2023 Division 3 Playoff Preview

The Division 3 Bracket is here! This is an interesting bracket, as four of my top five teams are housed in regions 4 or 5. In addition, this bracket seems pretty top heavy, with the top 6 teams being the heaviest favorites. So, take a look at my power rankings, my thoughts on all 16 games, and my bracket prediction!   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Division 3 Power Rankings</h2>   <ol> <li>Mason</li>   <li>River Rouge</li>   <li>Detroit MLK</li>   <li>FHC</li>   <li>Walled Lake Western</li>   <li>Zeeland West</li>   <li>Gaylord</li>   <li>East Grand Rapids</li>   <li>DeWitt</li>   <li>Parma Western</li>   <li>Mount Pleasant</li>   <li>Fenton</li>   <li>Lowell</li>   <li>Coopersville</li>   <li>Port Huron</li>   <li>Bay City Western</li>   <li>Linden</li>   <li>Riverview</li>   <li>Avondale</li>   <li>Holly</li>   <li>Marquette</li>   <li>Petoskey</li>   <li>Southgate Anderson</li>   <li>Trenton</li>   <li>Harper Creek</li>   <li>Zeeland East</li>   <li>St Joseph</li>   <li>Northview</li>   <li>Grosse Pointe North</li>   <li>Lakeshore</li>   <li>Thurston</li>   <li>Warren Fitzgerald</li> </ol>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Region 1 Prevew</h2>   #7 Gaylord vs. #16 Bay City Western   This game could turn out to be quite close.   Gaylord heads into the postseason as one of only two undefeated teams in the field. They faced an average schedule for the most part, and sport big wins against Lumen Christi, #21 Marquette, #22 Petoskey, and Kingsley. It's no secret that Gaylord has one of the best defenses in the state with guys like [player_tooltip player_id='665562' first='Carter' last='Sitz'] and [player_tooltip player_id='249498' first='Brady' last='Pretzlaff']. This is a year where Gaylord can truly make a deep run- and I'd say the regional finals are the expectation.   Bay City Western sits at 5-4 yet they've played very competitively against good teams. They only lost 28-24 against #11 Mount Pleasant, decisively beat #22 Petoskey, and beat Midland. Considering Gaylord only beat Petoskey 9-0 while Bay City Western beat them 26-6, it's not outlandish to think this team can pull off the upset.   #21 Marquette vs. #22 Petoskey   Earlier this season, Marquette defeated Petoskey 21-20. Considering these teams common opponents and their regular season meeting, this should be a great game.   Marquette sits at 5-3. They've had an alright season, but they'd like to get back up to being one of the kings of Northern Michigan. At this point, Gladstone, Gaylord, Kingsford, and others are way ahead of the Redmen. Headlining this team are a few good linemen and a few good receivers that I've seen.   This is a huge moment for Petoskey football. I know a giant goal for this program was to make the postseason, and now, they have an opportunity to make some noise in the big dance. This team is headlined by Senior QB Joseph Mccarthy, Senior ATH [player_tooltip player_id='249497' first='CJ' last='Hibbler'], Junior WR [player_tooltip player_id='586188' first='Seth' last='Marek'], S Junior [player_tooltip player_id='586189' first='Haden' last='Janes'], and DE [player_tooltip player_id='899583' first='Korbin' last='Sulitis']. The top-end talent is there, now I hope the rest of the supporting cast can lock in and perform well. If Petsoskey can win this game, they'll likely face #9 Gaylord, who they only lost to 9-0 in the regular season. That said, even ranked #22, Petoskey could be a regional finalist.   #11 Mount Pleasant vs. #28 Northview   Mount Pleasant is trying to prove their worth in D3 with a deep run, while it would be huge for this Northview program if they can pull off the upset.   Mount Pleasant is one of those teams that looks great in the regular season, but they tend to struggle in the postseason. A lot of that can be attributed to their strength of schedule. This time around, they also got a bit of an unlucky draw, and they'll likely have to face Forest Hills Central in the divisional round. This team has a few good athletes, of course alongside BIG 10 recruited Tackle [player_tooltip player_id='188031' first='Andrew' last='Dennis'].   Northview started the season 3-0, including an extremely impressive win over Chelsea. Since then, they've gone 1-5 without being very competitive against most teams they've faced. This run includes a 43-0 Loss vs. #13 Lowell, 45-0 vs. #4 FHC, and 49-0 vs. Byron Center (D2).   #4 Forest Hills Central vs. #13 Lowell   Earlier this season, Forest Hills Central defeated Lowell 37-12.   FHC has to love the way the bracket is laid out. All three teams I have ranked ahead of FHC (and #5) are set to duke it out in the opposite side of the bracket. In addition, #6 Zeeland West has undergone a huge slide as of late, plus they've already beat #8 East Grand Rapids 20-0. They already made the State Title last season, and I think they have an even better chance this year. [player_tooltip player_id='251945' first='Ty' last='Hudkins'] and [player_tooltip player_id='602270' first='Maxwell' last='Richardson'] are the two biggest names on this team, but FHC also has an impressive, very competent supporting cast.   Lowell has impressed me a ton this season. After a few down years, they've stormed back with a 6-3 record, with one very impressive win over Byron Center. Unfortunately, Forest Hills Central is a tough out. 37-12 isn't the worst loss in the world, but it still spells out dominance for FHC. An upset is possible here, but I wouldn't expect it.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Region 2 Preview</h2>   #8 East Grand Rapids vs. #14 Coopersville   East Grand Rapids have taken a leap forward, while Coopersville proved to be a confident, physical team.   In my opinion, this is an excellent region for EGR to be in. With wins against #13 Lowell, South Christian, and Forest Hills Northern while playing competitively against Byron Center and FHC, I can confidently say that EGR is a great team. The rebuild is currently headlined by strong trenches and a suffocating offense. Only giving up 11.2PPG is an extremely impressive number. These two teams match up well, but I think EGRs experience and strength of schedule is enough to defeat Coopersville here.   Coopersville could very well win this game. They're on a 5-game winning streak, and lost their two games by a combined 4 points. Nearly winning against West Catholic is extremely impressive, though the rest of the OK Blue is pretty week overall. Also, I believe that EGR is one of the few teams in this bracket that can match their physicality. I don't expect Coopersville to win, but I do expect this to be competitive.   #6 Zeeland West vs. #26 Zeeland East   Earlier this season, Zeeland West defeated Zeeland East 36-13.   Zeeland West is a great team that can truly make a state championship run. Though, last week's loss to Reeths-Puffer does concern me. Losses their other two losses were 1-possession games vs. Muskegon and Mona Shores, which are obviously extremely strong teams. Still, there's a concern with me that dropping 3 games in a row to end the season effected this team's confidence heading into the postseason. This is a rivalry game, so let's see what happens!   East has taken a big step up this season. At first, their 3-0 record wasn't too impressive considering the competition. Then last week, they defeated Mona Shores. Now I'm not sure if Mona was resting anyone in preparation for the playoffs, but it's still a big deal to me. Let's see if the Chix can close the gap on the Dux a bit!   #10 Parma Western vs. #25 Harper Creek   Both of these teams were pretty difficult to evaluate. Still, I expect Parma Western to have some success this postseason. Earlier this season, Parma Western defeated Harper Creek 21-6.   Parma's schedule is pretty weak, but wins against Divine Child and DET Country Day are great for their resume. Something tells me that they'll run into a brick wall once they reach the Regional round, but the road seems pretty dang easy for the first two rounds.   Harper Creek likewise didn't face the toughest schedule, though they did play Lumen Christi well, losing 21-14. Still, there isn't too much to go off to say this team had a chance to make a big run. Since they only lost by two scores to Parma last time, it's not totally outlandish to say this team could find themselves as district champions.   #27 St. Joseph vs. #30 Lakeshore   Both of these teams have been good in year's past, but this season, neither have inspired much confidence. Still, one of these teams will celebrate a postseason victory. Earlier this season, St. Joseph did defeat Lakeshore 35-0.   St. Joseph has been a middle of the road team in their league that is already not amazing. Losing 55-0 against Niles was a shocking Week 1, and they weren't able to stay competitive against Portage Northern or Central. They should win this one considering the regular season result, but I'd be surprised if they end up as district champions.   Lakeshore has a similar record to St. Joseph, and they play in the same league. These teams are obviously very familiar with one another and have performed similarly against common opponents. Even though Lakeshore laid an egg in their first matchup, I would not count them completely out.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Region 3 Preview</h2>   #1 Mason vs. #17 Linden   Linden has had some good moments with a tough schedule, but Mason is simply on a different planet this season.   This could be Mason's year. Look, it's SO hard to rank anyone above powerhouses like River Rouge and Detroit MLK, but I think Mason has earned it. They've run the table with dominant wins coming every single week. Among those dominant wins include #9 DeWitt, #12 Fenton, and #5 Walled Lake Western. TE/WR/LB [player_tooltip player_id='1124466' first='Kaleb' last='Parrish'] is an incredibly physical deep threat, RB [player_tooltip player_id='254032' first='AJ' last='Martel'] is a beast who deserves D2 opportunities, QB [player_tooltip player_id='589851' first='Cason' last='Carswell'] is extremely smart with the football, and the supporting class is extremely strong.   Linden is 4-5, but like I said, the schedule was very tough. They have a competitive loss against #12 Fenton, a big loss against #11 Mount Pleasant, and one great win against #20 Holly. If the bracket was mapped out in a different way, Linden could have won a game or two. Facing Mason, their chances of victory are slim.   #9 DeWitt vs. #12 Fenton   DeWitt and Fenton seem pretty evenly matched.   DeWitt comes in as the favorite with their pedigree and postseason experience. This is a respected program that often finds themselves competing for a State Championship. This season, they have a good win versus Haslett, a decisive loss against #1 Mason, and a loss to East Lansing. Other than that they've run the table in what was a weak Capital Area Blue.   Fenton heads into the postseason with a healthy 6-3 record. This is a team that's largely fallen short against the best teams, but they do have a few solid wins on their record. Big wins against Dow, Holly, and Linden headline their season. Considering common opponents between DeWitt and Fenton, this could be a great matchup.   #5 Walled Lake Western vs. #31 Thruston   Thurston has had a successful season, though Walled Lake Western is on a different level.   This is a big moment for Walled Lake Western. It's another year where they're considered one of the favorites to win it all, though this side of the bracket is absolutely stacked. Sweeping the Lakes Valley conference is an impressive feat, even if it didn't prove to be as strong as year's past. I'm pretty dang confident that WLW will advance to the regional final, but they'll have to play better in order to defeat Mason.   Thruston is a team that has to feel good about making the postseason, though their strength of schedule is poor compared to the field.   #19 Avondale vs. #20 Holly   This is an incredible matchup.   I believe it's apparent that Avondale has taken a step up this year. Most attribute that to 1st-year Head Coach Bob Meyer, and I can't say I disagree. I would like to give some credit to the Seniors on this team that I know have been working tirelessly for quite a while to have some success. Over the past few years, Avondale has gotten matched up with some good Brother Rice teams in the 1st round. Luckily for them, they draw a very winnable matchup with Holly.   Holly proved to be a middle of the road team in the Flint Metro Upper league. They haven't done well against the better teams in the league such as Linden or Fenton, but they've taken care of business in every game they were expected to win. Considering Holly and Avondale have a few common opponents which resulted in similar final scores, I think this could be a good matchup.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Region 4 Preview </h2>   #15 Port Huron vs. #3 Detroit MLK   Port Huron has looked pretty solid this season, but they run into a buzzsaw here.   Port Huron did very well in the Macomb Blue this year, with dominant wins against teams like Port Huron Northern. This is another year where Port Huron is solid in relation to their league, but at the end of the day they're a middle of the road D3 playoff team that needs a miracle to beat a state powerhouse.   It's crazy that MLK was the LAST team to make the postseason. They only made the postseason by 0.6 playoff pts, but hey, they're in and a state champ favorite. Their 4-5 record doesn't look great on the surface, especially when you look at the quality of their victories. Though every single one of their losses came against state championship teams. They played Cass Tech twice and lost both times by a single score. They got bulldozed by out of state powerhouses, but you have to credit them for the strength of schedule. This team is obviously not the same without UCLA QB Dante Moore, but they still could win the whole thing.   #29 Grosse Pointe North vs. #32 Warren Fitzgerald   Both teams are towards the bottom of my rankings, yet one of these teams will have the pleasure of facing Detroit MLK in Districts.   #23 Southgate Anderson vs. #2 River Rouge   Anderson did fine this season considering their competition. They got blown out against Carlson and Allen park, and had a hard-fought win against #24 Trenton. A pretty unlucky draw for Anderson here.   River Rouge, like King, is a team with an unimpressive record until you dig a bit deeper. Mainly, a last-minute loss to Belleville and the overall quality of talent on this team makes me confident they can go all the way. This team has been inconsistent, though. They nearly beat the #1 team in the state, then went onto have a bad performance against GR Catholic Central. Sure, GRCC is the favorite to win the D5 title, but I expected a more competitive matchup. I rank them at #2 with some hesitancy, but their ceiling is just too good.   #18 Riverview vs. #24 Trenton   Riverview, with the better strength of schedule and record, I think wins this one. Both teams have been great in year's past, and one of these teams will celebrate a playoff win before heading to River Rouge.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Bracket Prediction </h2>   Quick bracket predictions based on nothing but gut feeling   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/10/D3-Predict.jpg?w=743" alt="" class="wp-image-1063634" /></figure>

The Division 3 Bracket is here! This is an interesting bracket, as four of my top five teams are housed in regions 4 or 5. In addition, this bracket seems pretty top heavy, with the top 6 teams being the heaviest favorites. So, take a look at my power rankings, my thoughts on all 16 games, and my bracket prediction!