MHSAA District Semifinals Preview: Division 2, District 9

Heading into the district semifinals, two upsets highlighted the opening round in Division 2, District 9 with Lowell knocking off third-seeded Byron Center, and Caledonia defeating second-seeded Jenison. Those two will face each other in the semifinals with the winner matching up with the winner of the Forest Hills Central-Muskegon Mona Shores game. Below I’ll breakdown the top prospects, key matchups, and predictions for each game. <h5>Forest Hills Central (6-1) @ Muskegon Mona Shores (7-0)</h5> <strong>Top Prospects</strong> <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="29824" first="Brady" last="Rose"], QB/DB/ATH, Mona Shores</h6> Brady is the ultimate playmaker, making game-chaning plays on offense, defense and special teams. In the first round of the playoffs, Rose scored a touchdown through the air, with his legs, and on defense in the form of a pick-six. There’s no limit to his impact for the Sailors. Forest Hills Central will have their hands full with Rose all night. <h6>Elijah Johnson, RB, Mona Shores</h6> If dealing with [player_tooltip player_id="29824" first="Brady" last="Rose"] wasn’t hard enough, keeping tabs on Elijah Johnson in addition to Rose is what makes Mona Shores arguably the hardest offense to stop in the state. Elijah has explosive speed and is a physical runner who embraces contact. <h6>Hunter Robinson, QB, Forest Hills Central</h6> Hunter has been one of the most improved quarterbacks from week one to now as he continues to show an improved skillset on a weekly basis. His run game is what defenses will gameplan the most to stop, especially after gashing Forest Hills Northern for 200 yards and two touchdowns in the opening round win. Mona Shores will still need to be prepared for his passing attack as he’s shown a level of poise that translates into scoring drives for the Rangers. <strong>Key Matchups</strong> Mona Shores has won only one game by less than 10 points all year, proving why they are the overwhelming favorite to repeat as Division 2 State Champions. [player_tooltip player_id="29824" first="Brady" last="Rose"] is a huge reason for that, as he’s proven to be an unstoppable force all season long. Forest Hills Central’s defense has been one of the strongest units in the OK Conference, surrendering less than 15 points per game. However, this is a different test for the Rangers and Mona Shores’ team speed overmatches that of Forest Hills Central. <em><strong>Prediction: Muskegon Mona Shores 35, Forest Hills Central 20</strong></em> <h5>Caledonia (3-4) @ Lowell (4-3)</h5> <strong>Top Prospects</strong> <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="29634" first="Carson" last="VanderHoff"], RB, Caledonia</h6> Carson is the definition of a bell-cow back, running the ball 30+ times a game on a regular basis. He has the strength and durability to carry a team on a multi-game playoff run. Expect Carson to run the ball patiently, waiting for holes to open up and taking advantage accordingly. <h6>Doak Dean, QB, Lowell</h6> Doak has brought life back to the Lowell football program after a long hiatus from their success that the Red Arrows have become accustomed to during their dominant run in the 2000s to the mid 2010’s. His running ability and shifty moves challenge and wear down the defense. They also tend to suck the defense in the box and give way to downfield passing opportunities for Lowell. Expect Caledonia’s defense to have Doak listed as priority No.1. <strong>Key Matchups</strong> Both offenses have had a good amount of success in their running games this season. However, with that being said, not too many people outside of these two programs expected these two teams to be in the district semifinals. This game is expected to be a bit of a clock battle with the winner of the time of possession having the best chance at winning this game. I’m expecting another big game from [player_tooltip player_id="29634" first="Carson" last="VanderHoff"], leading the Scots into the district finals by a narrow margin. <em><strong>Prediction: Caledonia 17, Lowell 14</strong></em>