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

Official's List of 'Favorite' Sports Grows with Dedication to Making Our Games Go

By Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com

April 8, 2022

Any season. Any MHSAA sport.

Well, almost any.

You name it, and likely Jeff Brunner has officiated it. He may even have been selected to officiate an MHSAA Final in the sport as well.

He first started as a baseball umpire right out of high school. Family and work life created a 20-year absence from officiating for the 1979 grad of Romeo High, where he had played baseball for the Bulldogs.

Brunner, a 20-year MHSAA registered official, is about to work his favorite sport – softball – again. But, the 60-year-old readily admits he loves games so much, the favorite sport can change regularly for him.

“It’s kind of whatever is in season,” Brunner said of naming a favorite. “I love the pace of the game of softball, and I am a big proponent of providing as may opportunities for girls to play sports, whatever that sport may be. 

“For that reason I gravitated towards softball.”

He’ll have to wait though to get on the field. Both of his games were cancelled this week due to weather-related complications.

Jeff Brunner“Weather can create havoc with spring sports schedules – more so than any other season – so from an officiating standpoint, you have to count on some games being postponed or cancelled,” he acknowledged. “You just have to go with the flow and be ready to work when the weather allows.

“I feel a bit bad for softball and baseball players in particular, because those seasons are so short to begin with, and every contest date is important,” he went on. “When bad weather causes cancellations as a result of rain or the extension of winter, it makes the high school season that much shorter for the athletes.”

Brunner, a father of four grown children, is currently registered for softball, football, volleyball, swimming & diving and basketball. He once did lacrosse in addition to starting his officiating career with baseball.

“There is only so much time in the week,” he said. “I can’t do everything.

“I have at least one sport for each of the three sporting seasons,” he continued. “It’s fun.”

Brunner watched his three daughters grow up playing softball and competing in swimming. His son played baseball and competed in swimming. They all graduated from Traverse City St. Francis, swimming through a co-op program. His daughters were all pitchers for the Gladiators. Their first pitching coach was Dad.

His youngest daughter, Julia, just finished competing for Wayne State University at the 2022 Division II Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships in Greensboro, N.C.

It was his kids that got him into officiating, along with the extra money. But today, it’s just to be a part of a game.

“We were always around sports,” Brunner said. “I thought about officiating for a while.

“Originally I did it to maybe earn just a little bit of extra money, get a little bit of exercise, and kind of stay close to the game,” he continued. “Now, it is just plain fun — it’s fun to be around a game, whatever that game is.”

During his officiating career, Brunner has been selected to officiate MHSAA Finals in swimming & diving and football. He’s not likely to get the chance to umpire a baseball or softball Final as his other business obligations interfere with MHSAA spring postseason play.

Brunner familyWhile working a Final is a goal of most all MHSAA officials, Brunner said it is just another game once it starts. He sees the Final as a great experience for all coaches, participants, fans and officials.

“MHSAA always does a great job of putting on a Final,” he said. “It’s always special.

“You have a few butterflies prior the game or the meet, but once things start you started focusing on the game itself.

The longer Brunner officiate, whatever the sport is, he believes the key to making the right call often comes down to mechanics.

“Mechanics were drilled into me when I first started,” Brunner said. “A lot of making the right call in my opinion is having the right mechanics and knowing where to be. 

“You need to be in a good position to make the call.”

Many veteran coaches have noticed Brunner prides himself on being in the right position, and more. It is noted game after game, season after season.

“Jeff Brunner is the consummate professional as an umpire,” said Dave Kennedy, Traverse City West’s varsity softball coach. “He is excellent with his calls and positioning, but he is most concerned about getting the call right.

“Every time I see I have Jeff as part of the umpiring crew for my games, I know the game is going to be very well officiated,” Kennedy continued. “We are lucky to have Jeff as one of our officials in Northern Michigan — he’s definitely one of the best.”

Jeff Brunner"As an umpire, Jeff's professionalism and easy demeanor are much appreciated,” Hawkins said. “He runs the games he works in such a way that the focus stays on the players.  

“Jeff may not know every player on the field personally, but I'm convinced that Jeff takes on his job, which is a difficult one, for them – the players."

Brunner and his son Andrew’s high school baseball experiences made it easy for Jeff to jump into baseball — and the same was true for softball due to his pitching girls. Swimming & diving, though, has been perhaps the most challenging sport to learn how to officiate for Brunner.

Watching his four children compete in pools over the years was a big help. The physical aspect was much easier, but maybe not the rules.

“The hard part is knowing all the rules … knowing what is a legal stroke and what is not,” he said. “It was an easy transition — we had seen so many swim meets.”

Today Brunner is anxiously waiting to get back on the softball field. He’s got his gear ready in anticipation of calling his first pitch of the 2022 season.

Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Official Jeff Brunner has his eyes on the action while officiating a football game. (2) Brunner monitors a starting block during November’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 Swimming & Diving Finals at Calvin University. (3) Brunner and his wife Michelle support daughter Julie at March’s Great Lakes Interscholastic Athletic Conference championship meet. (4) Brunner’s gear sits ready for his first game this week before it was canceled due to bad weather. (Photos courtesy of the Brunner family.)