Division 2 District Finals Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The District Finals are upon us! In division 2, we have 8 great district finals matchups to showcase, with nearly all of them expected to be extremely competitive. We have a wide array of games from Grand Rapids to Kalamazoo, Lansing, and Birmingham. No matter where you are in Michigan, there's probably a great playoff game close to you! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Region 1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>District 1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">Forest Hills Central vs. Mona Shores:</span> In my opinion, this is the best Playoff game this week in West Michigan. FHC has had a tremendous season, having gone a perfect 10-0 thus far, winning the OK-White. FHC is coming off a huge playoff win against Reeths-Puffer, having beaten them 32-6. That same RP team fell to Mona Shores by a score of 15-0. Now, Mona Shores sits at 8-2, with losses against Rockford and Muskegon. Mona Shores will likely be favored here, as they beat FHC in last year's playoffs 31-7. I actually think both of these teams are much improved from last season, and this game should live up to all the hype. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Players to Watch - [player_tooltip player_id='251945' first='Ty' last='Hudkins'], [player_tooltip player_id='253230' first='JT' last='Hartman'], [player_tooltip player_id='300623' first='Raymond' last='Cargill'], Jonathan Pittman, [player_tooltip player_id='409663' first='Jaylen' last='Vinton'], [player_tooltip player_id='243089' first='Dahmir' last='Farnum']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>District 2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">Portage Northern vs. East Lansing:</span> I believe these two teams were slight underdogs in the first round. Portage Northern torched Byron center last week, rushing for over 300 yards, while East Lansing took the hammer to Battle Creek Central, winning 24-0. This is a very intriguing matchup, and both teams have stars on the offensive side of the ball. I expect this to be an absolute show and one of the must-see games in D2. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Players to Watch - [player_tooltip player_id='30343' first='Xavior' last='Tyus'], [player_tooltip player_id='1124952' first='Jackson' last='Altwies'], [player_tooltip player_id='30341' first='Cane' last='Mack'], [player_tooltip player_id='178996' first='Evan' last='Boyd'], [player_tooltip player_id='30335' first='Hayden' last='Healey'], </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Region 2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>District 1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">Midland vs. Waterford Mott:</span> This is a matchup where I don't know what to expect. Midland is a very impressive 9-1, having played in the Saginaw Blue, while Mott is 8-2, having played in the Lakes Valley. Mott is defined by their incredible offense, having won an absolute shootout against Heritage last week, 77-63. Midland is strong on both sides of the ball, having won last week 42-15. Again, I don't know what to expect from this one! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Players to Watch - Colin Coffey, Isaiah Henderson, Max Stoecker, [player_tooltip player_id='253200' first='Kalieb' last='Osborne'], Michael Bolan, </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>District 2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">Dexter vs. South Lyon:</span> Dexter is the obvious favorite here, but from here on out, there are no weak teams in the running. Dexter is one of the few undefeated teams left in MI and one of the favorites to make it to Ford Field. South Lyon is no pushover, as they were regional finalists last season and are coming off an impressive win over their rival. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Players to Watch - [player_tooltip player_id='162655' first='Cole' last='Cabana'], [player_tooltip player_id='243465' first='Reeves' last='Taylor'], Micah Davis, [player_tooltip player_id='241274' first='Tommy' last='Donovan'], Simeon Mardossian, Andrew Berg</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Region 3</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>District 1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">Livonia Franklin vs. Bedford:</span> Franklin will be favored in this matchup, but Bedford is an extremely tough out. We know that Franklin is an extremely strong 9-1 team, but Bedford is a team that defeated Saline and nearly beat Huron. I still think Franklin should win this game, but it might be closer than many would expect.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Players to Watch - Thomas Huss, [player_tooltip player_id='300704' first='Trey' last='Brueggemann'], Luke Davis, Owen Hawley, Cordell Mabins Jr, Dominic Simpson</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>District 2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">Seaholm vs. Groves:</span> This is absolutely the best game in Division 2 this week. Seaholm and Groves are bitter rivals and are very equally matched. Both head coaches are among the longest-tenured in Michigan, so it goes without saying that these programs know one another extremely well. Groves is great at defending the Veer, while Seaholm has Groves on their mind week in and week out. The record of both teams doesn't matter; this will be an extremely close and exciting rivalry matchup. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Players to Watch - [player_tooltip player_id='252599' first='Colton' last='Kinnie'], [player_tooltip player_id='253291' first='Sean' last='Emerson'], [player_tooltip player_id='253296' first='Kyle' last='Robbins'], [player_tooltip player_id='190101' first='Zachary' last='Rogers'], Avery Gach, Joshua Woods</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Region 4</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>District 1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">Roseville vs. De La Salle:</span> Roseville is a very good football team, but De La Salle is the Championship favorite. If I had to lock in a pick, I'd pick De La Salle over Roseville. Maybe Roseville can hang with them early, but I don't see this game being very competitive. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Players to Watch - [player_tooltip player_id='162652' first='Amare' last='Snowden'], Elijah Baker, Corey Cobb Jr, [player_tooltip player_id='186875' first='Brady' last='Drogosh'], [player_tooltip player_id='226712' first='Mason' last='Muragin'], [player_tooltip player_id='80952' first='Ryan' last='Ross']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>District 2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">Lakeview vs. L'Ance Creuse:</span> This is a strange game, mostly because these are two of the weaker teams remaining in Division 2. L'Ance Creuse is 6-4 without any overly impressive wins, while Lakeview is 7-3, and they defeated L'Ane Creuse 37-0 earlier this season. Lakeview should win this one but will be a heavy underdog next week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Players to Watch - [player_tooltip player_id='179222' first='Jaiden' last='Sanders'], [player_tooltip player_id='119697' first='Donovan' last='Weatherly'], Toby Mitchell, Austin Stockett</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->