Division 1: Regions 1 and 2 Deep-Dive

Now's a great time to dive deeper into the D1 Playoffs! Today, I'll dive into Regions 1 and 2 of the Playoffs. Region 1 is stacked with teams from the OK, KLAA, and Capital-Area conferences, while Region 2 is mostly OAA with three teams from the Saginaw South. Out of these 16 teams, only 1 will make it to Ford Field. This article will analyze both regions and predict who may be at Ford Field.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized is-style-default"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/10/D1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-490313" width="344" height="447"/></figure>   Region 1   Favorite: Rockford   Rockford is the easy favorite in Region 1. Their resume is simply unmatched. Completely sweeping the OK-Red, defeating rival Grandville by three scores, coming back to win against Mona Shores, and smoking Caledonia, yeah, show me a better resume from this region. Rockford is balanced and has some amazing leaders. I absolutely love this team, and they've already defeated everyone in District 1 by three or more scores. Still, Grandville is their most bitter rival, and Caledonia was favored against them before getting blown out. I also strongly believe they would beat any team in District 2.   Contenders: Caledonia, Brighton, Grand Ledge, Grandville   These four teams can contend.   Caledonia has a tough opening matchup against Grandville. The Scots beat the Bulldogs 50-40 during the regular season, so they'll be favored there. Round 2 against Rockford, though? We'll see. This team has the talent needed to make a postseason run and possibly make the state championship. The Scots are, in my opinion, 2nd in Region 1, and if they end up beating Grandville and Rockford, they'll be favored in whoever they face in the Final 8.   Brighton is a close 3rd in Region 1. I know, this is the team that made the KLAA Championship, but Brighton was simply not as dominant as Rockford or Caledonia (although still pretty dang dominant). Also, I believe the KLAA West and the OK-Red to be similar in competition. Anyways, Brighton has proven to be a very efficient team, especially defensively. Grand Ledge will be a harder out than expected, while they may face Hartland in Round 2, who they only won against 9-7 earlier in the season. I believe Brighton's road to the regional final to be easier than Caledomnia's but much harder than Rockford's.   I would not be surprised if Grand Ledge pulls off the upset in Round 1. No disrespect whatsoever to Brighton, but Grand Ledge has proven to be an amazing team when they want to be. Grand Ledge sports a very unique offense and has two great wins on their resume; 45-30 vs. East Lansing and 56-49 against DeWitt. I know that Brighton has one of the best defenses in Michigan, but Grand Ledge runs an offensive style unseen in the KLAA. I believe Grand Ledge to be the 4th best team in this region, and I could see them possibly making the Regional Finals.   Grandville could shock the world. Now, Grandville has two big things in its favor. For one, they are extremely familiar with Caledonia and Rockford. Secondly, Caledonia and Rockford are rivals. When you're going up against familiar rivals, you never know what could happen. Grandville runs a high-powered T-Wing offense that puts up some insane numbers. With a bounty of young talent and returners from last season, this team has the tools to pull off upsets.   Dark Horse: Holt, Hartland   These are Dark Horse contenders that could win the region, but I think it's very unlikely.   Holt has a win against Grand Ledge to boast, though this is a young team that was pretty inconsistent this season but, to be fair, they finished very strong. I think their game against Hartland will be extremely competitive, and playing at home will help a ton. If they can win their 1st-round matchup, they better hope for a Grand Ledge win so they can face a familiar opponent.   Hartland is an interesting team. They narrowly lost against the best of the KLAA East, but crushed everyone else. I still think their matchup with Holt is a toss-up, but if they win there, they'll have a good shot against either team in the 2nd-round. All in all though, I do not think this team can beat Rockford, Caledonia, or Grandville.   Longshots: East Kentwood   It's great to see East Kentwood in the playoffs, but Rockford is a dominant force in the playoffs, and their stadium is an extremely intimidating playoff location. The most telling aspect is that they got crushed against Rockford, Caledonia, and Grandville all this season.   Region 2   Favorite: Rochester Adams   You could make a strong case for any of the top 3 teams in this region to be the favorite, but I have the 2021 state Runner-Up as my favorite. Adams dominated the OAA Red this season, only losing to fellow 1st-place Clarkston (more on them in a moment). Adams runs the Veer better than anyone in the state, and they have some surprisingly incredible athletes to go along with it. One of the best QBs in the state, the best TE in the country, and a great secondary. This is a team that crushed West Bloomfield. Enough said.   Contenders: Clarkston, Davison   Clarkston and Davison are incredibly evenly-matched, as shown by their extremely close week-1 matchup.   First, we'll chat about Clarkston. Although they have a new coach and QB, the Wolves have looked incredible. This team has an amazing defense and the best running game in the state. They have a few closer games, but they also destroyed Lapeer, and as I said above, they beat Adams. This is an amazing team that may be slightly inconsistent at times but always brings it against top opponents.   Davison is a dang good football team, and they're just as likely to make the semifinals as any of the three above. During week 1, they beat Clarkston 28-21, and they haven't even come close to losing since Week 2 against Detroit Catholic Central. This is a consistent, dominant football team that sports great offense and defense. I fully plan on attending their potential 2nd-round matchup vs. Clarkston.   Dark Horse: None   Longshots: Grand Blanc, Lapeer, Lake Orion, Stoney Creek, Rochester   To put it simply, every one of these teams, at one point or another this season, was blown out by one of the three contenders.   Grand Blanc is not the same Grand Blanc team as last year, not even close.   Lapeer looked great until they got blown out by Clarkston and Davison. Confidence can't be extremely high.   Lake Orion lost handily against Clarkston and Adams, and they were obviously outmatched.   Stoney was stomped by Adams, Clarkston, and Lake Orion.   Rochester was blown out by Stoney, and would not win against any Region 2 team.

Now's a great time to dive deeper into the D1 Playoffs! Today, I'll dive into Regions 1 and 2 of the Playoffs. Region 1 is stacked with teams from the OK, KLAA, and Capital-Area conferences, while Region 2 is mostly OAA with three teams from the Saginaw South. Out of these 16 teams, only 1 will make it to Ford Field. This article will analyze both regions and predict who may be at Ford Field.