2021 MHSAA Football Playoff Pairings Announced
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 24, 2021
Here are the pairings for the 2021 MHSAA Football Playoffs, which begin Oct. 29-30 with District Semifinals in the 11-Player Playoffs and Regional Semifinals in the 8-Player Playoffs.
For 11- and 8-player, teams were divided into divisions before the start of play this fall. The top 32 teams in each division in 11-player and top 16 per division in 8-player, based on playoff-point average, were selected to the field. For 11-player, qualifiers were then divided into four regions with eight teams apiece, and for 8-player qualifiers were divided into four regions with four teams in each.
Pairings for the first three weeks of the tournament are based on regular-season playoff point averages, with the highest-ranked team hosting, regardless of the distance between the two schools. For 11-Player District Semifinal and 8-Player Regional Semifinal play, the top-seeded team in each bracket will host the fourth-seeded team, and the second-seeded team will host the third-seeded team.
District Finals for 11-player and Regional Finals for 8-player will follow during the weekend of Nov. 5-6, and the weekend of Nov. 12-13 will have Regional Finals in the 11-Player Playoffs and Semifinals in the 8-Player Playoffs. The 8-Player Semifinals will pair the winners of Region 1 vs. Region 2 and the winners of Region 3 vs. Region 4, at the sites of the highest-ranked team.
Semifinal games in the 11-Player Playoffs will take place Nov. 19-20, pairing the winners of Region 1 vs. Region 2 and the winners of Region 3 vs. Region 4. The MHSAA will assign 11-Player Semifinals at neutral sites.
All playoff tickets except for Finals will be sold online only via GoFan at https://gofan.co/ to provide for a cashless and contactless purchasing process.
For 11-Player, tickets to District Semifinals and District Finals cost $7.30, tickets to Regional Finals are $9.40, and tickets to Semifinals cost $10.45. For 8-player, tickets for Regional Semifinals are $7.30, tickets for Regional Finals are $9.40, and tickets for Semifinals cost $10.45. Prices for all of those rounds include a convenience fee.
The 8-Player Finals will take place Nov. 20 at Northern Michigan University’s Superior Dome in Marquette, and the 11-Player Finals will be played Nov. 26-27 at Ford Field in Detroit. An all-day ticket for 8-Player Finals costs $10 and includes admission to both games, and an all-day ticket for the 11-Player Finals costs $20 and includes admission to that day’s four games.
Pairings for both the 11 and 8-Player brackets are as follows:
11-Player Pairings
DIVISION 1
REGION 1
DISTRICT 1
Grand Ledge (6-3) 57.222 at Rockford (9-0) 84.222
Traverse City West (6-3) 58.333 at Grandville (6-3) 64.111
DISTRICT 2
Holt (7-2) 68.444 at Grand Blanc (9-0) 81.111
Howell (7-2) 69.333 at Hartland (7-2) 70.778
REGION 2
DISTRICT 1
Lapeer (7-2) 64.556 at Rochester Adams (9-0) 79.389
Oxford (5-4) 66.000 at Clarkston (8-1) 73.000
DISTRICT 2
Novi (5-4) 54.667 at West Bloomfield (8-1) 76.889
Detroit Catholic Central (7-2) 75.333 at Bloomfield Hills (9-0) 76.444
REGION 3
DISTRICT 1
Utica (5-4) 55.000 at Romeo (8-1) 82.333
New Baltimore Anchor Bay (7-2) 65.556 at Macomb Dakota (6-3) 66.333
DISTRICT 2
Fraser (6-3) 53.667 at Sterling Heights Stevenson (7-2) 74.222
Clinton Township Chippewa Valley (6-3) 68.778 at Troy (8-1) 71.667
REGION 4
DISTRICT 1
Canton (6-3) 65.333 at Saline (9-0) 82.333
Ann Arbor Huron (8-1) 74.222 at Belleville (8-1) 77.444
DISTRICT 2
Detroit Cass Tech (6-3) 54.931 at Dearborn Fordson (7-2) 73.556
Dearborn (6-3) 65.444 at Brownstown Woodhaven (8-1) 70.417
DIVISION 2
REGION 1
DISTRICT 1
Saginaw Heritage (4-5) 50.222 at Traverse City Central (8-1) 71.222
Bay City Western (7-2) 56.556 at Midland Dow (6-3) 63.778
DISTRICT 2
Byron Center (7-2) 62.333 at Caledonia (8-1) 76.444
Muskegon Mona Shores (7-2) 62.639 at Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central (8-1) 69.556
REGION 2
DISTRICT 1
Jackson (5-4) 48.889 at Portage Central (7-2) 64.556
Dexter (5-4) 58.000 at Battle Creek Lakeview (6-3) 58.236
DISTRICT 2
Swartz Creek (5-4) 47.556 at South Lyon (9-0) 78.014
East Lansing (6-3) 65.000 at Milford (7-2) 65.444
REGION 3
DISTRICT 1
Waterford Mott (5-4) 54.222 at Berkley (7-2) 66.333
Walled Lake Western (6-3) 58.333 at White Lake Lakeland (6-3) 62.889
DISTRICT 2
Dearborn Heights Crestwood (6-3) 48.778 at Livonia Churchill (7-2) 69.444
Livonia Franklin (4-5) 53.333 at Temperance Bedford (7-2) 67.444
REGION 4
DISTRICT 1
Roseville (5-4) 50.583 at Harrison Township L'Anse Creuse (7-2) 64.333
Port Huron (6-3) 59.778 at Port Huron Northern (7-2) 63.028
DISTRICT 2
Detroit U-D Jesuit (4-5) 49.667 at Warren De La Salle Collegiate (8-0) 80.833
St. Clair Shores Lakeview (5-4) 51.667 at Grosse Pointe South (5-4) 55.944
DIVISION 3
REGION 1
DISTRICT 1
Ionia (5-4) 41.556 at DeWitt (8-1) 76.667
Marquette (7-2) 57.222 at Mount Pleasant (9-0) 70.444
DISTRICT 2
Lowell (4-5) 48.778 at Muskegon (8-1) 69.194
Coopersville (6-3) 49.222 at Cedar Springs (7-2) 58.556
REGION 2
DISTRICT 1
Zeeland East (5-4) 50.014 at Stevensville Lakeshore (6-3) 57.778
St. Joseph (5-4) 51.778 at Zeeland West (6-2) 57.264
DISTRICT 2
Richland Gull Lake (5-4) 42.222 at Battle Creek Harper Creek (6-3) 52.222
Mattawan (4-5) 45.270 at Parma Western (6-3) 48.000
REGION 3
DISTRICT 1
South Lyon East (3-6) 42.556 at Mason (7-2) 56.111
Pinckney (6-3) 52.556 at Haslett (7-2) 54.333
DISTRICT 2
Auburn Hills Avondale (4-5) 46.889 at Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (6-3) 62.208
Orchard Lake St. Mary's (5-4) 51.417 at Flint Kearsley (6-3) 52.556
REGION 4
DISTRICT 1
Warren Fitzgerald (8-1) 53.222 at Detroit Martin Luther King (8-1) 76.722
River Rouge (6-2) 56.319 at Harper Woods (7-2) 61.597
DISTRICT 2
Trenton (5-4) 54.667 at Gibraltar Carlson (8-1) 72.111
Riverview (9-0) 62.889 at Allen Park (7-2) 64.667
DIVISION 4
REGION 1
DISTRICT 1
Fruitport (4-5) 43.667 at Cadillac (7-2) 57.111
Whitehall (7-2) 46.222 at Sparta (7-2) 49.792
DISTRICT 2
Ada Forest Hills Eastern (5-4) 45.778 at Hudsonville Unity Christian (9-0) 67.444
Spring Lake (6-3) 50.889 at Grand Rapids Christian (6-3) 59.111
REGION 2
DISTRICT 1
Charlotte (6-3) 47.333 at Hastings (8-1) 59.000
Grand Rapids South Christian (6-3) 51.000 at Plainwell (6-3) 51.667
DISTRICT 2
Paw Paw (5-4) 45.556 at Edwardsburg (9-0) 64.889
Three Rivers (5-4) 46.111 at Vicksburg (8-1) 61.667
REGION 3
DISTRICT 1
Ortonville Brandon (6-3) 48.472 at Lake Fenton (8-1) 61.556
Goodrich (7-2) 56.889 at Freeland (8-1) 57.889
DISTRICT 2
North Branch (7-2) 48.000 at St. Clair (7-2) 57.361
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (7-2) 50.347 at Croswell-Lexington (8-1) 53.444
REGION 4
DISTRICT 1
Detroit Country Day (5-3) 46.889 at Redford Union (8-1) 59.444
Madison Heights Lamphere (7-2) 50.778 at Livonia Clarenceville (8-1) 55.556
DISTRICT 2
Romulus Summit Academy North (7-2) 45.222 at Chelsea (9-0) 70.556
New Boston Huron (5-4) 47.889 at Milan (7-2) 50.889
DIVISION 5
REGION 1
DISTRICT 1
Clare (6-3) 42.444 at Gladwin (9-0) 50.222
Kingsford (6-3) 46.778 at Kingsley (8-1) 48.667
DISTRICT 2
Carrollton (5-4) 35.889 at Frankenmuth (9-0) 62.111
Saginaw Swan Valley (5-4) 42.667 at Essexville Garber (5-4) 44.222
REGION 2
DISTRICT 1
Grant (4-5) 35.944 at Howard City Tri County (8-1) 48.111
Big Rapids (5-4) 39.778 at Muskegon Oakridge (7-2) 47.476
DISTRICT 2
Belding (5-4) 43.389 at Grand Rapids Catholic Central (9-0) 70.333
Comstock Park (9-0) 58.903 at Grand Rapids West Catholic (8-1) 62.667
REGION 3
DISTRICT 1
Parchment (6-3) 35.875 at Berrien Springs (9-0) 51.667
South Haven (6-3) 40.111 at Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep (6-3) 43.458
DISTRICT 2
Hopkins (5-4) 43.569 at Portland (7-2) 58.444
Olivet (7-2) 45.667 at Williamston (6-3) 55.222
REGION 4
DISTRICT 1
Richmond (4-5) 36.333 at Armada (6-3) 46.778
Corunna (5-4) 42.111 at Flint Powers Catholic (3-6) 43.111
DISTRICT 2
St. Clair Shores South Lake (5-4) 37.778 at Marine City (9-0) 62.889
Dundee (5-4) 39.889 at Macomb Lutheran North (6-3) 40.903
DIVISION 6
REGION 1
DISTRICT 1
Gladstone (4-5) 36.778 at Negaunee (7-2) 41.014
Calumet (7-2) 37.667 at Menominee (5-4) 39.583
DISTRICT 2
Maple City Glen Lake (4-5) 31.681 at Standish-Sterling (7-2) 44.111
Boyne City (8-1) 42.097 at Grayling (7-2) 42.375
REGION 2
DISTRICT 1
Manistee (5-4) 36.907 at Reed City (8-1) 55.444
Central Montcalm (5-4) 38.222 at Montague (6-3) 43.143
DISTRICT 2
Durand (6-3) 36.333 at Lansing Catholic (8-1) 59.556
Ovid-Elsie (6-3) 37.333 at Millington (9-0) 46.333
REGION 3
DISTRICT 1
Watervliet (5-4) 34.778 at Constantine (9-0) 51.653
Michigan Center (8-1) 38.444 at Jonesville (9-0) 42.778
DISTRICT 2
Erie Mason (5-4) 31.302 at Ida (7-2) 45.000
Clinton (7-2) 39.347 at Dearborn Heights Robichaud (5-4) 39.444
REGION 4
DISTRICT 1
Clinton Township Clintondale (5-4) 40.403 at Warren Michigan Collegiate (7-2) 49.944
Almont (5-4) 42.444 at Clawson (7-2) 44.000
DISTRICT 2
Detroit Pershing (5-4) 34.778 at Detroit Southeastern (6-3) 44.736
Detroit Edison (6-3) 36.125 at Ecorse (6-3) 39.736
DIVISION 7
REGION 1
DISTRICT 1
East Jordan (7-2) 29.940 at Ishpeming Westwood (8-1) 43.569
Mancelona (5-3) 30.694 at Charlevoix (7-1) 39.264
DISTRICT 2
Harrison (6-3) 32.667 at Traverse City St. Francis (9-0) 56.111
McBain (6-3) 34.042 at Evart (7-2) 36.264
REGION 2
DISTRICT 1
Ithaca (6-3) 38.333 at Pewamo-Westphalia (9-0) 49.444
New Lothrop (6-3) 40.000 at Montrose (7-2) 40.000
DISTRICT 2
Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker (7-2) 34.889 at Reese (8-1) 38.333
Bad Axe (7-2) 36.556 at Hemlock (5-4) 36.556
REGION 3
DISTRICT 1
Delton Kellogg (5-3) 34.014 at Muskegon Catholic Central (8-1) 48.222
North Muskegon (4-5) 34.032 at Ravenna (6-3) 39.587
DISTRICT 2
Homer (5-4) 31.000 at Lawton (9-0) 44.125
Niles Brandywine (4-5) 32.333 at Union City (5-4) 32.556
REGION 4
DISTRICT 1
Detroit Leadership Academy (5-4) 32.000 at Jackson Lumen Christi (8-1) 59.778
Lutheran Westland (8-1) 37.222 at Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (8-1) 59.000
DISTRICT 2
Detroit Community (6-3) 35.958 at Detroit Central (9-0) 50.722
Detroit Loyola (4-4) 39.847 at Madison Heights Bishop Foley (8-1) 44.792
DIVISION 8
REGION 1
DISTRICT 1
Bark River-Harris (6-3) 27.014 at Beal City (8-1) 42.000
Frankfort (6-3) 31.778 at Iron Mountain (6-3) 36.792
DISTRICT 2
White Cloud (4-5) 24.486 at Carson City-Crystal (8-1) 39.222
Holton (5-4) 25.931 at Muskegon Heights Academy (5-4) 30.778
REGION 2
DISTRICT 1
Vassar (4-5) 24.778 at Breckenridge (7-2) 34.111
Fowler (6-3) 31.500 at Flint Beecher (4-5) 32.917
DISTRICT 2
Harbor Beach (6-3) 30.597 at Ubly (9-0) 40.708
Cass City (5-4) 31.333 at Marlette (6-3) 32.597
REGION 3
DISTRICT 1
Decatur (4-5) 26.444 at White Pigeon (8-1) 35.667
Saugatuck (5-4) 29.625 at Cassopolis (5-4) 29.681
DISTRICT 2
Reading (6-3) 32.778 at Hudson (9-0) 51.222
Centreville (7-2) 35.569 at Addison (8-1) 42.667
REGION 4
DISTRICT 1
Petersburg Summerfield (6-3) 29.190 at Ottawa Lake Whiteford (8-1) 46.111
Whitmore Lake (6-3) 30.444 at Sand Creek (6-3) 34.667
DISTRICT 2
Mount Clemens (5-4) 26.778 at Clarkston Everest Collegiate (7-2) 36.333
Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest (5-4) 27.556 at Marine City Cardinal Mooney (7-2) 31.486
8-Player Pairings
DIVISION 1
REGION 1
Rudyard (7-2) 30.861 at Munising (7-2) 33.194
Newberry (7-2) 31.528 at Pickford (7-2) 31.861
REGION 2
Mesick (5-4) 29.079 at Suttons Bay (9-0) 39.250
Rogers City (8-1) 32.722 at Indian River Inland Lakes (9-0) 34.333
REGION 3
Tekonsha (7-2) 29.778 at Martin (9-0) 36.125
Lawrence (7-2) 30.569 at Mendon (7-2) 32.569
REGION 4
Vestaburg (6-3) 29.286 at Adrian Lenawee Christian (9-0) 41.375
Britton Deerfield (8-1) 33.431 at Deckerville (7-1) 33.458
DIVISION 2
REGION 1
Pellston (7-2) 30.444 at Powers North Central (9-0) 36.667
Crystal Falls Forest Park (7-2) 31.111 at Lake Linden-Hubbell (7-2) 31.111
REGION 2
Gaylord St. Mary (5-4) 25.972 at Marion (8-1) 36.079
Mio (6-3) 28.333 at Hillman (6-3) 29.000
REGION 3
Peck (6-3) 28.000 at Au Gres-Sims (9-0) 35.667
Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (7-2) 32.028 at Kinde North Huron (9-0) 35.333
REGION 4
Climax-Scotts (6-3) 29.833 at Morrice (9-0) 36.875
Colon (8-1) 33.306 at Portland St. Patrick (9-0) 35.029
PHOTO Week 9 opponents Livonia Churchill and Novi both were selected to this season's playoff field. (Photo by Douglas Bargerstock.)
Sparked by Offense Switch, Summerfield Sets Record-Breaking Scoring Pace
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
October 29, 2024
Dylan Szegedi might only be in his second season as a head varsity football coach, but he knows when to pull the plug on an offensive scheme.
A change from the veer to a version of the gun-T has been the catalyst behind Petersburg-Summerfield’s 8-1 season, the best at the Monroe County school in more than a decade.
“I really love the veer. I’ve seen it work very well,” Szegedi said. “It just didn’t work for us. We always say we were trying to put a round peg through a square hole. It just didn’t jell with our guys, and we were smart enough to realize it.”
The Bulldogs went 5-4 last season but missed the playoffs for the second straight. With several second- and third-year starting seniors back, Szegedi decided to change offenses despite having spent nearly all his years coaching the veer. He and his coaching staff started researching offenses and landed on one that is the mastermind of a coach in Alabama that puts a lot of YouTube videos together and travels around the country talking about his offensive concepts.
“This offense is perfect for our guys,” Szegedi said. “It’s a good mix of running and passing. It’s a good mix of spread but still some downhill-style run concepts. It fits our athletes to a T. It is a spread-T concept, wing-T running concepts with a spread flair to it. It was exactly what we needed.”
Heading into Friday’s home Division 8 playoff game against Manchester – the first hosted by Summerfield since 2015 – the Bulldogs are one point shy of the school record for points scored in a season. Since a 20-14 win over Ottawa Lake Whiteford in Week 5, Summerfield has scored 48, 62, 70 and 58 points in victories. The 70 points against Vanlue, Ohio, was a single-game school record.
“It’s come together seamlessly. The proof is in the pudding. We have done great, and hopefully we will continue to do so,” Szegedi said.
The new offense suits quarterback Trace Secor much better.
“I like this one,” Secor said. “It fits our style of play and the players we have. It complements us.”
Secor has passed for 1,248 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Senior receiver Tyler Dafoe has 743 yards and 12 touchdowns receiving. Bruising tight end Brenden Myshock has six touchdown receptions, and big-play Eli VanHuysen has caught 18 passes for 391 yards and another six touchdowns.
Senior running back Mitchell Gomulinski has had a tremendous season as well. Through nine games, he has rushed for 1,398 yards, averaging more than nine per carry. He has scored 17 touchdowns.
“Mitchell is he is our emotional leader,” Szegedi said. “He keeps everybody going and is the guy the other people look for to set the example. He’s worked very hard. I’m just proud of what he was able to do.”
The Summerfield defense has been rock-solid too. Since halftime of the Whiteford game, the Bulldogs have allowed just two touchdowns over 18 quarters. Gomulinski has 80 tackles. Dafoe and Gabe Ostrosky have five interceptions apiece.
The biggest win came against Whiteford, which played in MHSAA Finals in 2022 and 2023. It propelled the Bulldogs to the Tri-County Conference championship.
“When we beat Whiteford, that really changed the attitude of a lot of our guys,” Szegedi said. “Not that they didn’t believe before, but after that victory, I think we just started believing even more. It gave them affirmation that if we could beat them, we could hang with anybody. It gave them the belief that, ‘Hey, maybe we are pretty good.’”
The community has rallied behind the team. At a watch party Sunday when the MHSAA released the playoff pairings, about 150 parents, students and other community members met in the high school cafeteria.
“There is talk about how they are going to decorate the town and decorate the stadium,” Szegedi said. “Last Friday the stadium was packed. That’s the way it should be.”
The Oregon, Ohio, native graduated from Toledo St. Francis in 2011 where he played football and was on the Knights swim team. He then continued at Wayne State University and was a two-time Division II national champion diver, earning All-America honors eight times. He was the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Diver of the Year multiple times and was inducted into the Wayne State Athletic Hall of Fame.
After college he came home and decided he wanted to get into coaching football. He called his former freshman coach at St. Francis, Geoff Skibinski, and joined the coaching staff.
Since then, he and Skibinski have coached at multiple stops together. When Szegedi was hired at Summerfield in 2023, his first call was to Skibinski, who runs the Summerfield offense.
“He and I work well together,” Szegedi said. “We have a good trust in one another.”
Summerfield’s 8-1 record is the best for the school since 2010, which was also the last time the Bulldogs won a conference championship.
Szegedi is glad to see the success the 11 seniors are enjoying.
“These are guys who have played a ton of varsity football,” he said. “It’s fun to see all of the time they spent in the summer running and all of the extra lifting pay off. They are guys who deserve it. They’ve worked very hard and deserve the success they are now experiencing.”
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.
PHOTOS (Top) Petersburg Summerfield’s Mitchell Gomulinski (23) prepares to take on a defender from Erie Mason this season. (Middle) Bulldogs quarterback Trace Secor considers his options from the pocket. (Below) Summerfield coach Dylan Szegedi. (Action photos by Kendra Dafoe; Szegedi photo by Doug Donnelly.)