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Balancing Football Playoffs
April 18, 2017
Every time the Michigan High School Athletic Association Football Playoffs have been expanded, two voices have been heard – one complaining that too many teams or divisions have watered down the tournament; the other advocating that every school should qualify for the tournament regardless of its regular-season performance.
The playoffs have expanded from 32 to 64 to 128 to 256 to 272 teams; and for 2017, with the addition of 16 more 8-player teams, to 288 of the 626 MHSAA member schools’ football teams in Michigan.
We have reached the point where 46 percent of the schools which sponsor football qualify for the Football Playoffs, and we are approaching closely the point of qualifying every team with winning records during the regular season.
Those stats sound about right for a collision sport conducted mostly outdoors in a cold climate for teenagers. A longer tournament is unwise; a larger tournament is unneeded.
What is needed and wise is more attention to the regular season, and especially to practices which occur at least five times more frequently than games. That’s where the teaching and learning of football skills and life lessons can be everyday occurrences for every team in Michigan.
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Today in the MHSAA: 12/2/22
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 2, 2022
1. HOCKEY Division 1 No. 4 Brighton held on to defeat No. 9 Northville 5-3 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
2. GIRLS BASKETBALL Muskegon edged Kalamazoo Central 66-62 in overtime on the road – Kalamazoo Gazette
3. GIRLS BASKETBALL Grace Pribble scored the game winner with 16 seconds to play as Grand Ledge edged Caledonia 43-42 – Lansing State Journal
4. GIRLS BASKETBALL The Michelle Lindsey era began at Bloomfield Hills Marian with a win over Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett – Oakland Press
5. GIRLS BASKETBALL Saginaw Arthur Hill improved to 2-0 with a 53-36 win over Flint Beecher – Saginaw News
6. GIRLS BASKETBALL Mendon improved to 2-0 with a 24-22 win over Quincy – Sturgis Journal
7. GIRLS BASKETBALL Freeland earned its first win of the winter, 39-21 over Midland Bullock Creek – Midland Daily News
8. GIRLS BASKETBALL Petersburg Summerfield opened with a big win over Lincoln Park – Monroe News
9. GIRLS BASKETBALL Harbor Springs edged Indian River Inland Lakes 64-51 – Petoskey News-Review
10. GIRLS BASKETBALL Bad Axe moved to 2-0 with a second road win, this one over Harbor Beach – Huron Daily Tribune