Week 5 Football Playoff Listing

September 18, 2012

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. An asterisk (*) beside a record indicates that a team has eight or fewer games scheduled. A carrot (^) beside a school’s name indicates that 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. 26-27. 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 16 programs will be drawn into regions of eight teams each for the playoff in that division, which also begins Oct. 26-27.

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 on Oct. 21 on the Selection Sunday Show on FOX Sports Detroit at 7 p.m. The playoff qualifiers and pairings will be posted to the MHSAA Website following the Selection Sunday Show.

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11-Player Playoff Listing

1. Utica Eisenhower, 2772, 3-1, 72.500

2. Sterling Heights Stevenson, 2766, 3-1, 68.500

3. Clarkston, 2721, 4-0, 90.000

4. Macomb Dakota, 2608, 3-1, 72.500

5. Lake Orion, 2565, 4-0, 90.000

6. Troy, 2502, 3-1, 70.500

7. Clinton Township Chippewa Valley, 2462, 3-1, 74.250

8. Dearborn Fordson, 2442, 3-1, 76.250

9. Holland West Ottawa, 2262, 3-1, 66.500

10. Detroit Cass Tech, 2200, 4-0, 92.000

11. Canton, 2166, 3-1, 62.750

12. Monroe, 2154, 4-0, 82.000

13. Plymouth, 2050, 3-1, 62.750

14. Salem, 2039, 4-0, 88.000

15. Livonia Stevenson, 2005, 4-0, 92.000

16. Hartland, 1932, 4-0, 88.000

17. Warren Mott, 1879, 4-0, 84.000

18. Livonia Churchill, 1877, 4-0, 94.000

19. Walled Lake Central, 1857, 3-1, 64.750

20. Saline, 1849, 3-1, 62.250

21. Grandville, 1846, 3-1, 64.750

22. Flint Carman-Ainsworth, 1772, 4-0, 82.000

23. Grand Ledge, 1743, 3-1, 64.250

24. Rochester, 1725, 3-1, 68.750

25. Traverse City West, 1720, 3-1, 62.250

26. White Lake Lakeland, 1700, 3-1, 64.250

27. Davison, 1664, 3-1, 64.750

28. Grosse Pointe South, 1648, 3-1, 70.500

29. Temperance Bedford, 1581, 3-1, 58.750

30. Brownstown Woodhaven, 1520, 3-1, 64.750

31. Ypsilanti Lincoln, 1520, 3-1, 66.750

32. Midland, 1485, 4-0, 94.000

33. Port Huron, 1473, 3-1, 66.500

34. Traverse City Central, 1429, 3-1, 64.000

35. Oak Park, 1391, 4-0, 94.000

36. Lansing Everett, 1359, 4-0, 96.000

37. Birmingham Seaholm, 1349, 3-1, 62.500

38. Garden City, 1344, 3-1, 64.250

39. Portage Central, 1340, 3-1, 66.750

40. Muskegon Mona Shores, 1337, 3-1, 52.750

41. Birmingham Brother Rice, 1336, 3-1, 70.750

42. Portage Northern, 1328, 3-1, 70.750

43. Caledonia, 1308, 4-0, 90.000

44. Wyandotte Roosevelt, 1304, 4-0, 78.000

45. Farmington Hills Harrison, 1302, 3-1, 68.250

46. Farmington, 1278, 4-0, 90.000

47. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, 1278, 3-1, 64.750

48. Taylor Truman, 1253, 4-0, 88.000

49. Swartz Creek, 1223, 4-0, 90.000

50. Fenton, 1202, 3-1, 60.750

51. Grand Rapids Northview, 1180, 3-1, 62.000

52. Lowell, 1177, 3-1, 66.750

53. Bay City Western, 1171, 4-0, 72.000

54. Gibraltar Carlson, 1160, 4-0, 78.000

55. Muskegon, 1144, 4-0, 98.000

56. East Lansing, 1142, 4-0, 76.000

57. Mattawan, 1124, 4-0, 82.000

58. Marquette*, 1112, 3-1, 68.250

59. Redford Thurston, 1088, 3-1, 52.500

60. Auburn Hills Avondale, 1080, 4-0, 82.000

61. St. Johns, 1068, 4-0, 82.000

62. Zeeland East, 1067, 4-0, 88.000

63. Detroit East English, 1030, 3-1, 60.750

64. Lansing Waverly, 1011, 3-1, 54.750

65. St. Joseph, 974, 3-1, 58.500

66. Mason, 969, 4-0, 76.000

67. Milan, 959, 4-0, 78.000

68. Grand Rapids Christian, 954, 3-1, 68.750

69. Cedar Springs, 950, 3-1, 50.250

70. DeWitt, 931, 3-1, 62.750

71. Fruitport, 929, 4-0, 76.000

72. Orchard Lake St. Mary's, 926, 3-1, 66.750

73. Bloomfield Hills Lahser, 925, 4-0, 78.000

74. Linden, 923, 4-0, 92.000

75. Niles, 920, 3-1, 66.750

76. Hazel Park, 909, 3-1, 58.750

77. Stevensville Lakeshore, 906, 4-0, 94.000

78. St. Clair, 901, 4-0, 74.000

79. Tecumseh, 887, 4-0, 82.000

80. Carleton Airport, 868, 3-1, 60.500

81. Detroit Central Collegiate, 868, 3-1, 60.250

82. Hastings, 850, 3-1, 54.750

83. Plainwell, 832, 3-1, 62.750

84. Cadillac, 820, 4-0, 80.000

85. Madison Heights Lamphere, 814, 3-1, 60.750

86. Edwardsburg, 805, 3-1, 52.500

87. North Branch, 803, 3-1, 56.500

88. Hamilton, 801, 4-0, 80.000

89. Marysville, 794, 4-0, 84.000

90. Three Rivers, 760, 3-1, 52.500

91. Goodrich, 748, 3-1, 56.500

92. Dearborn Heights Robichaud, 720, 4-0, 82.000

93. Big Rapids, 706, 3-1, 48.750

94. Croswell-Lexington, 704, 4-0, 82.000

95. St. Clair Shores South Lake, 704, 3-1, 62.500

96. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 701, 4-0, 78.000

97. Otsego, 698, 3-1, 54.500

98. Detroit Country Day, 685, 3-1, 66.250

99. Comstock Park, 678, 3-1, 60.000

100. Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 674, 4-0, 76.000

101. Grand Rapids South Christian, 660, 3-1, 56.500

102. Battle Creek Pennfield, 656, 4-0, 56.000

103. Grosse Ile, 649, 3-1, 52.750

104. Saginaw Swan Valley, 642, 4-0, 72.000

105. Paw Paw, 639, 4-0, 68.000

106. Allendale, 636, 3-1, 66.500

107. Williamston, 636, 3-1, 56.750

108. Cheboygan, 631, 3-1, 58.500

109. Marine City, 629, 3-1, 66.250

110. Alma, 614, 3-1, 60.750

111. Saginaw Valley Lutheran, 608, 3-1, 36.750

112. Dowagiac, 605, 4-0, 74.000

113. Livonia Clarenceville, 597, 3-1, 57.417

114. Clawson, 582, 3-1, 46.500

115. Remus Chippewa Hills, 581, 3-1, 50.500

116. Essexville Garber, 572, 3-1, 54.500

117. Clinton Township Clintondale, 570, 4-0, 78.000

118. Lake Fenton, 564, 3-1, 54.500

119. Freeland, 561, 3-1, 54.500

120. Kingsford, 559, 3-1, 50.750

121. Portland, 555, 4-0, 72.000

122. Flint Powers Catholic, 542, 4-0, 78.000

123. Menominee, 539, 4-0, 82.000

124. Macomb Lutheran North, 537, 4-0, 74.000

125. Hopkins, 531, 4-0, 64.000

126. Detroit University Prep, 528, 4-0, 72.667

127. Grayling, 516, 4-0, 66.000

128. Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, 515, 3-1, 48.750

129. Allen Park Cabrini, 512, 3-1, 42.750

130. Olivet, 509, 3-1, 48.750

131. Frankenmuth, 507, 4-0, 72.000

132. Newaygo, 507, 3-1, 54.750

133. Ida, 503, 4-0, 64.000

134. River Rouge, 495, 4-0, 66.667

135. Carrollton, 492, 4-0, 56.000

136. Lansing Catholic, 487, 3-1, 52.500

137. Reed City, 480, 4-0, 70.000

138. Muskegon Oakridge, 474, 4-0, 68.000

139. Kingsley, 473, 3-1, 40.250

140. Jackson Lumen Christi, 472, 4-0, 74.000

141. Buchanan, 467, 3-1, 50.500

142. Leslie, 467, 4-0, 66.000

143. Roscommon, 461, 3-1, 46.750

144. Kalkaska, 459, 3-1, 38.750

145. Millington*, 459, 3-1, 58.750

146. Warren Michigan Collegiate, 446, 4-0, 66.000

147. Boyne City, 437, 4-0, 66.000

148. Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central, 437, 3-1, 52.500

149. Negaunee, 433, 4-0, 66.000

150. Beaverton, 422, 3-1, 40.250

151. Hemlock, 421, 3-1, 56.750

152. Shelby, 417, 4-0, 78.000

153. Vassar, 416, 4-0, 50.000

154. Clinton, 413, 4-0, 68.000

155. Maple City Glen Lake, 409, 4-0, 54.000

156. Michigan Center, 406, 4-0, 64.000

157. Manchester, 404, 3-1, 44.750

158. Ithaca, 402, 4-0, 76.000

159. Montrose Hill-McCloy, 400, 3-1, 58.750

160. Niles Brandywine, 396, 3-1, 38.917

161. Grass Lake, 395, 3-1, 48.750

162. Hillsdale, 391, 4-0, 70.000

163. Madison Heights Madison, 391, 3-1, 58.000

164. Ecorse, 390, 3-1, 42.500

165. Montague, 390, 3-1, 50.750

166. Sanford Meridian, 388, 3-1, 48.250

167. Saranac, 383, 3-1, 50.250

168. Constantine, 371, 3-1, 44.750

169. Grandville Calvin Christian, 371, 3-1, 46.750

170. Watervliet, 369, 4-0, 48.000

171. Schoolcraft, 366, 4-0, 68.000

172. Byron Area, 364, 3-1, 40.750

173. Reese, 350, 4-0, 54.000

174. Union City, 350, 4-0, 54.000

175. Burton Bendle, 348, 3-1, 40.750

176. Pellston, 347, 4-0, 32.000

177. Saginaw Nouvel, 344, 3-1, 64.750

178. Carson City-Crystal, 337, 3-1, 34.250

179. Hartford, 337, 4-0, 62.667

180. Marlette, 336, 4-0, 56.000

181. Whittemore-Prescott, 328, 3-1, 40.750

182. Lawton, 317, 4-0, 60.000

183. Lake City, 316, 4-0, 48.000

184. Pewamo-Westphalia, 316, 3-1, 46.500

185. Hesperia, 309, 3-1, 38.500

186. Ishpeming, 307, 4-0, 62.000

187. Unionville-Sebewaing, 303, 3-1, 38.500

188. Evart, 302, 3-1, 34.750

189. Homer, 302, 3-1, 36.750

190. Detroit Loyola, 298, 4-0, 76.000

191. Lincoln Alcona, 292, 3-1, 30.500

192. Genesee, 288, 3-1, 34.000

193. Mancelona, 288, 4-0, 50.000

194. Royal Oak Shrine Catholic, 284, 3-1, 56.750

195. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, 283, 3-1, 36.500

196. Reading, 283, 3-1, 38.500

197. Decatur, 277, 4-0, 50.000

198. Gobles, 271, 3-1, 38.750

199. Ottawa Lake Whiteford, 268, 3-1, 40.750

200. Waterford Our Lady, 263, 4-0, 64.000

201. Newberry, 260, 3-1, 26.750

202. Mayville, 258, 3-1, 50.500

203. Melvindale Academy for Business & Tech, 254, 3-1, 52.500

204. Marcellus, 249, 4-0, 44.000

205. Harbor Beach, 245, 3-1, 38.750

206. Vestaburg, 242, 3-1, 36.500

207. Coleman, 239, 3-1, 38.250

208. New Lothrop, 237, 4-0, 64.000

209. Bessemer*, 233, 3-1, 38.750

210. L'Anse, 233, 4-0, 54.000

211. Petersburg-Summerfield, 232, 3-1, 40.750

212. Atlanta, 224, 3-1, 30.917

213. Mendon, 216, 4-0, 50.000

214. Beal City, 213, 4-0, 68.000

215. Pittsford, 213, 3-1, 36.250

216. Morenci, 207, 3-1, 40.000

217. St. Ignace La Salle, 207, 4-0, 46.000

218. Pickford, 197, 4-0, 48.000

219. Onaway, 194, 4-0, 38.000

220. Powers North Central, 194, 3-1, 26.250

221. Fowler, 186, 3-1, 48.750

222. Climax-Scotts, 183, 4-0, 44.000

223. Morrice, 171, 4-0, 48.000

224. St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic*, 171, 3-0, 46.667

225. Colon, 164, 3-1, 30.750

226. Crystal Falls Forest Park, 164, 4-0, 48.000

227. Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart, 121, 3-1, 42.750

228. Iron Mountain North Dickinson*^, 112, 4-0, 54.000

229. Ashley, 99, 3-1, 28.500

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8-Player Playoff Listing

1. Deckerville, 194, 3-1, 36.750

2. Battle Creek St. Philip, 182, 3-1, 34.750

3. Kingston, 175, 3-1, 30.500

4. Cedarville, 169, 4-0, 45.333

5. Peck, 156, 4-0, 40.000

6. Eben Junction Superior Central, 132, 4-0, 42.000

7. Rapid River, 115, 4-0, 34.000

8. Portland St. Patrick, 104, 4-0, 46.000

9. Owendale-Gagetown, 60, 3-1, 32.250

Bush Legacy: Culture of Opportunity

By Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com

April 6, 2018

By Doug Donnelly
Special for Second Half

CHELSEA – For the first time as Chelsea High School athletic director, Brad Bush has to hire a football coach.

What’s more, he has the unenviable task of replacing himself.

“I would say that nobody cares more about Chelsea football than I do,” Bush said. “It’s important to me that we find the very best person we can.”

Bush has coached the Bulldogs for 21 seasons. But, his coaching background goes much deeper than that.

He played at Ypsilanti High School for Hall of Fame coach Bill Giarmo, graduating in 1988. After playing quarterback at Cornell University in the Ivy League, he returned to Michigan, graduating from Eastern Michigan University, and started coaching for Bill Kohn, another inductee to the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Bush then went to East Kentwood to coach with Giarmo.

Through his own playing days, coaching with those legends of the game and absorbing everything he could from afar, Bush has developed an impressive culture at Chelsea.

“Friday nights in Chelsea are a big deal,” he said. “We want to keep that tradition.”

Bush became the varsity head coach at Chelsea in 1997. At the time, Chelsea had only two playoff appearances. Bush’s Bulldogs went 3-6 that first season. After that, Chelsea didn’t have a sub-.500 finish for 15 years. The Bulldogs have been kept out of the playoffs only once since 1998.

Chelsea has had only three head coaches since 1965.

“I’m fortunate,” Bush said. “I went for a few more years than the other guys. It’s a great place to coach.”

Temperance Bedford head coach Jeff Wood was an assistant with Bush at Ypsilanti during the 1990s and said he thought then that Bush was going to develop into a great head coach.

“We knew he was going to accomplish greatness, not only as a football coach, but as a father, husband and professional in education,” Wood said. “Brad has always won and lost with great class and dignity. He’s a true Hall of Famer.”

If Bush never coaches at Chelsea again, his lasting legacy might be that culture surrounding the Bulldogs program. It’s known for its large number of football players, from middle school through the varsity, and a system that ensures every student athlete on every team leading to the varsity will play in every game. Teams at the middle school, freshman and junior varsity levels all start 22 players each game – with no two-way starters. For a Class B/Division 3 school, that isn’t the norm.

“We’ve had the same philosophy for 20 years,” he said. “Everybody plays in every middle school, freshman and junior varsity game. That’s how we do it. We start 22 kids on every level. Our kids know they will have the opportunity to play.

“Every kid on every level is going to play in every game. On most nights, we play more kids than the other team has players.”

While every school loses some athletes, or potential athletes, along the way, Bush said this system helps maintain a student’s interest in the sport. Often, he said, a player who may not necessarily be a starter as a freshman will learn the game, develop and turn into a starter by senior year.

“We feel that, over time, with repetition and practice, a kid will become an expert at his position,” he said. “For us, this is a big piece. … That was my thing here. I didn’t invent it. I absorbed it, watched it at other places.”

It’s tough to argue with the results. Chelsea won or shared Southeastern Conference championships in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2017. The Bulldogs won seven District championships during the Bush era and played in the 2015 Division 3 championship game, falling to Orchard Lake St. Mary’s at Ford Field

He said he learned how to build a program from Giarmo and how to coach a football team under Kohn. Bush was quick to credit his assistant coaches who have remained with the program for years and helped build the culture. He said the program has sacrificed win-at-all-cost at the lower levels with the goal of developing varsity football players.

“You have to manage it,” he said. “That’s why you need a great staff. We have been lucky here with a great, dedicated group of guys. They always have the ultimate goal in mind.”

Bush said he won’t hamstring the next coach into running his system, but anticipates whoever is hired will buy into the culture after seeing what it’s about.

“The next coach has to run it the way he wants to run it, but I do believe we have created a culture here and we’d like to maintain that. You want to hire the right person who is going to handle the kids the right way.”

In addition to coaching at Chelsea and leading the entire athletic program, Bush also is heavily involved in the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association as a past president, serves on the Michigan High School Athletic Association football committee and has served on the National Federation football rules committee. He’s coached in all-star games and is a true believer in high school sports.

His record at Chelsea is 169-60.

“I have great energy,” Bush said. “I love coaching. I have a great passion for it, but I also know when you need to do certain things. I felt this was just the right time for the athletic department and the football team. It wasn’t one thing that led me to this.

“I love the game. I’m going to be very much involved.”

Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.

PHOTO: Chelsea's Brad Bush coaches his team during the 2015 Division 3 Final at Ford Field.