![Second Half by MHSAA](/sites/default/files/2021-02/2H-placeholder.png)
Week 6 Football Playoff Listing
September 26, 2012
Here is a list of Michigan High School Athletic Association football playing schools, displaying their win-loss records and playoff averages through the fifth 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 at 7 p.m. on Oct. 21 on the Selection Sunday Show on FOX Sports Detroit. 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 |
3-2 |
62.000 |
2. |
Sterling Heights Stevenson |
2766 |
4-1 |
75.800 |
3. |
Clarkston ^ |
2721 |
5-0 |
94.400 |
4. |
Grand Blanc |
2644 |
3-2 |
57.600 |
5. |
Macomb Dakota |
2608 |
4-1 |
80.600 |
6. |
Lake Orion ^ |
2565 |
5-0 |
96.000 |
7. |
Rockford |
2526 |
3-2 |
57.400 |
8. |
Troy |
2502 |
3-2 |
57.400 |
9. |
Clinton Township Chippewa Valley |
2462 |
4-1 |
77.000 |
10. |
Dearborn Fordson |
2442 |
4-1 |
83.400 |
11. |
Holland West Ottawa |
2262 |
4-1 |
71.000 |
12. |
Northville |
2220 |
3-2 |
60.400 |
13. |
Detroit Cass Tech |
2200 |
4-1 |
77.400 |
14. |
Canton |
2166 |
3-2 |
51.200 |
15. |
Monroe ^ |
2154 |
5-0 |
83.200 |
16. |
Detroit Catholic Central |
2060 |
3-2 |
47.800 |
17. |
Plymouth |
2050 |
4-1 |
71.200 |
18. |
Salem |
2039 |
4-1 |
75.600 |
19. |
Livonia Stevenson |
2005 |
4-1 |
77.200 |
20. |
Holt |
1992 |
3-2 |
57.200 |
21. |
Hartland ^ |
1932 |
5-0 |
91.200 |
22. |
Warren Mott ^ |
1879 |
5-0 |
86.400 |
23. |
Livonia Churchill ^ |
1877 |
5-0 |
100.800 |
24. |
Walled Lake Central |
1857 |
3-2 |
52.200 |
25. |
Macomb L'Anse Creuse North |
1853 |
3-2 |
58.400 |
26. |
Saline |
1849 |
4-1 |
72.400 |
27. |
Grandville |
1846 |
3-2 |
53.600 |
28. |
Flint Carman-Ainsworth ^ |
1772 |
5-0 |
88.000 |
29. |
Grand Ledge |
1743 |
4-1 |
70.600 |
30. |
Rochester |
1725 |
4-1 |
72.800 |
31. |
Traverse City West |
1720 |
4-1 |
72.200 |
32. |
White Lake Lakeland |
1700 |
4-1 |
72.400 |
33. |
Harrison Township L'Anse Creuse |
1680 |
3-2 |
![Ogemaw Heights’ Karter Schmitt is tackled by Gavin Dear and Gavyn Merchant during the Falcons’ win over Kingsley this season.](/sites/default/files/2023-11/231103_Ogemaw_2H.jpg)
Ogemaw Heights Makes Nemesis Latest Hurdle Conquered During Memorable Run
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
November 3, 2023
Ogemaw Heights found itself in an all too familiar position when the football playoffs opened up last week.
The Falcons were trailing Gladwin – this time by three touchdowns. Gladwin, the 2022 Division 5 champion, had knocked off Ogemaw Heights 35-20 last year on the way to the title. Gladwin also had topped the Falcons to open this season 42-28.
But this rematch didn’t stay familiar, as things changed fast. The Falcons cut the lead to just one score by halftime and went on to win 28-23.
Another difference is the Falcons (9-1) were at home — the two previous meetings in less than a year were on the Flying Gs’ field. The Falcons are staying home again this weekend, hosting Kingsford at 1 p.m. Saturday with a District title on the line.
Getting a win over Gladwin did not come as a surprise to the Ogemaw’s head coach, Chad Miller, now in his fifth year at the helm. Strong senior leadership has set the tone, and a talented group of underclassmen has arrived to bolster the lineup.
“We were down 21-0 with three minutes left in the first half and scored twice in that three minutes, and then dominated the second half,” Miller said. “We were good last year losing to a very good Gladwin team in a pretty close game in the first round of the playoffs.
“We knew if the sophomores came around we’d be OK this year.”
The Falcons utilize two of the sophomores at fullback, Calvin Marshall and Conner Lambert. Lambert is also the safety on defense, and Marshall plays defensive tackle.
The other sophomores are Eion Jones, Ethan Hock and Jace Peters. Jones starts at tight end and plays a little defense. Hock is the left guard, and Peters plays everywhere, Miller pointed out.
Karter Schmitt is a four-year starter. Week after week, he leads the team in rushing and tackles as a linebacker. Xander Kartes, in his second year as quarterback and third year starting at safety, is the playmaker and game manager, Miller said.
Schmitt started the comeback against Gladwin with two second-quarter touchdowns. The latter was set up by a Lambert interception.
“We don’t come back from 21 down unless our leaders make great plays,” Miller noted.
The Falcons have 11 other seniors on the roster. Multi-year starters are providing a ton of experience. This year’s seniors missed the playoffs only once during their careers. The other seniors starting again this year are right guard Mason Dunn, left tackle Ty Neubecker, linebacker Jack Fachting, and center/defensive tackle Andrew Christner.
Ogemaw Heights clinched the Northern Michigan Football Conference’s Legends title with a 35-12 win over Kingsley in Week 7. Schmitt ran 27 times for 149 yards to lead Ogemaw to the school’s first football league title since 2009. It was also the Falcons’ final game in the NMFC as they will join the Jack Pine Conference – which includes Gladwin – next fall.
That win over the Stags, also hosting a playoff game this week in Division 6, came in the program’s annual Purple Game. The Falcons wore purple jerseys against the Stags instead of their traditional brown as each player displayed a family member or friend’s name on the back of the uniform in honor of someone fighting cancer.
The Purple Game originated after the loss of previous coaches and community members to cancer, Miller indicated. The game date is set in advance of the season, just like Homecoming.
“We dedicate one game to anybody with or who has cancer,” Miller said. “The players choose someone in their lives, and we wear purple jerseys with the person’s relative or family name on the back and we present it to the family afterwards.
“It was a big night,” Miller continued. “Kingsley is a machine.”
Kingsford also will bring a 9-1 record over the Mackinac Bridge and down I-75 to the West Branch exit. The Flivvers’ only loss was 13-12 at Negaunee, a team battling this weekend for a District championship in Division 6.
“Kingsford is a very good team with a running back that has over 900 yards and 17 touchdowns the last three games,” Miller said of his team’s next opponent. “He’s probably the best running we’ve seen this year — he is going to be an issue.
“We won’t back down from anything,” Miller added. “The kids are cornfield tough – they are tough guys, man.”
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) Ogemaw Heights’ Karter Schmitt is tackled by Gavin Dear and Gavyn Merchant during the Falcons’ win over Kingsley this season. (Middle) Xander Kartes (9) tips a pass intended for Eli Graves. (Photos courtesy of the Traverse City Record-Eagle.)