Week 8 Football Playoff Listing
October 9, 2012
Here is a list of Michigan High School Athletic Association football playing schools, displaying their win-loss records and playoff averages through the seventh 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. All 8-player teams, regardless of win total, are listed below.
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, 5-2, 75.571
2. Sterling Heights Stevenson, 2766, 6-1, 88.714
3. Clarkston, 2721, 7-0, 100.571
4. Howell, 2692, 4-3, 56.857
5. Grand Blanc, 2644, 4-3, 59.571
6. Macomb Dakota, 2608, 6-1, 88.714
7. Lake Orion, 2565, 7-0, 102.857
8. Rockford ^, 2526, 5-2, 73.571
9. Troy, 2502, 4-3, 58.286
10. Clinton Township Chippewa Valley ^, 2462, 5-2, 74.143
11. Dearborn Fordson, 2442, 6-1, 95.143
12. Holland West Ottawa ^, 2262, 5-2, 69.714
13. Northville ^, 2220, 5-2, 72.000
14. Detroit Cass Tech, 2200, 6-1, 87.571
15. Canton, 2166, 4-3, 52.714
16. Monroe, 2154, 6-1, 79.571
17. Detroit Catholic Central, 2060, 4-3, 54.952
18. Plymouth, 2050, 6-1, 80.857
19. Salem ^, 2039, 5-2, 74.143
20. Livonia Stevenson, 2005, 6-1, 86.286
21. Holt, 1992, 4-3, 56.571
22. Hartland, 1932, 7-0, 99.429
23. Warren Mott, 1879, 7-0, 88.000
24. Livonia Churchill, 1877, 7-0, 105.143
25. Macomb L'Anse Creuse North ^, 1853, 5-2, 71.857
26. Saline, 1849, 6-1, 88.429
27. Grandville, 1846, 4-3, 52.714
28. Dearborn, 1790, 4-3, 61.571
29. Rochester Hills Stoney Creek, 1777, 4-3, 52.429
30. Flint Carman-Ainsworth, 1772, 6-1, 78.571
31. Grand Ledge ^, 1743, 5-2, 67.429
32. Rochester ^, 1725, 5-2, 68.000
33. Traverse City West ^, 1720, 5-2, 70.857
34. White Lake Lakeland ^, 1700, 5-2, 70.857
35. Harrison Township L'Anse Creuse, 1680, 4-3, 52.000
36. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 1670, 4-3, 61.000
37. Davison ^, 1664, 5-2, 64.571
38. Grosse Pointe South, 1648, 6-1, 85.143
39. Walled Lake Northern ^, 1599, 5-2, 75.714
40. Temperance Bedford, 1581, 4-3, 52.286
41. Walled Lake Western ^, 1553, 5-2, 71.000
42. Brownstown Woodhaven, 1520, 6-1, 85.286
43. Ypsilanti Lincoln, 1520, 4-3, 52.857
44. Wyoming, 1515, 4-3, 44.905
45. Dearborn Edsel Ford, 1508, 4-3, 55.143
46. Midland, 1485, 7-0, 99.429
47. Oxford, 1481, 4-3, 58.000
48. Port Huron ^, 1473, 5-2, 64.857
49. Traverse City Central, 1429, 6-1, 86.000
50. Oak Park, 1391, 7-0, 108.571
51. Lansing Everett, 1359, 7-0, 109.714
52. Grosse Pointe North, 1353, 4-3, 55.571
53. Midland Dow, 1350, 4-3, 52.857
54. Birmingham Seaholm, 1349, 6-1, 87.571
55. Battle Creek Lakeview, 1347, 4-3, 56.571
56. Garden City, 1344, 4-3, 53.286
57. Portage Central ^, 1340, 5-2, 66.857
58. Muskegon Mona Shores, 1337, 4-3, 53.429
59. Birmingham Brother Rice ^, 1336, 5-2, 75.714
60. Portage Northern, 1328, 6-1, 79.714
61. Caledonia, 1308, 6-1, 81.857
62. Wyandotte Roosevelt, 1304, 6-1, 84.143
63. Farmington Hills Harrison, 1302, 4-3, 57.714
64. Detroit Martin Luther King, 1287, 4-3, 53.857
65. Detroit Cody ^, 1282, 5-2, 65.600
66. Farmington, 1278, 6-1, 85.429
67. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, 1278, 4-3, 57.143
68. Taylor Truman, 1253, 6-1, 85.286
69. Swartz Creek, 1223, 7-0, 96.000
70. Southfield, 1218, 4-3, 63.429
71. Fenton, 1202, 6-1, 80.714
72. Grand Rapids Northview, 1180, 6-1, 82.714
73. Lowell, 1177, 6-1, 86.571
74. Bay City Western, 1171, 7-0, 86.857
75. Gibraltar Carlson, 1160, 4-3, 50.714
76. Muskegon, 1144, 7-0, 109.714
77. East Lansing ^, 1142, 5-2, 65.286
78. Mattawan, 1124, 7-0, 96.000
79. Allen Park ^, 1120, 5-2, 66.571
80. Marquette *^, 1112, 4-3, 58.857
81. Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills, 1109, 4-3, 62.714
82. Lapeer West ^, 1101, 5-2, 72.286
83. Detroit Renaissance, 1094, 4-3, 49.714
84. Redford Thurston ^, 1088, 5-2, 65.571
85. Auburn Hills Avondale, 1080, 6-1, 78.429
86. St. Johns ^, 1068, 5-2, 67.429
87. Zeeland East, 1067, 7-0, 97.143
88. Byron Center, 1032, 4-3, 54.714
89. Detroit East English, 1030, 6-1, 80.857
90. Owosso, 1012, 4-3, 51.143
91. Lansing Waverly, 1011, 4-3, 45.714
92. Mason ^, 969, 5-2, 56.286
93. Petoskey, 967, 4-3, 57.857
94. Milan, 959, 7-0, 88.000
95. Sault Ste. Marie, 959, 4-3, 46.914
96. Grand Rapids Christian, 954, 6-1, 86.286
97. Cedar Springs, 950, 4-3, 40.429
98. DeWitt, 931, 6-1, 86.571
99. Fruitport, 929, 7-0, 83.429
100. Orchard Lake St. Mary's, 926, 6-1, 95.143
101. Bloomfield Hills Lahser ^, 925, 5-2, 66.714
102. Linden, 923, 6-1, 82.857
103. Niles, 920, 4-3, 50.429
104. Hazel Park, 909, 4-3, 52.000
105. Stevensville Lakeshore, 906, 7-0, 109.714
106. St. Clair, 901, 7-0, 90.286
107. Haslett, 894, 4-3, 55.429
108. Tecumseh, 887, 6-1, 74.714
109. Sturgis, 882, 4-3, 51.000
110. Carleton Airport ^, 868, 5-2, 60.714
111. Detroit Central Collegiate, 868, 4-3, 50.714
112. Charlotte ^, 851, 5-2, 64.286
113. Chelsea, 851, 4-3, 59.000
114. Hastings, 850, 6-1, 72.857
115. Plainwell ^, 832, 5-2, 65.714
116. Cadillac ^, 820, 5-2, 65.000
117. Edwardsburg, 805, 6-1, 65.857
118. North Branch, 803, 4-3, 46.429
119. Hamilton, 801, 4-3, 50.000
120. Marysville ^, 794, 5-2, 64.429
121. Zeeland West ^, 791, 5-2, 68.714
122. Battle Creek Harper Creek ^, 780, 5-2, 73.429
123. Spring Lake, 778, 4-3, 49.143
124. Three Rivers, 760, 4-3, 44.429
125. Ogemaw Heights, 759, 4-3, 54.143
126. Goodrich ^, 748, 5-2, 59.714
127. Harper Woods Chandler Park Academy *, 729, 5-1, 67.524
128. Hudsonville Unity Christian, 727, 4-3, 50.714
129. Marshall, 723, 4-3, 48.143
130. Dearborn Heights Robichaud, 720, 7-0, 99.429
131. Big Rapids, 706, 6-1, 60.286
132. Croswell-Lexington, 704, 7-0, 86.857
133. St. Clair Shores South Lake, 704, 6-1, 76.143
134. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 701, 7-0, 93.714
135. Otsego, 698, 6-1, 68.000
136. Detroit Country Day, 685, 6-1, 84.714
137. Comstock Park, 678, 6-1, 75.286
138. Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 674, 7-0, 85.714
139. Armada, 667, 4-3, 47.571
140. Whitehall, 663, 4-3, 41.714
141. Grand Rapids South Christian, 660, 4-3, 47.714
142. Battle Creek Pennfield, 656, 6-1, 61.429
143. Richmond ^, 656, 5-2, 64.143
144. Grosse Ile, 649, 6-1, 70.571
145. Saginaw Swan Valley ^, 642, 5-2, 61.857
146. Paw Paw, 639, 7-0, 77.714
147. Allendale, 636, 6-1, 77.286
148. Williamston, 636, 4-3, 46.857
149. Cheboygan ^, 631, 5-2, 67.143
150. Marine City, 629, 6-1, 81.714
151. Alma ^, 614, 5-2, 60.714
152. Saginaw Valley Lutheran ^, 608, 5-2, 41.571
153. Dowagiac, 605, 7-0, 80.000
154. Livonia Clarenceville ^, 597, 5-2, 57.286
155. Clawson, 582, 4-3, 45.714
156. Remus Chippewa Hills, 581, 4-3, 43.429
157. Essexville Garber, 572, 4-3, 45.429
158. Clinton Township Clintondale, 570, 7-0, 81.143
159. Lake Fenton, 564, 6-1, 72.714
160. Grant, 562, 4-3, 47.714
161. Freeland ^, 561, 5-2, 65.286
162. Kingsford, 559, 6-1, 79.571
163. Portland, 555, 6-1, 73.857
164. Gladwin ^, 547, 5-2, 60.571
165. Almont, 543, 4-3, 53.429
166. Flint Powers Catholic, 542, 7-0, 97.143
167. Menominee, 539, 6-1, 85.286
168. Macomb Lutheran North ^, 537, 5-2, 58.714
169. North Muskegon, 532, 4-3, 44.286
170. Standish-Sterling Central ^, 532, 5-2, 59.286
171. Hopkins, 531, 7-0, 80.000
172. Detroit University Prep, 528, 6-1, 65.81
173. Grayling, 516, 7-0, 76.571
174. Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, 515, 6-1, 74.000
175. Allen Park Cabrini, 512, 6-1, 61.429
176. Olivet ^, 509, 5-2, 50.714
177. Frankenmuth, 507, 7-0, 85.714
178. Newaygo, 507, 6-1, 64.857
179. Grand Rapids West Catholic, 503, 4-3, 56.339
180. Ida, 503, 4-3, 41.857
181. River Rouge, 495, 7-0, 75.810
182. Manistee, 493, 4-3, 42.029
183. Carrollton, 492, 6-1, 61.429
184. Lansing Catholic, 487, 6-1, 74.857
185. Reed City, 480, 7-0, 86.857
186. Dundee ^, 476, 5-2, 52.571
187. Muskegon Oakridge, 474, 7-0, 78.857
188. Kingsley ^, 473, 5-2, 48.143
189. Jackson Lumen Christi, 472, 7-0, 92.571
190. Buchanan, 467, 6-1, 65.857
191. Leslie, 467, 7-0, 74.286
192. Clare ^, 465, 5-2, 58.762
193. Roscommon, 461, 4-3, 39.905
194. Kalkaska ^, 459, 5-2, 41.714
195. Millington, 459, 6-1, 71.714
196. Lakeview, 457, 4-3, 40.857
197. Warren Michigan Collegiate, 446, 6-1, 68.143
198. Harper Woods, 440, 4-3, 36.457
199. Boyne City, 437, 7-0, 66.286
200. Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central ^, 437, 5-2, 61.000
201. Negaunee, 433, 7-0, 78.857
202. Elk Rapids, 432, 4-3, 39.857
203. Manistique, 430, 4-3, 38.571
204. Beaverton, 422, 4-3, 36.571
205. Hemlock, 421, 6-1, 79.714
206. Shelby ^, 417, 5-2, 61.000
207. Detroit Consortium ^, 416, 5-2, 49.381
208. Vassar, 416, 6-1, 55.714
209. Clinton, 413, 7-0, 75.429
210. Maple City Glen Lake, 409, 7-0, 64.000
211. Michigan Center, 406, 7-0, 69.714
212. Manchester ^, 404, 5-2, 48.429
213. Calumet, 402, 4-3, 45.857
214. Ithaca, 402, 7-0, 84.571
215. Montrose Hill-McCloy, 400, 6-1, 70.571
216. Niles Brandywine ^, 396, 5-2, 45.714
217. Grass Lake, 395, 6-1, 64.857
218. Hillsdale, 391, 7-0, 80.000
219. Madison Heights Madison, 391, 6-1, 75.571
220. Ecorse, 390, 4-3, 38.952
221. Montague, 390, 6-1, 67.143
222. Laingsburg, 388, 4-3, 37.286
223. Sanford Meridian ^, 388, 5-2, 50.190
224. Jonesville ^, 383, 5-2, 54.857
225. Cass City, 379, 4-3, 38.000
226. Constantine, 371, 6-1, 56.857
227. Grandville Calvin Christian ^, 371, 5-2, 50.714
228. Watervliet, 369, 7-0, 62.857
229. Schoolcraft, 366, 7-0, 83.429
230. Blissfield, 364, 4-3, 48.143
231. Byron Area, 364, 6-1, 54.571
232. Iron Mountain, 354, 4-3, 44.571
233. Reese, 350, 7-0, 73.143
234. Union City ^, 350, 5-2, 44.429
235. Burton Bendle, 348, 6-1, 50.000
236. Pellston, 347, 4-3, 22.000
237. Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian, 346, 4-3, 34.857
238. Saginaw Nouvel ^, 344, 5-2, 75.629
239. Carson City-Crystal ^, 337, 5-2, 45.571
240. Hartford ^, 337, 5-2, 59.857
241. Marlette, 336, 4-3, 37.000
242. Flint Hamady, 334, 4-3, 38.857
243. Whittemore-Prescott ^, 328, 5-2, 49.286
244. Sandusky, 327, 4-3, 41.571
245. Dansville ^, 323, 5-2, 50.429
246. Springport, 319, 4-3, 38.143
247. Bridgman, 318, 4-3, 39.857
248. Lawton, 317, 6-1, 68.000
249. Lake City, 316, 6-1, 52.476
250. Pewamo-Westphalia ^, 316, 5-2, 51.714
251. Manton, 315, 4-3, 29.000
252. Madison Heights Bishop Foley, 309, 4-3, 42.143
253. Ishpeming, 307, 6-1, 62.571
254. Detroit Douglass, 306, 4-3, 50.857
255. Unionville-Sebewaing, 303, 4-3, 36.143
256. Evart ^, 302, 5-2, 41.762
257. Traverse City St. Francis, 299, 4-3, 44.571
258. Detroit Loyola, 298, 7-0, 83.429
259. Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest *, 298, 5-2, 48.143
260. Lincoln Alcona ^, 292, 5-2, 44.429
261. Genesee ^, 288, 5-2, 38.857
262. Mancelona, 288, 7-0, 62.857
263. Royal Oak Shrine Catholic, 284, 4-3, 47.429
264. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, 283, 6-1, 54.286
265. Reading, 283, 6-1, 58.714
266. Decatur, 277, 6-1, 52.143
267. Britton Deerfield, 276, 4-3, 44.429
268. Ubly, 275, 4-3, 37.000
269. Brown City, 272, 4-3, 44.286
270. Gobles, 271, 6-1, 49.857
271. Ottawa Lake Whiteford, 268, 6-1, 60.286
272. Hudson, 264, 4-3, 40.429
273. Waterford Our Lady ^, 263, 5-2, 51.857
274. Mayville ^, 258, 5-2, 48.571
275. Melvindale Academy for Business & Tech ^, 254, 5-2, 52.714
276. New Buffalo, 250, 4-3, 31.000
277. Marcellus ^, 249, 5-2, 35.857
278. Harbor Beach, 245, 6-1, 60.143
279. Johannesburg-Lewiston ^, 243, 5-2, 39.048
280. Vestaburg ^, 242, 5-2, 45.857
281. Coleman, 239, 4-3, 36.714
282. New Lothrop, 237, 7-0, 67.429
283. Bessemer *^, 233, 4-2, 36.095
284. L'Anse, 233, 6-1, 48.429
285. Petersburg-Summerfield, 232, 4-3, 37.000
286. Stephenson ^, 229, 5-2, 43.286
287. Merrill, 228, 4-3, 37.286
288. Manistee Catholic Central, 219, 4-3, 30.143
289. Mendon, 216, 7-0, 67.810
290. Beal City, 213, 7-0, 82.286
291. Pittsford ^, 213, 5-2, 38.857
292. St. Ignace La Salle, 207, 7-0, 50.286
293. Lutheran Westland, 204, 4-3, 45.857
294. Mio, 203, 4-3, 30.905
295. AuGres-Sims, 199, 4-3, 31.762
296. Pickford ^, 197, 5-2, 47.429
297. Onaway ^, 194, 5-2, 39.143
298. Powers North Central, 194, 4-3, 29.429
299. Central Lake, 193, 4-3, 30.762
300. Fowler, 186, 6-1, 66.000
301. Climax-Scotts, 183, 7-0, 51.429
302. Muskegon Catholic Central ^, 181, 5-2, 53.171
303. Morrice, 171, 4-3, 30.571
304. St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic, 171, 5-1, 45.524
305. Colon, 164, 4-3, 30.524
306. Crystal Falls Forest Park, 164, 6-1, 46.571
307. Baldwin *, 160, 5-2, 41.571
308. Lake Linden-Hubbell, 159, 4-3, 26.500
309. Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart, 121, 6-1, 64.857
310. Iron Mountain North Dickinson *, 112, 7-0, 64.000
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8-Player Playoff Listing
1. Deckerville, 194, 6-1, 51.143
2. Marine City Cardinal Mooney, 185, 3-4, 22.029
3. Battle Creek St. Philip, 182, 4-3, 32.000
4. Kinde-North Huron, 180, 3-4, 21.029
5. Kingston, 175, 4-3, 28.600
6. Cedarville, 169, 7-0, 59.810
7. Tekonsha, 163, 1-6, 11.000
8. Carsonville-Port Sanilac, 162, 4-3, 33.714
9. Bellaire, 161, 5-2, 37.976
10. Peck, 156, 6-1, 45.743
11. Ewen-Trout Creek *, 146, 1-6, 9.476
12. Brimley *, 145, 1-5, 9.262
13. Eben Junction Superior Central *, 132, 4-2, 34.524
14. New Haven Merritt *, 130, 1-4, 10.000
15. St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran *, 118, 1-4, 8.543
16. Litchfield, 115, 1-6, 8.714
17. Rapid River, 115, 6-1, 45.048
18. Portland St. Patrick, 104, 7-0, 53.714
19. Akron-Fairgrove, 95, 5-2, 34.514
20. Caseville, 90, 0-7, 2.857
21. Engadine *, 89, 3-3, 23.857
22. Rock Mid Peninsula, 87, 2-5, 17.417
23. Waldron, 87, 5-2, 35.571
24. Posen, 84, 2-5, 15.548
25. Burr Oak, 79, 3-4, 19.000
26. Owendale-Gagetown, 60, 5-2, 34.371
27. Flint Michigan School For The Deaf *, 45, 1-4, 8.114
Culmination of Ideas, Cooperation Lead to Creation of MHSAA Football Playoffs
By
Ron Pesch
MHSAA historian
August 26, 2022
In November of 1972, Dave Driscoll, football coach at Jackson Parkside, was talking by phone with Larry Paladino of The Associated Press about the goals of the recently-formed Michigan High School Football Coaches Association (MHSFCA).
“Football has been around a long time in Michigan, and we just haven’t moved forward as other sports have. Now with an organization to speak and help us, I think we will see some real movement …”
Driscoll, president of the MHSFCA, was pitching the idea of a football postseason in Michigan – a goal of the young organization.
“It took us a couple of years to get it done,” recalled Driscoll, now age 86 and still in the Jackson area. “The first year or two was a challenge because that’s when you’re instituting something. But it has turned out to be a very progressive, positive influence in the state.”
A Postseason
Michigan was one of only 20 states that did not conduct a football playoff, and the sport was the only one sponsored by the MHSAA that did not have a tournament to determine champions. Newspaper ranking systems, in use since the early 1940s in Michigan, were the method by which football teams were awarded “state titles.” Prior to that, schools with undefeated marks against in-state opponents could make a rightful claim to a championship. Because there was no postseason system in place for teams to square off, those are referred to as “mythical” titles.
A state gridiron playoff had been discussed for many years. But, as a cold weather state, few could see a way to devise an equitable system to accomplish the task. With basketball, every high school squad qualified for the annual MHSAA Tournament. Logistically and geographically, the concept of a football postseason presented numerous challenges. Unpredictable late fall weather meant the season could be expanded by only a couple of weeks. That limited the number of teams that could be involved.
Yet Colorado and Massachusetts, both with weather that could replicate Michigan’s in late autumn, hosted football postseasons.
“They just extend the season by two weeks,” said Driscoll, the MHSFCA spokesperson at the time. “They divide the state by regions. If you win a region, you have a semifinal game the next week, then a final a week after that in each class.”
The MHSFCA, broken into 18 regions across the Upper and Lower Peninsulas, recognized that was far too many to work within a two-week playoff system. So, determining the teams that would participate in the tournament was a major concern.
“Ohio rates its teams by computer. Pennsylvania has a system for it. … Our association would have to investigate these and come up with the best one for our situation,” Driscoll said.
Only eight months old, the MHSFCA planned to present its research, and a possible approach, to the Michigan High School Athletic Association. Driscoll had spoken to both Allen W. Bush, MHSAA executive director, and Vern Norris, associate director, about the goal.
“They’re listening,” he told the press. “If we can come up with a feasible plan, I think they’re willing to listen. We hope to have playoffs in two or three years.”
So the MHSFCA went to work, scheduling meetings around the state – talking with, and listening to, membership.
“We’re not going to press for any certain system at this time. It will take time to work out the details. We just want to sell the idea,” Driscoll said.
The MHSFCA recognized it could take a while.
“Iowa had to present the playoff five years before it was approved,” noted Driscoll.
While the administrative wheels turned, the MHSFCA worked on developing a point system designed to reward teams based on strength of schedule. The goal was to create a test – ideally during the 1973 season – designed to prove the concept, with the hope for an actual playoff in the fall of 1974.
One thing almost certain to occur, if a system could be developed, would be a recasting of those newspaper rankings.
“Indiana had a dry run on their (proposed) playoffs last year and four of the top five teams in the football polls did not make the playoffs on a point system.”
“No matter how honestly polls are conducted,” stated Jim DeLand of the Benton Harbor Herald-Palladium in April 1973, “they inevitably favor unbeaten teams with an easier schedule over teams with a tougher schedule, and say, one loss.”
Financing the Idea
According to the coaches’ group, most football playoffs in other states had been self-supporting and profitable. “Ohio played its semifinals in a doubleheader at the Ohio State stadium last fall and drew 20-some thousand people,” noted Ike Muhlenkamp, coach at St. Joseph High School and Region 5 director of the MHSFCA, in conversation with DeLand. That additional revenue, he noted, could be used to support other things that were coming along, like girls athletics.
MHSFCA regional directors conducted meetings around the state in April 1973 to explain the proposal.
The idea was to use a point system to determine which teams would qualify for play. A school’s classification – Class A, B, C, or D – determined by enrollment size, would be used here as well. Just like basketball, four schools would emerge as champions at the end of the tournament.
“It’s complicated … complicated,” said Bush about the proposal to institute a football playoff just prior to a May pitch by the coaches to the MHSAA Representative Council. “There’s a tremendous mass of bookkeeping involved. Other states are doing it, and we can’t turn our backs on it, but I don’t anticipate it happening this year.”
The Council was receptive to the idea, but it needed examination and testing. The Council called for the assembly of a “Blue-Ribbon panel” of superintendents, principals, athletic directors and coaches from around the state to determine the potential of a football postseason and to explore and address the challenges. Harley Pierce, Sturgis football coach, was named chairman of the committee.
“We’d like to see it operate on paper first,” Driscoll told Dean Howe of the Flint Journal. “That way, we’d know approximately how the real thing would operate.”
“Right now, the Blue-Ribbon committee is studying three point systems, ones used in Ohio, Virginia, and Iowa,” noted Howe. “In Ohio, ratings are done strictly by computer. It costs $5,000 a season to use the computer system.”
In October, the Council asked that the proposed point system be refined.
A key component, as envisioned by the MHSFCA, was to create a system that factored in the quality of competition played by a team during the regular season.
“A team with an 8-1 record might be picked over a 9-0 club by season’s end if that team had played much better competition,” explained Howe.
A special questionnaire was distributed by the MHSAA in February 1974. “By almost a 5 to 1 margin, prep coaches throughout the state supported the playoff,” stated Bob Gross in the Lansing State Journal.
Under the refined system, football game results would be gathered and run through a formula that awarded points based on wins and ties constructed around enrollment classifications, and bonus points for the results of games played by your opponents. League affiliation and margin of victory held no bearing on playoff points awarded.
In May, the Representative Council, acting on the strong support by coaches for a football tournament, instructed staff at the MHSAA to conduct a sample playoff, on paper, during the 1974 season. The approach would serve as a testing ground – a place to run the idea around the track with live data.
The reality of an actual postseason was still, at minimum, a year away. If all worked as intended, the hope was for an actual tournament in 1975 and 1976, with a re-evaluation of the system to follow. But obstacles remained.
“Weather, playing conditions, sites, records of teams and you name it, we’re faced with just about everything when it comes to something like this,” said Bush. “Teams in the U.P. start the regular season two weeks early so naturally they’re finished by the time teams in the Lower Peninsula are in their sixth and seventh games.” If a U.P. team qualified for the proposed tournament, “they’d have to wait two weeks at least to prepare for a playoff.”
In the end, the idea would still need approval by the Association of Secondary School Principals, which had the “final word on all athletic policies.”
“The coaches are on one side of the fence and administrators (on) the other,” Bush continued. “(T)here’s still a lot of work to do before we actually have a playoff.”
Paper and Pencil
University of Michigan’s Bo Schembechler endorsed the idea and stated in a letter to the MHSFCA that he’d like to see the title game played at U-M. Within, he addressed a concern expressed in some administrative circles. At the time, 652 schools in Michigan played football.
“The fact is that only 16 schools will have an extended season,” stated Schembechler. “There should be little, if any, effect on the basic philosophy of scholastic emphasis.”
Michigan State football coach Denny Stolz also wrote a letter to the group stating he, too, favored the playoff system.
Labeled the “Paper Playoffs,” the proof of concept was handled in the old-fashioned manner, as according to Bush, a computer would not be used for point calculations. It would cost too much.
Instead, at schools that believed they deserved consideration, athletic directors were to fill out a rating form after the season’s sixth game with appropriate information about the results of games played. School principals were to sign the form and mail it to the MHSAA. A single MHSAA staff member each week would then manually “tabulate the results and determine the top teams in each class of four regions” and release them for publication.
The resulting rank of teams was expected to be controversial by both the MHSAA and the MHSFCA. Smaller schools beating teams above their enrollment classification would benefit from the system. Larger schools facing smaller schools would receive fewer points for a win than they would by defeating a team within their own classification. As predicted, an undefeated season was no guarantee of a place within the 16-team field of qualifiers.
“After the formula was devised, the coaches applied it to the top teams in the 1973 Class A poll,” stated Dave Matthews in a State Journal article that appeared just prior to the start of the 1974 season. Saginaw Arthur Hill – undefeated, untied, and unscored upon across nine games – had been named state champion in every state newspaper poll. The Lumberjacks had outscored their opponents, 443-0, but would have finished third in their region in the playoff rankings behind both Flint Southwestern (8-1) and East Lansing (9-0). Simply put, Arthur Hill would not have qualified for the playoffs. Based on the formula, both Southwestern and East Lansing had played more challenging schedules than Arthur Hill.
Controversy
Results needed for the first tabulation following the Week 6 games were slow in arriving. As of the Tuesday following the game, the MHSAA had received only 60 forms. With Wednesday as the cutoff date, the first round of calculations didn’t include teams – like undefeated South Haven – that appeared in the weekly newspaper polls. (South Haven’s form didn’t arrive until after the deadline). That illustrated the need for timely reporting.
Comparisons between the press polls and the “paper playoff” rankings were common, and by season’s end, they illustrated the seismic shift that was approaching – and a call for action.
“Football games aren’t won or lost on paper. Neither are state championships,” wrote Roger Neumann in the State Journal in early November as the season headed for its conclusion. “That’s why most mid-Michigan prep coaches are anxious to see the state’s experimental ‘paper playoffs’ taken a step further and put on the gridiron.”
While it appeared a large majority of coaches – and school administrators – favored moving forward, support for the proposed system certainly wasn’t unanimous.
East Lansing coach Jeff Smith questioned the approach.
‘I’m still for a playoff,’ Smith told Neumann. ‘‘But I have some reservations. I’m not sure that the No. 1 team in each region is the best team.” While Smith admitted he didn’t have an answer on how to improve upon the suggested point system in place, he offered a suggestion.
“If we’re going to do this, I think we should do it right and have eight teams in the playoffs (per classification). Eight teams would be more representative. You’d still be going with the elite of the state.”
Smith noted an expanded playoff with three rounds could still be accomplished within two weeks as the MHSAA allowed teams to play every five days.
“With or without such a change, however, Smith said he’d vote for a true playoff, adding, ‘Any playoff is better than no playoff at all. Once you’ve got it, you can always make changes later,” reported Neumann.
The final AP polls, released Tuesday, Nov. 12, showed Birmingham Brother Rice, Muskegon Catholic Central, Hudson, and Traverse City St. Francis as respective state champions in Classes A, B, C, and D, respectively. United Press International (UPI) differed in only Class C, with Battle Creek St. Philip as the top-ranked team, just five points ahead of Hudson.
According to the final “paper playoff” rankings, only Muskegon Catholic and St. Philip would have qualified for postseason play.
Approved
“It’ll be the principals who’ll really decide if there’ll be playoffs,” said Dick Comar, publicity director for the MHSFCA in late January of 1975. The principals were to receive a questionnaire within a week asking their opinion on the proposal. They had until Feb. 24 to cast their vote.
The results of the survey would be presented to the MHSAA Representative Council at its March 21 meeting in Ann Arbor (coinciding with the annual basketball championships at U-M’s Crisler Arena), with a final decision concerning the issue “at that meeting or at their meeting in May.”
On March 22, Bush announced the proposal had passed, indicating that 73 percent of high schools that had responded to the survey had voted in favor of postseason play. Michigan would have a football tournament. Sites and dates were to be determined. The Council requested that semifinal games be played on high school fields, and that, if possible, the final-round contests be played on artificial turf.
By May, the MHSAA had contracted ESR Corporation, a data processing firm in Lansing, to handle the input of weekly game results. Using the same formula developed and tested, ESR would be responsible for calculating point totals to determine the state’s best teams by Class and region.
Norris called the plan “a combination of the best features already in use in Ohio, Iowa, and West Virginia.” He credited former Alpena coach Art Gillespie with doing much of the work for “carrying the ball through the preparation stages.”
Five members of the media – Howe of the Flint Journal, Jack Moss of the Kalamazoo Gazette, Joe Walker of the Saginaw News, Ed Senyczko of the State Journal, and John Carlisle of the Sault Ste. Marie Evening News – were tasked with capturing the results of games played by 679 schools, including 28 from outside of Michigan, and mailing the results to the MHSAA.
“We’re not interested in the score,” said Bush. “We want to know if a team won, lost, tied, or did not play.”
In August, the MHSAA announced that state title games would be played at two sites on Saturday, Nov. 22. Western Michigan University would host the Class A and D games, while Class B and C were slated for Central Michigan University.
The four regions used to divide up the state for the annual basketball tournament also were used as the regions for football.
In September, with the results of the season’s first games – played by the state’s Upper Peninsula teams – fed into ESR’s computers, Bush was clear that the final playoff rankings would cause controversy.
“It’s not necessarily the four best teams in the state that will compete in the semifinals,” he said, “but the best in each region.”
The result was both popular and controversial. The papers continued their weekly football polls. The first MHSAA rankings were not released until Oct 8.
UPI was unimpressed: “If the playoffs were held this weekend – which they are not – not a single one of the teams UPI has rated first in the four classes would qualify.”
Hal Schram of the Detroit Free Press expressed a similar emotion.
“The first computerized points were announced last week and there were glaring differences between the media polls and the MHSAA system,” he wrote.
“’There is no reason to attempt a state football championship, and extend the season two more weeks, when you’re inviting only four teams in each class to perform,’ said Joe Vanderhof, veteran sportswriter of the Grand Rapids Press.
Skepticism continued as the weeks went on, culminating in joy for 16 schools – but disappointment for many others – when the final MHSAA rankings were released Nov. 9.
Norway, undefeated in nine games, was the first to experience heartbreak, as U.P. teams finished their season earlier than others. Tied with Ishpeming in the Region 4 Class C rankings, the Knights lost the playoff spot by a tie-breaking formula. Since the two schools had not played each other, a second method was employed to break the deadlock. The summed win-loss percentage of each school’s opponents was compared, with Ishpeming coming out two-tenths of a percent higher. Two of Norway’s top challengers had not played a ninth game. If either had at least tied another contest, Norway would have slipped ahead in the rankings.
“We’ve been ranked … in the AP ahead of Ishpeming all year,” stated Knights coach Bob Giannunzio. “This is hard to swallow.”
Jim Crowley, coach of Jackson Lumen Christi, was also among the disappointed: “You do everything you can and still don’t make it. Undefeated, the team finished No. 1 in Class B according to UPI.”
“But had it not been Lumen Christi,” noted UPI writer Richard Shook, “then it would have been Dearborn Divine Child (missing out). They were both in the same playoff region.”
Trenton in Class A, Divine Child in Class B, Hudson in Class C and North Adams in Class D finished on top in the final AP poll. Only Trenton did not qualify for the postseason. Traverse City topped Trenton in the final UPI and Free Press polls and did qualify. Lumen Christi finished No. 1 in Class B, Hudson in Class C, and Crystal Falls Forest Park – another qualifier – finished on top in Class D in the Free Press.
“I’ve got the best football team in the state,” Trenton coach Jack Castignola told Schram. “I’ve got at least two future Big Ten players. We had three goals at the opening of practice in August, to go unbeaten, win the conference and the state. We’ve been deprived of reaching our final goal and there’s nothing we can do about it. Corrections are going to have to be made in future years.”
Flint Ainsworth, with a 7-2-0 record, ranked 14th in the UPI poll, was the only team unranked and without even honorable mention in the AP poll to qualify for the tournament.
Livonia Franklin, Divine Child, Ishpeming, and Forest Park emerged as the MHSAA’s first gridiron champions. Since that time, various alterations have been made to the football playoffs. Seasons now begin sooner, many more teams qualify for the postseason, and, beginning in 1976, championship games were moved indoors. Today, 10 teams – eight 11-player squads and two 8-player teams – will be awarded titles come November.
But it was the efforts and collaboration of many that got us here.
“There were a lot of great people involved,” said Driscoll, reflecting on those efforts some 50 years later, and emphasizing that he was only one of many individuals on the same team, uniting behind a goal. “We got great cooperation. We had some super coaches and … some administrators that were not afraid to step forward and say, ‘Hey! These are good people and I know if they do it, they’ll do it the right way.’”
Ron Pesch has taken an active role in researching the history of MHSAA events since 1985 and began writing for MHSAA Finals programs in 1986, adding additional features and "flashbacks" in 1992. He inherited the title of MHSAA historian from the late Dick Kishpaugh following the 1993-94 school year, and resides in Muskegon. Contact him at [email protected] with ideas for historical articles.
PHOTOS (Top) The MHSAA program greets fans for the first Football Finals. (2) Jackson Parkside coach Dave Driscoll talks with one of his players in 1971. (3) A points system was created to determine the field for the first MHSAA Football Playoffs in 1975. (4) Media members were responsible for collecting scores for the MHSAA to tabulate playoff rankings. (Photos gathered by Ron Pesch.)