Inside Selection Sunday: Mapnalysis '13
October 28, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
At the end of the day – Sunday, in this case – the 2013 MHSAA football playoff field was determined based on a set of numbers we began working with long before the first kickoff of this season.
So to kick off our discussion of how some of the 2013 playoff-selection decisions were made, here are a few numbers that might boggle the mind – or at least surprise:
- A total of 3,111 high school results were used in determining this season’s field – 2,978 for 11-player and 133 for 8-player games.
- We inputted and then followed the schedules for 623 MHSAA teams.
- We also inputted and followed weekly the schedules for 50 teams from surrounding states and Ontario that played at least one game against one of our MHSAA schools.
- We worked through complicated maneuverings made necessary by seven teams playing a mix of 11 and 8-player games, plus two more teams that played a mix of varsity and junior varsity opponents.
- And by Sunday morning we ended up with a few more numeric rarities: only 225 automatic qualifiers, the fewest since the current playoff system was introduced in 1999, and also an uneven number of at-large bids from our four classes because only six Class D teams reached the number of victories needed to be considered. (This was balanced by taking more at-large qualifiers from Classes A, B and C.)
And that was just the start of one of our most exciting days of the school year.
Following are more details. First, I explain some of the history of the MHSAA playoffs – I’ve lifted this in part from our 2012 report, so skip ahead if you’ve already got that down. Next, I touch on five themes that emerged as we built the brackets for this season’s tournament.
The process
Our past: The MHSAA playoff structure – with 256 teams in eight divisions, and six wins equaling an automatic berth (or five wins for teams playing eight or fewer games) – debuted in 1999, as mentioned above. An 8-player tournament was added in 2011, resulting in nine champions total when November is done.
That’s a long way from our start. The first playoffs were conducted in 1975 with four champions. Four more football classes were added in 1990 for a total of eight champions each fall. Through 1998, only 128 teams made the postseason, based on their playoff point averages within regions (four for each class) that were drawn before the beginning of the season. The drawing of Districts and Regions after the end of the regular season did not begin until the most recent playoff expansion.
In early years of the current process (or until the middle of the last decade), lines were drawn by hand. Dots representing qualifying schools were pasted on maps, one map for each division, and those maps were then covered by plastic sheets. Districts and Regionals literally were drawn with dry-erase markers.
Our present: After a late Saturday night tracking scores, we file in as the sun rises Sunday morning for a final round of gathering results we may still need (which can include making a few early a.m. calls to athletic directors). Then comes re-checking and triple-checking of enrollments, what schools played in co-ops, some records and more before the numbers are crunched and the fields are set.
Those 256 11-player teams are then split into eight equal divisions based on enrollment, and their locations are marked on digital maps that are projected on wall-size screens and then discussed by nearly half of the MHSAA staff plus a representative from the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association. Only the locations themselves are marked (by yellow dots) – not records, playoff point averages or names of the schools or towns. In fact, mentions of those are strictly prohibited. Records and playoff points are not part of the criteria. Matchups, rivalries, previous playoff pairings, etc. also DO NOT come into play. The same process is followed for organizing the 8-player bracket.
Observations and answers: 2013
This doesn’t happen overnight: Preparation for selecting the MHSAA playoff field begins long before the first kickoff of fall, much less the first practice. We load schedules for all 600-plus varsity teams during the summer, and many schedules remain fluid right up until the first Friday of the season – and this fall, a few weren’t settled until Week 2 or 3.
This summer as in some past we also worked through schools closing (Inkster, Saginaw Buena Vista, Detroit Northwestern, Flint Northern), and others deciding in mid-July and early August they would not field teams because of a lack of players.
Sometimes we have to take odd paths to find scores for these games. The last 11-player score to be added to our data this regular season came in as a result of tweeting the sports anchor of a Wheeling, W.Va., television station. Our last 8-player score came in via email from a Wisconsin athletic director at 10:30 Saturday night. Thankfully, we get plenty of assistance from some of our friends in the field, who keep an eye on the data and alert us when something appears missing or incorrect.
Win and advance: This season’s list of 5-4 teams includes a number of heavy hitters that did not receive at-large bids – East Grand Rapids, Utica Eisenhower, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and Flint Powers Catholic to name a few. All were solid teams and played strong competition. All missing the playoffs likely raised some eyebrows.
But we have to take a look at this from a statewide view. There admittedly can be some argument about what schools qualified for the 226-256 spots in the field – but the important part is that 225 qualified because they all met the minimum win requirement. A playoff is simply that – it decides a champion based on teams winning. For some it’s harder to pile wins, of course, because they play in tough leagues. But the winners of those leagues are in the field – and surely will credit that tough road with getting them prepared to now play the state’s best.
Geography rules: This long has been rule number one for drawing MHSAA brackets in any sport, and is a repeat as well for those who have read this report the last two Octobers. Travel distance and ease DO come into play. Jumping on a major highway clearly is easier than driving across county-wide back roads, and that’s taken into consideration.
Also, remember there’s only one Mackinac Bridge and hence only one way to cross between peninsulas – and boats are not considered a possible form of transportation. When opponents from both peninsulas will be in the same District, distance to the bridge is far more important than as the crow flies.
The best example of this comes this season in Division 5. Grayling clearly is east of both Kingsley and Kalkaska – but also sits on I-75, while those two do not. So while those more western teams are geographically closer to Houghton, Menominee and Kingsford from the Upper Peninsula, we instead paired the three U.P. teams with Grayling because being on a main highway made for a shorter trip. The trip to Grayling for any of those U.P. teams would be 36 miles shorter to Grayling than Kingsley and 13 miles shorter to Grayling than Kalkaska.
Sometimes it’s where the points aren’t: Sure, it would be best-case scenario to have perfect sets of eight dots split into four quadrants from Calumet to Bedford. But generally that doesn’t occur. “Dots determine the map” is a common phrase heard here during this selection process, but that works the other way as well. If there are no qualifiers in a division from a specific area of the state – see Division 1, with none south of Holland or west of the greater Lansing area – there’s no choice but to create the unusual Regional Final possibility of Traverse City West vs. Brighton. Brighton is simply closer to the west side of the state than our other options.
Border to border vs. coast to coast: Should Regions be grouped north to south or east to west? There isn't a right or wrong answer – it just depends on that set of dots.
Whenever we have Upper Peninsula teams in a division, they’ll be grouped with those from the northernmost points of the Lower Peninsula for a District. The next northernmost schools will be grouped into a District, and together those eight will form a Region.
But the tough decision comes with the other six Districts. Look at this season’s Division 5 map: Six Districts are grouped south of U.S. 10 with three near or west of U.S. 127 and three east of that highway, which runs through the center of the Lower Peninsula. We grouped the two southwestern Districts into a Region and the two southeastern Districts into a Region – leaving a final Region that stretches from Muskegon on Lake Michigan to Almont, about 35 miles west of Lake Huron.
That’s a haul. But it’s also the best of our possible compromises. We could’ve instead paired regions that would’ve stretched from Hopkins to Monroe – only 19 fewer miles in distance than Muskegon Oakridge to Almont, but a scenario that could’ve created travel increases for a number of additional teams. Another option included a possible trip from Detroit University Prep to Freeland, which also would take more than two hours.
Bottom line – it’s been written here before – we pour all we have into this process, asking questions often more than once until we come up with a consensus. We do appreciate the arguments that arise once brackets are released to the public: The discussions are proof of how much players, coaches and fans care – and often show us new ways we can look at a system that’s now 15 years old.
But we must remember that the good news is the tournament is still set up to reward nine champions over the next five weeks, and five schools – Auburn Hills Oakland Christian, Coldwater, Detroit Allen, Eaton Rapids and Muskegon Mona Shores – will be competing for those titles for the first time.
It’s not so much how the tournament starts as how it ends. And we’re preparing for nine more memorable conclusions.
PHOTO: Each collection of grouped dots is a District on this season's Division 3 playoff map.
1st & Goal: 2022 Football Finals Review
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 29, 2022
There were the highest-scoring Finals performances on record, and one of the closest finishes of all-time.
Greats who will immediately go down in history played their final high school games. Others continued to write their championship stories.
Four teams made repeat trips to their season’s final days. But most who earned the opportunity during these MHSAA Playoffs stepped on championship turf for the first time, and 45,000 fans watched them do it.
Another Michigan high school football season came to a close over the last two weekends, with 8-Player Finals on Nov. 19 and 11-Player Finals this past Friday and Saturday.
MHSAA.com covered all 10 championship games, with quick recaps and links (click on the game scores) to those stories below followed by notations of performances entered into the MHSAA Finals record book and a report on some of the main storylines to emerge as those championships were being decided.
Finals in Review
11-Player Division 1: Belleville 35, Caledonia 17 - Read
Belleville sophomore quarterback Bryce Underwood was awe-inspiring again in leading the Tigers to their second-straight championship to close a 14-0 season. He threw for 155 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 149 yards and a score. Caledonia led as late as the final minute of the third quarter before Belleville scored the game’s final 21 points.
11-Player Division 2: Warren De La Salle Collegiate 52, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central 13 – Read
De La Salle repeated as Division 2 champion again following the lead of quarterback Brady Drogosh, who completed an astonishing 21 of 23 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 152 yards and three scores. Forest Hills Central was playing its first championship game since 1994, with this its only defeat of the season.
11-Player Division 3: Detroit Martin Luther King 56, Muskegon 27 – Read
The Crusaders made their third championship game appearance with Dante Moore as starting quarterback and repeated as Division 3 champion as he threw for 275 yards and four touchdowns, completing 21 of 26 passes. Jameel Croft Jr. returned the opening kickoff 96 yards, and King never trailed on the way to its sixth championship. Muskegon moved up the Finals appearances list and now sits tied for sixth all-time with 13.
11-Player Division 4: Grand Rapids South Christian 28, Goodrich 0 – Read
South Christian completed its first perfect season with its first Finals championship since 2014. The Sailors took a 14-0 lead during the second quarter and doubled it up in the fourth, as quarterback Jacob DeHaan was among the weekend’s stars with 266 yards and a touchdown passing and 99 yards and a touchdown rushing. Goodrich was making its first Finals appearance.
11-Player Division 5: Gladwin 10, Frankenmuth 7 – Read
Gladwin’s Treyton Siegert drilled a 21-yard field goal during the final seconds to clinch the Flying Gs’ first Finals championship and a 14-0 season. Frankenmuth also had entered undefeated and seeking its first Finals title. As anticipated, defense dominated as the teams combined for just 424 total yards and 15 first downs, plus 11 punts.
11-Player Division 6: Grand Rapids West Catholic 59, Negaunee 14 – Read
This was another close game at halftime – Negaunee made it 14-14 on the first kickoff return of the second half, before West Catholic scored 45 unanswered points. Running back Timmy Kloska became one of the stars of the weekend as well with 241 yards and four touchdowns rushing as his team handed the Miners their only defeat of the season.
11-Player Division 7: Jackson Lumen Christi 15, Traverse City St. Francis 12 – Read
The Titans avenged a 42-35 Week 2 loss to the Gladiators to finish off their rebound from an 0-3 start this season, earning the program’s 12th Finals championship. St. Francis took a 12-0 lead into halftime, but Lumen Christi scored the only touchdowns of the second half including the eventual game winner with 7:05 to play.
11-Player Division 8: Ottawa Lake Whiteford 26, Ubly 20 – Read
These two opened the 11-player championship weekend with a close finish, as Whiteford won the matchup of undefeated contenders with quarterback Shea Ruddy scoring the game winner with just under two minutes to play. The Bobcats opened with two first-quarter scores and led 20-6 early in the third before Ubly made its comeback.
8-Player Division 1: Martin 74, Merrill 24 – Read
Martin claimed its first Finals championship since 1987 led by quarterback JR Hildebrand, who ran for 191 yards and four touchdowns including the game’s first two scores – and whose dad Tracey played on that 1987 team. The Clippers scored the first 20 points and never led by less than 12 the rest of the way. The loss was Merrill’s only one this fall.
8-Player Division 2: Powers North Central 66, Mendon 26 – Read
The Jets extended their 8-player record winning streak to 37 games with three championships while enjoying the final game of quarterback Luke Gorzinski’s career. He’s guided all three of those championship teams and this time threw for 207 yards and four touchdowns, and ran for another score, despite playing through a knee injury.
Records Report
A number of longtime powers returned to Ford Field, as seven of the 16 finalists in 11-player made at least their eighth appearance in a championship game. Jackson Lumen Christi moved up to a tie for third on that list with its 15th appearance, and as noted above Muskegon moved into a tie for sixth with its 13th title game berth. In 8-player, Powers North Central became the first to play in at least five Finals – and win at least five championships. Lumen Christi is now tied for second on the 11-player championship list with 12 titles, one back of record holder Farmington Hills Harrison.
Both the 8 and 11-Player Finals saw team scoring records. In 8-player, Martin set a record with 74 points, while its 43 in the first half ranked second for one half and its 98 combined points with Merrill ranked third for highest-scoring 8-player championship game. North Central’s 66 points were the fourth-most for one team in an 8-Player Final, with its 28 in the first quarter fourth on the single-quarter list, its 41 in the first half third for one half, and its combined 92 points with Mendon also ranking fourth for highest-scoring game. In 11-player, Grand Rapids West Catholic set the Finals record for one team with 59 points, with its 31 third-quarter points ranking third on that list and its 45 second-half points ranking second. King’s 56 total points are tied for second-most in an 11-Player Final, and De La Salle’s 52 points also made that list.
Going along with those 56 points, King’s 529 yards of total offense ranked sixth, and its 24 first downs were tied for 11th-most in an 11-Player Final. De La Salle’s 25 first downs tied for seventh on that list. Martin rushed for an 8-player championship game record eight touchdowns, while its 374 rushing yards was third on that list. Merrill’s 328 passing yards ranked third for an 8-player title game, while North Central’s five TD passes tied for third and its 23 first downs tied for second most.
A pair of eventual winners got started quickly. Jameel Croft Jr. tied the 11-player record for quickest first touchdown on a kickoff return, scoring 15 seconds into the Division 3 Final on a 96-yarder for King. Bernie Varnesdeel found Carter Perry 16 seconds into the Division 6 game on a 72-yard scoring pass to give Grand Rapids West Catholic an early lead – that was the second-fastest passing TD to start a game.
Kickers did their parts during the high-scoring weekends. King’s Terrence Moore and West Catholic’s Carson Beekman tied for the record for most extra points, both making all eight of their tries. De La Salle’s Landon Ryska sits tied for third after making all seven of his attempts. Belleville’s Brayden Lane also made the list with five extra points in five tries. In 8-player, Adrian Mercier earned the second spot on that list with six extra points for North Central.
Quarterbacks again made big statements, especially a pair of stars in their final high school games. King’s Dante Moore made Finals lists with 275 passing yards, four passing touchdowns and 304 total yards, plus his 21 completions tied for seventh-most and his .808 completion percentage ranked sixth for 11-player title games. De La Salle’s Brady Drogosh also completed 21 passes, and his .913 completion percentage is second on that last. His 401 total yards ranked seventh, and he also made the passing yards list with 249. South Christian’s Jacob DeHaan made the passing yards list with 266 and total yards list with 365, and Belleville’s Bryce Underwood also made the total yards list with 304.
In 8-player, Martin quarterback JR Hildebrand scored 28 points, tied for fourth most, with his four touchdowns tied for third on the overall and rushing TD lists. Merrill quarterback Joe Tack’s 328 passing yards rank third, and his 347 total yards are eighth.
West Catholic running back Timmy Kloska earned statewide interest as his 241 rushing yards made that record list. He also tied for eighth in 11-player scoring with 24 points, tied for fifth with four touchdowns, tied the record for most rushing touchdowns in a quarter with three, and with his four rushing TDs for the game tied for third on that list.
King’s Sterling Anderson Jr. also made the 11-player single-game rushing yards list with 207, and Mendon’s Jack McCaw made the list in 8-player with 211. Merrill’s Kaleb Walker made the 8-player receiving yards list with 213, which ranks second, and Martin’s Gavin Meyers became the first 8-player entry for interceptions in a championship game after snagging three.
Special teams had its share of highlights, with four returns making Finals record book lists. Negaunee’s Phil Nelson brought a kickoff return back 98 yards, ranking third on that list, and Croft’s return noted above is tied for fifth-longest in 11-player. North Central’s Elijah Gorzinski ran back the longest kickoff return in 8-player, 85 yards, for also the fastest score off an opening kickoff in 11 seconds. Martin’s Taegan Harris earned the first 8-player punt return entry with his 94-yarder.
West Catholic and De La Salle became the 30th and 31st teams to not punt in an 11-Player Final.
Last, but certainly not least: The Whiteford vs. Ubly Division 8 Final became the first 11-player championship game to see zero penalties, and of course zero penalty yards. Previously, five games had seen 10 or fewer penalty yards by both participants combined.
Stories Behind the Scores
Up to the Challenge: For the first time, coaches at 11-player championship games were allowed to challenge officials’ calls on a series of pre-determined situations including if a pass was complete or incomplete, if a runner or receiver was in or out of bounds, etc. Two challenges were made over the eight games at Ford Field – including one challenge that didn’t need to be made as it came on a scoring play, and all scoring plays are automatically reviewable. The other challenge confirmed the officials’ original call.
Glad-WIN: Six teams came to Finals seeking a first championship, and Gladwin prevailed with its 10-7 victory over Frankenmuth, another team seeking a first title. Coach Mark Jarstfer took over the program in 2019, with the Flying Gs riding a four-season sub-.500 streak. They finished 1-8 his first year, improved to 4-4 in 2020, then 9-1 last fall on the way to a perfect 14-0 this season. We highlighted some kickers above who made big impacts over the last two weekends, but the biggest kick surely belonged to Treyton Siegert as he drilled the history-making field goal Gladwin people will be talking about for generations.
Legends of the Finals: As noted above, De La Salle’s Brady Drogosh, King’s Dante Moore and North Central’s Luke Gorzinski capped careers that saw all three quarterback their teams to three Finals. Drogosh was 2-1 in championship matchups, completing 40 of 53 passes for 230 yards and five touchdowns and running for 339 yards and five scores over those three games. A four-year starter, Moore was 2-1 in championship games. He completed a combined 54 of 72 passes for 712 yards and five touchdowns in Finals. Gorzinski won all three of his championship games, completing a combined 25 of 48 passes for 447 yards and nine touchdowns. Despite being limited to just one carry because of injury two weeks ago, Gorzinski also ran for 425 yards and six scores in championship deciders.
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PHOTOS (Top) Our collage includes photos from all 10 MHSAA Football Finals. (2) Lumen Christi’s Kadale Williams looks for an opening upfield against Traverse City St. Francis. (3) Drake Buell (7) leads Martin onto the field for the 8-Player Division 1 Final. (4) Gladwin kicker Treyton Siegert connects on the game-winning field goal in 11-player Division 5. (11-Player Finals photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos. 8-Player Finals photos by Cara Kamps.)