High School Football Playoffs Begin Statewide This Week
The six-week spring of the 2020 High School Football season has come to an end. Now the playoffs are set and almost every school is lined up for a run for the state finals.
After the Michigan High School Athletic Association announced that all teams would make it into the postseason, the statement was mainly for the 11-Man squads in the state. For the 8-Man squads, their playoff format remained unchanged with 32 teams in each of their two divisions, and also negating teams playing the format that were above the 215-student threshold. All divisions in both formats were predetermined in May by enrollment and no changes were made before the postseason brackets were formally announced October 25th.
There are a few other notes -
- October 23rd was the deadline for teams to opt out of playing in the postseason due to potential COVID-19 issues or by a school's choice. In Southwest Michigan, Allegan and Mattawan chose to forgo the postseason. Allegan was one of the first schools to end their season after last week due to low numbers in their football program. Mattawan was forced to cancel their regular season finale with Battle Creek Central due to COVID-19 and several members of the team being quarantined, followed by passing on the playoffs. This allowed the top seed in each of their Districts in Division 4 (Edwardsburg) and Division 2 (East Lansing), respectively, a bye through the first round.
- Two other teams missed out on the postseason as well in 8-Man. St. Philip fell to 1-5 in a loss Saturday to Colon, putting them outside of the top 32 teams in Division 2. Maple Valley's regular season came to an end after a victory over Bellevue Friday, as their enrollment was over 215. The MHSAA has allowed 8-Man teams an opportunity to play one game outside of the playoffs to complete their season. At this time, neither schools has set up a final game.
* - Notes highest playoff points among four teams and top seed in bracket. Seeds are within district/regional bracket.
Division 2 – Region 1 – District 2 (East Lansing has bye)
#6 Okemos (0-6) vs. #3 Lakeview (4-2) - Saturday 1pm
#7 Battle Creek Central (1-4) vs. #2 Portage Northern (5-1)* - Friday 7pm
Division 3 – Region 2 – District 1
#5 Parma Western (4-2) vs. #4 Harper Creek (4-2) - Friday 7pm Game of the Night - 6:35pm
Winner takes on #8 Gull Lake (0-6) or #1 St. Joseph* (5-1) in District Semifinal – Friday 7pm
Division 4 – Region 2 – District 2 (Edwardsburg has bye)
#7 Three Rivers (1-5) vs. #2 Hastings (5-1)* - Friday 7pm
Winner takes on #6 Otsego (2-4) or #3 Paw Paw (4-2) next week in District Semifinal – Friday 7pm
Division 4 – Region 3 – District 1
#7 Eaton Rapids (1-5) vs. #2 Pennfield (3-3)* - Friday 7pm
#6 Marshall (2-4) vs. #3 Flint Powers Catholic (2-4) - Friday 7pm
Division 5 – Region 3 – District 1
# 6 Hillsdale (4-2) vs. #3 Olivet (5-1) - Friday 7pm
Winner takes on #7 Benton Harbor (2-4) or #2 Kalamazoo United (5-1)* next week in District Semifinal – Friday 7pm
Division 6 – Region 3 – District 2
# 6 Quincy (2-4) vs. #3 Adrian Madison (5-1) - Friday 7pm
Winner takes on Napoleon (1-5) or Michigan Center (3-1)* next week in District Semifinal – Friday 7pm
Division 7 – Region 4 – District 1
#8 Galesburg-Augusta (0-5) vs. #1 Schoolcraft (5-1)* - Friday 7pm
#5 Delton (3-3) vs. #4 Bronson (3-2) - Friday 7pm
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# 6 Union City (2-4) vs. #3 Homer (4-2) - Friday 7pm
Winner takes on #7 Hartford (0-6) or # 2 Lawton (5-1)* next week in District Semifinal – Friday 7pm
8-Man – Division 1 – Region 4
#8 Athens (1-5) vs. #1 Martin (5-1)* - Thursday 7pm
Winner takes on #5 Camden-Frontier (2-4) or #4 New Buffalo (3-3) next week in Regional Semifinal – Saturday 5pm
#6 Bellevue (2-4) vs. #3 Marcellus (3-2) - Saturday 1pm
Winner takes on #7 Gobles (2-3) or #2 Lawrence (5-1)* next week in Regional Semifinal – Saturday 1pm
8-Man – Division 2 – Region 4
#5 Waldron (4-2) vs. #4 Tekonsha (4-2) - Saturday 1pm
Winner takes on #8 North Adams-Jerome (2-4) or #1 Portland St. Patrick (6-0)* next week in Regional Semifinal – Saturday 2pm
# 6 Climax-Scotts (3-3) vs. #3 Colon (5-1) - Thursday 7pm
Winner takes on #7 Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian (2-4) or #2 Burr Oak (5-1)* next week in Regional Semifinal – Saturday 1pm
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