1st & Goal: 2024 Week 5 Preview
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 27, 2024
As we reach the midpoint of the 2024 football regular season this weekend, 88 teams – or 15 percent of the state’s 601 varsities – have yet to taste a loss this fall.
That may change substantially over the next three days.
A first defeat is guaranteed for at least four teams, as four Week 5 matchups pit undefeated opponents – and we dig into two of those games below. A total of 24 more undefeated teams will face opponents who have suffered just one loss over the first month, and we highlight some of those matchups as well – plus a few unexpected picks as we take a bit of a long view on potential league title and playoff qualification outcomes while rolling into the second half.
All games listed below are tonight unless noted, with results posting as they are reported all weekend on the MHSAA Scores page. Updated standings also are available by clicking the schools on the score list, and every division’s playoff points summary updates as well as scores are received.
Bay & Thumb
Ovid-Elsie (4-0) at Montrose (3-1) WATCH
Three teams have started the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference schedule 2-0, and these are two of them. Both were original members of the league in 2018, but their only championship came with a three-team share of the title in 2021 – although Montrose has won four District titles and a Regional championship over the last six seasons, and Ovid-Elsie made the Division 6 Semifinals last fall. The Marauders’ 42 points in a 35-point win last week over Durand were their season low; conversely, Montrose downed Durand by only six points 20-14 in Week 3 but over the season is allowing just under 11 per game – and with that lone loss opening night to 2023 Division 8 semifinalist Riverview Gabriel Richard.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Almont (4-0) at Croswell-Lexington (3-1) WATCH, Lansing Everett (4-0) at Grand Blanc (3-1) WATCH, Traverse City West (3-1) at Midland (3-1) WATCH, Port Huron Northern (2-2) at Port Huron (3-1) WATCH.
Greater Detroit
Warren De La Salle Collegiate (3-1) at Detroit Catholic Central (4-0), Sunday WATCH
This season’s DCC “Boys Bowl” features two of the top three teams in the Catholic High School League Central. DCC leads the division thanks to a 21-7 Week 2 win over Toledo Central Catholic, and De La Salle is chasing after last week’s 41-6 loss to TCC. But a Pilots win in this Sunday afternoon matchup would reset things at the top of the standings, and De La Salle has claimed the last three meetings with the Shamrocks – including 14-7 a year ago.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Roseville (3-1) at Grosse Pointe South (4-0), Rochester Adams (4-0) at Lake Orion (3-1) WATCH, Detroit Henry Ford (4-0) at Detroit Martin Luther King (3-1), Riverview (4-0) at Flat Rock (4-0) WATCH.
Mid-Michigan
DeWitt (4-0) at East Lansing (3-1) WATCH
This has been the most anticipated matchup in the Lansing area going back to last year’s 40-34 East Lansing win that ended up deciding the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue championship. The lone loss between them this season was the Trojans’ 14-12 defeat against Hudsonville in Week 2, and that defeat keeps looking better as Hudsonville downed Division 1 contender Rockford last week. DeWitt has scored at least 55 points in all four of its games, but also given up 42 or more twice – and with the playmakers on both sides, this could be another high-scoring clash.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Ogemaw Heights (4-0) at Clare (4-0) WATCH, Lake Fenton (3-1) at Corunna (4-0) WATCH, Portland (4-0) at Lansing Catholic (3-1), Manchester (4-0) at Leslie (4-0) WATCH.
Northern Lower Peninsula
Kingsley (3-1) at Traverse City St. Francis (3-1) WATCH
Much-improved Cheboygan may play a role, and Benzie Central pushed Kingsley hard last week. But these two look like the favorites in the Northern Michigan Football League Legends, and this game looks like it could end up eventually deciding the title. Both have a loss to a good opponent this fall, the Stags to Reed City in their opener and St. Francis two weeks ago to a 2023 league champion in Berrien Springs. Kingsley won last season’s meeting with the Gladiators 44-21 on the way to finishing second in the league but claiming the Division 6 championship in November.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Maple City Glen Lake (3-1) at East Jordan (3-1) WATCH, Cheboygan (3-1) at Boyne City (2-2) WATCH, Benzie Central (2-2) at Charlevoix (2-2) WATCH, McBain (4-0) at Houghton Lake (2-2) WATCH.
Southeast & Border
Petersburg Summerfield (3-1) at Ottawa Lake Whiteford (2-2) WATCH
This will be the final season of 11-player football in the 41-year-old Tri-County Conference, and among the remaining three teams Whiteford and Summerfield are tied with the most league titles with seven apiece. Whiteford has dominated in four straight wins between these two, including a 2021 playoff victory and 43-0 a year ago in Week 9 to keep the Bulldogs out of the playoffs. But Summerfield is off to another solid start, with its lone defeat by three to improved Decatur, and will try to catch a Bobcats team coming off a 50-20 loss to undefeated Edon, Ohio.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Milan (2-2) at Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (4-0), Onsted (2-2) at Ida (3-1) WATCH, Blissfield (2-2) at Hudson (3-1) WATCH, Grass Lake (3-1) at Napoleon (2-2).
Southwest Corridor
Galesburg-Augusta (2-2) at Lawton (3-1) WATCH
Galesburg-Augusta is off to its best start since 2016, when it finished 5-4 – its only winning season this century. A victory over Allegan in Week 3 was notable and gave the Rams as many this season (2) as all of last. Things get more difficult from here, however, as Schoolcraft started off the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley schedule by handing G-A a 49-0 defeat. Lawton, meanwhile, opened its league slate with a 42-6 rumbling over Delton Kellogg and has won 12 straight Valley games and three straight championships.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY South Haven (2-2) at Parchment (3-1), Parma Western (3-1) at Coldwater (2-2), Allegan (2-2) at Constantine (4-0), Bronson (3-1) at Vermontville Maple Valley (2-2) WATCH.
Upper Peninsula
Bark River-Harris (2-2) at Manistique (2-2) WATCH
This might seem like another unexpected choice for special attention, but both teams enter this weekend with an opportunity to affect their season's eventual outcome significantly. The Emeralds are coming off a 4-5 finish a year ago, their best record since 2012, and a win over Bark River-Harris would not only be a first in five recent meetings but also a strong step toward reaching five or more wins this fall – especially with their final two games against currently undefeated Iron Mountain and Saginaw Nouvel. The Broncos, meanwhile, opened this season 0-2 but have begun to rebound as they pursue a sixth-straight winning regular season – and with Iron Mountain and Menominee coming up, this one would go a long way toward achieving that possibility.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Kingsford (4-0) at Calumet (2-2) WATCH, Houghton (2-2) at Menominee (4-0) WATCH, Ishpeming Westwood (1-3) at Gladstone (1-3) WATCH. SATURDAY Gwinn (2-2) at West Iron County (1-3) WATCH.
West Michigan
Zeeland West (4-0) at Hudsonville Unity Christian (4-0)
The realigned Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold took Zeeland West away from the Muskegon powerhouses but dropped it into a division with, among others, reigning Division 3 champion Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central from the O-K White and rebounding Unity from the O-K Blue. The Crusaders are only three years removed from a trip to Ford Field and defeated Forest Hills Central 43-20 last week in a league opener, while West opened with a 28-13 win over rival Zeeland East. Worth noting, Grand Rapids South Christian is the only holdover back from the previous O-K Gold alignment, and the Sailors also are 4-0 and see Unity and Zeeland West back-to-back in Weeks 7 and 8, respectively.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Hudsonville (3-1) at East Kentwood (3-1) WATCH, Newaygo (4-0) at Reed City (3-1) WATCH, Grand Rapids South Christian (4-0) at Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central (3-1) WATCH, Muskegon Mona Shores (4-0) at Muskegon (1-2).
8-Player
Brown City (3-1) at Kingston (4-0)
Brown City has an enrollment too large to allow the Green Devils to participate in the playoffs this season, so a repeat league championship has to be a main objective – and despite falling 30-28 to Deckerville last week, Brown City still has a chance to end up with at least a share of the Big Thumb Conference Blue title. Kingston and Deckerville now lead the league, and they face off in Week 7 – and Kingston also ended Brown City’s 2023 season with a Regional Final shutout. But a win tonight definitely would allow the Green Devils to root for the Cardinals in two weeks.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Waldron (4-0) at Burr Oak (3-1), Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian (3-1) at Gobles (4-0) WATCH, Alcona (4-0) at Mio (3-1) WATCH. SATURDAY Indian River Inland Lakes (4-0) at Ishpeming (3-1) WATCH.
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PHOTO Goodrich's Chase Burnett (25) follows teammate Gavin Sukup's block during a Week 3 win over Lake Fenton. (Photo by Terry Lyons.)
Much Different Story, Same Final Result as Lenawee Christian Repeats
By
Travis Nelson
Special for Second Half
November 20, 2021
MARQUETTE — It was a different stadium, but the same end result Saturday as Adrian Lenawee Christian defeated Suttons Bay for the second consecutive season, this time 31-20, to repeat as 8-player Division 1 champion.
But Saturday’s game at Northern Michigan University’s Superior Dome proved a much tougher test for the Cougars, who needed two fourth-quarter touchdowns to finally take down the Norsemen.
Lenawee Christian had won last season’s championship game 47-0 at Legacy Center in Brighton.
“What a tremendous game; my hat’s off to Suttons Bay,” Adrian Lenawee Christian coach Bill Wilharms said. “To make it here three straight years in a row, man what an amazing program coach (Garrick) Opie has.
“To all of the fans, it was so cool in this environment. It was so loud. This is what small-town football is all about. I can’t say enough about the venue and just having the opportunity to be here. I appreciate that a great deal.”
The game couldn’t have started better for the Cougars, as on the second play, Ashur Bryja intercepted a Suttons Bay pass and returned it 22 yards for the opening score. Suttons Bay had multiple scoring chances in the first quarter with drives reaching the Lenawee Christian red zone, but the Norsemen turned the ball over on downs.
The second quarter came with better fortunes for Suttons Bay, with Hugh Periard taking a handoff 90 yards for a score. Shawn Bramer’s two-point conversion run was sniffed out by the Cougars’ defense, and Suttons Bay trailed 7-6 with 6:44 left in the half. Lenawee Christian had a nice drive going inside the Norsemen 10-yard line before a pass was tipped and intercepted at the goal line by August Schaub, and returned it 99 yards for a score. Another Suttons Bay two-point attempt was no good, but the two touchdowns built a 12-7 lead with 4:58 to go in the half.
But Adrian Lenawee Christian didn’t fold because of the momentum changes, and responded with a six play, 65-yard drive capped off with a Bryja 11-yard touchdown run to take the lead back. The Cougars led 14-12 at halftime, and responding to Suttons Bay’s punches went back to being tested throughout the season, Wilharms said.
“I think this year, we’ve been tested a couple times,” Wilharms said. “Colon did it to us at their place, we had to weather some storms there as well, so I think we were tested. BD (Britton Deerfield) on the first play of the game in Week 9 comes out and scores on us. These kids have weathered the challenge on it and they understand, they play together as a team.”
Suttons Bay had another turnover on downs in Lenawee Christian territory in the third quarter, which turned into three points for the Cougars as Brady McKelvey nailed a 28-yard field goal to extend the lead to 17-12 with 2:02 remaining in the period.
Defense continued to carry the second half well into the fourth quarter, when the first touchdown of the half was scored with only 6:21 left in the game. Clay Ayers, who battled injury, ran the ball in for the Cougars to extend the lead to 24-12. Ayers was limited to only seven carries, but he showed well when it mattered most.
Suttons Bay fired back just 1:06 later with a deep pass from quarterback Dylan Barnowski to Periard for a 55-yard touchdown to cut the Cougars’ lead to 24-20 after Bramer’s ensuing two-point run. In his third consecutive Final, Periard had 209 yards from scrimmage. In also his final high school game, this loss was the most heartbreaking.
“Obviously, the previous two hurt pretty bad, but I think this one was the most because it’s my last time ever playing football and we were so close to pulling this one off,” Periard said. “So this year’s definitely the worst, in my opinion.”
Any doubt of the game’s finish was put away with a 33-yard run from Bryja to slam the door. Bryja, also Lenawee Christian’s quarterback, threw for 229 yards and ran for 161 and two touchdowns, in addition to his interception return.
At the end of the day, the Norsemen didn’t falter, but it was tough to overcome the Cougars.
“Sometimes you have the cards falling your way, and sometimes you don’t,” Suttons Bay coach Garrick Opie said. “Today was one of those days where timing mixed with lack of execution or otherwise. Or the fact that Lenawee Christian is just a very good team, was just very tough.”
The 2022 Adrian Lenawee Christian senior class finished 24-0 in leading the program’s first two seasons of 8-player football.
“They’re going to leave as the all-time winningest group in school history. They will have the single-season win record. They will have a ton of stuff,” Wilharms said. “As a collective group, oh my goodness, what a wonderful, wonderful group.”
PHOTOS (Top) Lenawee Christian’s Ashur Bryja (15) breaks into the open on the way to a second-quarter touchdown. (Middle) Suttons Bay’s Hugh Periard (1) makes a cut as the Cougars’ Clay Ayers (2) attempts to wrap him up. (Photos by Cara Kamps. Click for more.)