2024 State Championships - Saturday Preview

I can't believe it's Championship Week! We at Prep Redzone have been following the season extremely closely. I know that my main job is to evaluate players, but I also find it extremely fun to follow the teams.   Well, we finally have the 8 championship matchups- here's a quick preview of each Saturday Game! (D7, D5, D3, D1)   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Division 7 Final</h2>   Monroe SMCC vs. Millington   9:30 AM   This should be a very, very good game!   Both SMCC and Millington have dominated this postseason. SMCC has won all of their postseason games by 21 or more points, while Millington won all of theirs by 27+ points besides last week against North Muskegon. I truly believe that both of these teams sport a top-2 offense and defense in Division 7.   Playoff +-   SMCC = +124   Millington = +90   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Top Difference-Maker</h2>   SMCC    Ian is a game-changing player in Division 7. His Week 1-6 highlights prove as much.   At Quarterback, Ian is smart above all else. He runs the read option with a ton of success and rarely puts the ball in harm's way when throwing the football. When it's his turn to tuck and run, Ian is surprisingly great running through tight traffic. He has a good Jumpcut and is a way better athlete than most in D7.   At DB/S, Ian is a decent tackler and coverage man. I'll look for him to be as aggressive as he's ever been while tackling.    Millington    Tevon needs to have a good game in order for Millington to win a state championship this Saturday.   Last week against North Muskegon, Tevon earned a ton of touches on offense and made a ton of tackles defensively.   At running back, Tevon is a solid downhill runner who tries his best to always fall forward. At this best, Tevon can be seen running through arm tackles then continuing to fight for extra yards. He also has a brutal stiff-arm. All in all, he's an excellent power RB at the D7 level.   Tevon is also a solid run-support safety. There was a point in the North Muskegon game where Tevon got laid out by a blocker, then proceeded to get up and lay a big hit on the RB. Against SMCC, Tevon needs to aggressively shed blocks.    <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Division 3 Final</h2>   Zeeland West vs. Detroit MLK   12:30 PM   I'm incredibly interested in seeing how the Detroit MLK defense attacks the Power-T Zeeland West offense. I think that'll be the story of this game. Can Detroit MLK stop Zeeland West's steady offense? Also, can Detroit MLK find a way to score against Zeeland West- who only gave up 20 to DeWitt?   I've got Zeeland West here, but I am expecting a very close game.   Playoff +-   Zeeland West = +142   Detroit MLK = +130   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Top Difference-Maker</h2>   Zeeland West    In reality, there isn't one player from Zeeland West that's going to make or break this game. Though, it's impossible to ignore Keaton's extremely obvious value.   I've said it a lot over the past month- Keaton is excellent on both sides of the ball. Offensively, he's excellent at finding a hole in the defense and running right through it. Defensively, Keaton plays with excellent play speed and effort. I fully expect Keaton to play a major role in this game!    Detroit MLK    Detroit MLK has a ton of talent, but I'd like to highlight a lesser-known name here. [player_tooltip player_id='1318892' first='Michael' last='Job'] has earned a starting job and has some good highlights against teams like Cass Tech. Overall, I like his play speed and effort at Linebacker.   Playing in the state championship against an extremely good power offense, Michael needs to play a step faster. If Michael can get into rushing lanes, wrap up, and make good, quick tackles- King has an excellent chance to win this game.    <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Division 5 Final</h2>   Frankenmuth vs. ND Prep   4:00 PM   Everyone expects this to be an amazing game- and I am, too!   Frankenmuth steamrolled their way to the State Championship, besides a 1-score win against powerhouse GRCC. ND Prep did the same, beating every playoff team by 27+. I honestly expect Notre Dame Prep to win, but I would not be surprised if Frankenmuth pulled off the victory.   Playoff +-   Frankenmuth = +129   ND Prep = +147   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Top Difference-Maker</h2>   Frankenmuth    It's not often that a Power 4 Prospect plays in a D5 State Championship game.   Needless to say, Derrick is going to have a massive effect on this game. ND Prep is super successful running the football between the tackles, and Derrick's presence alone should change the way ND Prep calls plays.   No matter how much ND Prep chooses to run plays away from Derrick, I still expect him to get into the backfield, rush the passer, and make a few game-changing plays.    ND Prep    In close games, QB play is often very important. Especially with a D5 team that passes the football a lot, it's important that Sam plays a good game.   When I watched him mid-season against GR Catholic Central, he played lights-out. Sam consistently got the ball out very quickly, made a few plays off-schedule. He was also pretty dang accurate and when he wasn't accurate, he was always overthrowing the ball rather than underthrowing it.   I expect Frankenmuth to try to pressure Sam. I'm excited to see how he responds to the difficult defense!    <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Division 1 Final</h2>   Cass Tech vs. Hudsonville   7:00 PM   Both of these teams had to scratch and claw their way to the State Championship. Hudsonville had a few scares- beating Grandville and East Kentwood by a combined score of 44-39. Since then, they've beaten Howell and Adams by a combined score of 62-13. Hudsonville is playing with the most confidence I've ever seen them play with, and I have them as a slight favorite in the D1 State Championship.   Cass Tech has had the opposite path of Hudsonville, dominating their first two playoff games by a combined score of 95-17, then scraping by against Dakota and DCC by a combined score of 38-28.   Playoff +-   Cass Tech = +88   Hudsonville = +54   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Top Difference-Maker</h2>   Cass Tech    Linebacker play will be key for both teams.   Against a great running offense and an offense that likes to attack the middle of the field, [player_tooltip player_id='600178' first='Cameron' last='Summerour'] will need to play a very good game.   This season has been a good one for Summerour. Just in these playoffs, he's played great. Against Dakota (an elite rushing offense), Cameron did a good job filling rushing lanes and making stops between the tackles. When he's in front of a ballcarrier, Cameron does an excellent job of tackling and driving the RB backward. I just hope he does a good job evading blocks, and defending the pass.    Hudsonville    [player_tooltip player_id='247638' first='Ethan' last='Carter'] is my #1 difference maker for Hudsonville. He'll need to play like a complete LB on Saturday.   During the offseason, Ethan has proved to be a very strong, athletic linebacker who, of course, had to put in a ton of work to accomplish. He's one of the best linebackers in Michigan when it comes to the offseason.   In-season, Ethan has plenty of flashes. There are points where he's able to make sideline-to-sideline stops, aggressively fill rushing lanes before the offense can block him, and even drop back into zone coverage pretty well. There are also times where Ethan still plays a step too slow, but especially in the playoffs, those instances are rare.   Against Cass Tech, Ethan needs to play great. I could easily see Ethan coming up with a critical late-game stop!

I can't believe it's Championship Week! We at Prep Redzone have been following the season extremely closely. I know that my main job is to evaluate players, but I also find it extremely fun to follow the teams.