plainwell, 825, 3-1, 52.750
80. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 809, 3-1, 62.917
81. Milan, 761, 3-1, 54.500
82. Goodrich, 758, 3-1, 62.500
83. Detroit Cody, 755, 4-0, 84.000
84. Allendale, 749, 3-1, 56.750
85. North Branch, 726, 3-1, 52.750
86. Croswell-Lexington, 724, 3-1, 56.500
87. Battle Creek Pennfield, 709, 3-1, 62.500
88. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 702, 3-1, 52.500
89. Detroit Country Day *, 687, 3-1, 67.050
90. Three Rivers, 682, 4-0, 82.000
91. Holland Christian, 672, 3-1, 58.750
92. Paw Paw, 670, 3-1, 56.750
93. Whitehall, 669, 3-1, 50.750
94. Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 662, 3-1, 54.500
95. Alma, 643, 4-0, 68.000
96. Lake Odessa Lakewood, 643, 3-1, 62.500
97. Williamston, 619, 3-1, 62.250
98. Grand Rapids South Christian, 615, 3-1, 63.167
99. Grosse Ile, 609, 4-0, 74.000
100. Dearborn Heights Robichaud, 608, 4-0, 74.000
101. Hudsonville Unity Christian, 602, 4-0, 86.000
102. Harper Woods, 594, 3-1, 44.750
103. Freeland, 584, 3-1, 52.750
104. Saginaw Swan Valley, 573, 4-0, 90.000
105. Belding, 572, 3-1, 54.500
106. Muskegon Oakridge, 571, 4-0, 68.000
107. Macomb Lutheran North, 560, 4-0, 70.000
108. Birch Run, 552, 3-1, 58.500
109. St. Clair Shores South Lake, 551, 3-1, 50.500
110. Portland, 550, 4-0, 74.000
111. Frankenmuth, 549, 3-1, 60.750
112. Olivet, 542, 4-0, 72.000
113. Detroit Osborn, 537, 3-1, 44.750
114. Lansing Catholic, 531, 4-0, 70.000
115. Richmond, 524, 3-1, 56.000
116. Ida, 512, 3-1, 58.500
117. Hopkins, 507, 3-1, 58.750
118. Benzie Central, 505, 3-1, 52.750
119. Detroit Denby, 504, 4-0, 66.667
120. Reed City, 504, 4-0, 80.000
121. Almont, 503, 4-0, 68.000
122. Marine City, 503, 3-1, 56.750
123. Berrien Springs, 500, 3-1, 54.750
124. Dundee, 485, 3-1, 52.500
125. Manistee, 472, 4-0, 64.000
126. Durand, 468, 3-1, 46.250
127. Coloma, 460, 3-1, 48.500
128. Ovid-Elsie, 453, 3-1, 50.750
129. Kalamazoo Hackett, 450, 4-0, 66.000
130. Clare, 449, 3-1, 48.500
131. Montague, 445, 3-1, 42.750
132. Kingsley, 443, 3-1, 54.750
133. Hillsdale, 441, 4-0, 66.000
134. Tawas *, 418, 3-1, 38.750
135. Michigan Center, 412, 4-0, 56.000
136. Brooklyn Columbia Central, 410, 3-1, 58.500
137. Constantine, 400, 4-0, 64.000
138. Fennville, 400, 3-1, 48.750
139. Calumet, 392, 4-0, 70.800
140. Warren Michigan Collegiate, 392, 4-0, 74.000
141. Ishpeming Westwood, 391, 2-2, 37.417
142. Millington, 390, 3-1, 54.000
143. Ithaca, 388, 3-1, 50.750
144. Ecorse, 387, 3-1, 46.750
145. Blissfield, 383, 3-1, 60.750
146. Delton Kellogg, 378, 4-0, 68.000
147. Hemlock, 374, 3-1, 42.500
148. Morley Stanwood, 369, 3-1, 48.250
149. Elk Rapids, 366, 3-1, 42.500
150. Napoleon, 365, 3-1, 42.500
151. Beaverton, 362, 3-1, 46.750
152. Grass Lake, 357, 4-0, 56.000
153. Jackson Lumen Christi *, 356, 4-0, 84.000
154. Traverse City St. Francis, 355, 4-0, 84.000
155. Flint Hamady, 353, 4-0, 58.000
156. Schoolcraft, 353, 3-1, 50.500
157. Kent City, 351, 4-0, 58.000
158. Lake City, 348, 4-0, 64.000
159. Leroy Pine River, 348, 4-0, 56.000
160. L'Anse, 344, 3-1, 48.250
161. Ravenna, 344, 3-1, 40.500
162. Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian, 332, 3-1, 42.500
163. Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central, 331, 3-1, 63.167
164. St. Louis, 331, 3-1, 48.500
165. Oscoda, 329, 3-1, 28.000
166. Hartford, 322, 4-0, 52.000
167. Roscommon, 319, 3-1, 58.500
168. Madison Heights Madison, 316, 4-0, 80.000
169. Pewamo-Westphalia, 315, 4-0, 56.000
170. Clinton, 313, 3-1, 42.500
171. Detroit Community, 308, 4-0, 48.000
172. Madison Heights Bishop Foley, 306, 3-1, 48.750
173. New Lothrop, 302, 4-0, 66.000
174. Springport, 302, 4-0, 54.000
175. Allen Park Cabrini, 300, 3-1, 42.750
176. Sandusky, 300, 4-0, 62.000
177. Iron Mountain, 298, 3-1, 54.400
178. Cass City, 291, 3-1, 48.250
179. Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker, 282, 3-1, 48.500
180. Harbor Springs, 280, 4-0, 50.000
181. Manton, 280, 3-1, 42.750
182. Centreville, 279, 4-0, 56.000
183. Saugatuck, 273, 3-1, 50.500
184. Sand Creek, 266, 3-1, 37.417
185. Cassopolis, 261, 4-0, 56.000
186. Concord, 255, 3-1, 42.750
187. Royal Oak Shrine Catholic, 252, 3-1, 40.250
188. Ottawa Lake Whiteford, 250, 4-0, 58.000
189. Carson City-Crystal, 248, 4-0, 46.000
190. Gwinn, 246, 4-0, 54.000
191. Iron River West Iron County, 246, 3-1, 40.750
192. Dansville, 244, 3-1, 42.000
193. Reading, 244, 4-0, 66.000
194. Holton, 234, 3-1, 42.500
195. Ishpeming, 233, 4-0, 52.800
196. Ubly, 232, 3-1, 44.750
197. Johannesburg-Lewiston, 226, 3-1, 42.500
198. Breckenridge, 224, 4-0, 60.000
199. Harbor Beach, 222, 3-1, 44.250
200. Rogers City, 220, 4-0, 56.000
201. Sterling Heights Parkway Christian, 220, 4-0, 52.000
202. Detroit Public Safety Academy, 206, 3-1, 37.167
203. Mendon, 193, 3-1, 32.750
204. Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary, 193, 4-0, 50.000
205. Pittsford, 186, 4-0, 52.000
206. Athens *, 185, 3-0, 57.333
207. Adrian Lenawee Christian, 183, 4-0, 52.000
208. Martin, 183, 3-1, 40.000
209. Fowler, 170, 3-1, 36.750
210. Clarkston Everest Collegiate, 115, 4-0, 51.333
8-Player Playoff Listing
1. Colon, 162, 4-0, 50.000
2. Pickford, 156, 4-0, 48.000
3. Onekama, 131, 4-0, 46.667
4. Morrice, 182, 4-0, 46.000
5. AuGres-Sims, 160, 4-0, 44.000
6. Posen, 78, 4-0, 42.000
7. Wyoming Tri-unity Christian, 173, 4-0, 40.000
8. Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart, 122, 3-1, 38.500
9. Brethren, 143, 3-1, 36.250
10. Kingston, 187, 4-0, 36.000
11. Stephenson, 159, 3-1, 35.450
12. Engadine, 102, 3-1, 34.750
13. Hillman, 140, 3-1, 34.750
14. Camden-Frontier, 176, 3-1, 34.500
15. Powers North Central, 109, 3-1, 34.500
16. Battle Creek St. Philip, 178, 3-1, 32.750
17. Suttons Bay, 189, 3-1, 32.750
18. Cedarville, 151, 3-1, 32.500
19. Eben Junction Superior Central, 121, 3-1, 32.500
20. Portland St. Patrick, 102, 3-1, 32.500
21. Genesee, 169, 3-1, 32.250
22. Bellevue, 185, 3-1, 30.750
23. Kinde-North Huron, 130, 3-1, 28.500
24. Manistee Catholic Central, 181, 3-1, 28.500
25. Peck, 136, 3-1, 28.000
26. Mayville, 185, 3-1, 26.750
27. Fife Lake Forest Area, 183, 2-2, 25.250
28. Crystal Falls Forest Park, 125, 2-2, 23.250
29. Deckerville, 175, 2-2, 23.250
30. Webberville, 176, 2-2, 23.000
31. Bellaire, 131, 2-2, 21.917
32. Onaway, 187, 2-2, 21.417
33. Marion, 139, 2-2, 19.250
34. Rapid River, 127, 2-2, 19.250
35. Tekonsha, 121, 2-2, 19.250
36. Rudyard, 159, 2-2, 19.000
37. Waldron, 65, 2-2, 16.750
38. New Haven Merritt Academy, 154, 1-3, 15.500
39. Pellston, 167, 1-3, 13.750
40. Caseville *, 95, 1-2, 13.417
41. Bay City All Saints, 77, 1-3, 11.750
42. Hale, 122, 1-3, 11.750
43. Central Lake *, 190, 1-2, 11.667
44. Atlanta, 74, 1-3, 11.250
45. North Adams-Jerome, 146, 1-3, 11.000
46. Owendale-Gagetown, 57, 1-3, 11.000
47. St. Helen Charlton Heston Academy, 156, 1-3, 10.250
48. Ashley, 94, 1-3, 10.000
49. Big Rapids Crossroads Academy, 201, 1-3, 9.500
50. Mesick, 202, 1-3, 9.500
51. Brimley, 154, 1-3, 9.250
52. Burr Oak, 74, 1-3, 9.250
53. Ontonagon, 173, 1-3, 9.250
54. Burton Madison Academy, 163, 1-3, 8.750
55. Lawrence, 171, 0-4, 2.750
56. Flint International Academy, 171, 0-4, 1.750
57. Bear Lake *, 94, 0-3, 1.250
58. Carney-Nadeau, 133, 0-4, 1.250
59. Felch North Dickinson, 83, 0-4, 1.250
60. Litchfield, 81, 0-4, 1.250
61. St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran, 100, 0-4, 1.250
62. Baldwin, 120, 0-3, 0.500
QB Leads Ithaca Back to Legendary Level
November 27, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
DETROIT – At halftime of Friday’s Division 6 Final, Ithaca coach Terry Hessbrook told his quarterback Jake Smith he was the best player on the field and needed to play like it.
Or something like that – no doubt a little more directly, with a few more words that got right to the heart of Smith’s importance in helping the Yellowjackets avoid the disappointment of taking home the second-place trophy for the second season in a row.
Two quarters later, the list of Ithaca quarterbacks who have put up memorable performances at Ford Field grew by one.
Cementing his place in a line of signal callers who have led Ithaca to 83 wins in 84 games, Smith directed a second-half rally that pushed the Yellowjackets past Clinton 27-20 for their fifth MHSAA championship in six seasons.
A year ago, Smith and his teammates left the field after a loss to Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central ended a national-best 69-game winning streak. This time, Ithaca trailed 13-0 early in the third quarter before scoring 27 straight points over 15 minutes to take a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
“He knew he could get more out of me, and as an offense we definitely produced,” said Smith of his coach’s halftime cajoling. “I wasn’t really panicking. I knew if we get behind, we’ve still got to keep playing. I wasn’t going to let it happen like it happened last year. I didn’t want to experience that feeling again, so I just played as hard as I could.
“It means so much to everybody on our team. Everybody really just wants to go out on top. Everybody wants to be number one. We finished that climb this year and we stuck the flag in the mountain, and it just feels so great.”
And it surely was a bit of a relief too.
Many of the team’s 17 seniors saw the field for most of the 2014 trip to Detroit, perhaps offering a little more motivation to bounce back for the program’s fifth perfect season over the last six.
“It was immense pressure, and to be honest, that made me very nervous. I talked to the players about it before the game today, that I was so happy because since day one last year after we got beat their goal was to get back to Ford Field,” Hessbrook said. “And I thought we had a championship-caliber football team, but I think a lot of people had championship-caliber football teams and somewhere along the line they get caught up and something goes wrong.
“I was glad they were able to play their last game in an Ithaca uniform here at Ford Field and have a chance ... to play for a championship.”
The Yellowjackets (14-0) finished off their best defensive performance of the run in terms of points allowed, giving up only 107 this fall despite dealing the first and only losses to three contenders over the last four weeks.
That defense played a massive role Friday, holding a Clinton rushing attack that averaged 297 yards per game this season to only 179. The Redskins had only 14 yards rushing over five second-half possessions after taking the 13-0 third-quarter lead.
But while the Yellowjackets held Clinton’s offense in check, it came down to Smith to carry them over the top.
The Ithaca run of quarterbacks starring at Ford Field started with Alex Niznak, who ran for five touchdowns in 2010 to lead the Yellowjackets to their first title. Then came Jake’s older brother Travis Smith, who put his name all over the record book in 2011 and 2013 wins – sandwiched around 2012, when back-up Logan Hessbrook came in after Travis Smith was hurt and led Ithaca to another MHSAA Finals victory.
Jake Smith was decent in last season’s Final, running for 90 yards and a score and throwing for 147 yards and the other touchdown as Ithaca fell 22-12. But his first half Friday was not at all noteworthy – six yards rushing and 60 passing.
Then came Hessbrook's pep talk.
“The first half, we did what we wanted to do,” Clinton coach Scott McNitt said. “We kept him in front of us. We didn’t let him get loose. But the third quarter, he found something. And he showed he was the best player on the field.”
Four minutes into the third quarter, Smith scored Ithaca’s first touchdown on a 14-yard run. Three and a half minutes later, Smith connected with senior Spence DeMull on a 22-yard pass in the seam, and two plays later connected with DeMull on the same route for a score that put the Yellowjackets ahead 14-13.
The next possession saw Smith's performance climb toward another level.
With 14 seconds left in the third quarter, he dropped back and rolled left, spun away from a near-sack, down the left sideline – and just as it looked like he would dive at the near pylon, Smith side-stepped right and whirled into the end zone. Ithaca 21, Clinton 13.
Smith added one more touchdown run from a yard out to put the Yellowjackets up 27-13 with 7:47 to play. Noah Poore’s 4-yard run at 4:59 pulled Clinton back within seven. But after Ithaca ran the clock down to 1:47 on its next possession, Clinton went to the air and completed only one of four passes before Ithaca senior Derek Teed ended the threat with a fourth-down sack.
Teed had three of his team’s 11 tackles for losses. Senior linebacker Jace Demenov led the effort on that side of the ball with 10 tackles, and junior linebacker Lane O’Boyle had eight.
Smith ended with 126 yards rushing to go with three scores and 180 yards passing with a touchdown.
For Clinton, senior running back/linebacker Mathew Sexton ran for 141 yards and a score and had six tackles. Senior linebacker Ken DeShano had 11 tackles.
Sexton also played a major role when Clinton fell to Ithaca 41-22 in the 2013 Final, and ran for more than 2,000 yards this season as the Redskins (13-1) charged through this run toward the rematch, eliminating reigning champion St. Mary among one of the most impressive slates of playoff opponents in any division.
“The gauntlet we’ve gone through these past four weeks – St. Mary, Madison Heights (Madison), (Jackson) Lumen Christi, (Grand Rapids) NorthPointe Christian, may have taken some of what we needed in the tank out of us,” McNitt said. “But these kids battled to the end … and had a chance at the end.”
Coaches almost always decline to compare teams from year to year, and especially championship winners.
But Hessbrook admitted this run was a little sweeter than some of the rest because of what it allowed for the players who walked off sadly a year ago and the legacy they were able to finish on a winning note.
“It would be hard for me to put them into numerical order and say this one is my favorite one or that one is my favorite one,” Hessbrook said. “But I’ll say this about this group of seniors: I don’t think that any class at Ithaca has ever dedicated themselves to winning a championship more than this class has, and that’s why it was so important for them to do that."
PHOTOS: (Top) Ithaca quarterback Jake Smith breaks a tackle during Friday's Division 6 Final. (Middle) The Yellowjackets celebrate their fifth MHSAA title in six seasons.