Pallone's Championship Predictions

A couple of times per year, I deviate from my typical prospect evaluation content. Here, I'll be attempting to predict the semifinalists and champions for divisions 1-5. I fully expect all of these teams to be great this season. In reality, I'd be lucky to get half of these predictions correct!   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Division 1</h2>   Semifinals   Detroit Catholic Central 28 Detroit Cass Tech 21   If the bracket shapes out like last season, this is how I think it would play out. Yes, Belleville will still be a major threat, Dakota looks great, and Saline looks to have their best team in a while. Still, I feel that DCC and Cass Tech stand out amongst the rest with it comes to this side of the bracket. Also, I don't have any grand reason why I'm picking DCC over Cass Tech here- you can honestly flip a coin at this point in time.   Clarkston 35 Grandville 21   The other side of the bracket is far more difficult to predict. In Grandville's spot could be Hudsonville, Rockford, East Kentwood, or whoever breaks out in the KLAA West this season. Then, in Clarkston's position, you could have Davison, Adams, and a whole host of other programs. In this hypothetical matchup, I feel that Clarkston would do enough offensively to get the better of Grandville.   State Championship   Detroit Catholic Central 31 Clarkston 21   I feel that whoever gets out of that DCC, Cass Tech, Dakota, Saline, and Belleville side of the bracket will win the state title.   In this hypothetical scenario, I've got DCC. They've got the edge in terms of talent, and I feel equally about both coaching staffs.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Division 2</h2>   Semifinals   Dexter 28 Mona Shores 13   I feel that this season shapes out well for Dexter. Losing Ronny Johnson is a big blow, but they still have [player_tooltip player_id='1113047' first='Holden' last='Niemi'], and several other game-changers. As for Mona Shores, I think they're in great position to make another run. Byron Center looks like they'll probably take a step back, while other challengers like East Lansing and Muskegon don't look quite as good as years past. If [player_tooltip player_id='402064' first='Tomarion' last='Steward'] takes another step forward and they get consistent QB play, Mona Shores could win this game and make it to Ford Field.   St. Mary's 35 Groves 7   Once again, I feel that OLSM and Groves are going to be the top 2 teams on their side of the bracket. It will be interesting to see how the bracket shapes out for these two this season. Sometimes, we get a team with a much easier path than others. If Groves draws Grosse Pointe South or Roseville, I could see one of those teams beating the Falcons and advancing to the semis. If OLSM draws them, I think they beat them. Regardless, OLSM is my pick to make it to the State Championship.   State Championship   St. Mary's 35 Dexter 16   A few days before the start of the 2025 season, I feel that OLSM is the best team in Division 2 by a good margin. Excited to see the development of [player_tooltip player_id='489263' first='Jabin' last='Gonzales']. This team should also have a balanced run game and a swarming defense. On the other side, Dexter has some defensive pieces that could push them over the top. [player_tooltip player_id='566881' first='Nathan' last='Gersh'] will have to have a crazy game in order for Dexter to pull off the upset.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Division 3</h2>   Semifinals   Detroit MLK 21 De La Salle 17   This will be most people's semifinal pick. The "east side" of the bracket will be strong, per usual. This season, De La Salle and King should take a step forward from last season. I think De La Salle upgrades at QB, while retaining some key defenders on the backend. For King, they add a QB, send [player_tooltip player_id='1233561' first='Darryl' last='Flemister'] out wide, and overall retain a large percentage of their 2024 talent. DLS will have a more difficult schedule, but I still have King winning this one.   Zeeland West 35 Niles 34   I'm not sure why people are sleeping on Niles. I don't think last season was a fluke. They return a good amount of talent, including guys like Brendan Olsen and [player_tooltip player_id='1613610' first='Max' last='Rucker']. It will be a bigger challenge being in D3 instead of D4, but I still feel this team has championship upside. Regarding Zeeland West, they're expected to be an amazing team again this season. The retirement of John Shillito may be a slight blow to this season, though I am confident in Jeff Bolhouse. Some of the Dux' best playmakers have graduated, but this program is known for reloading and consistently staying near the top. Finally, this projected side of the bracket in D3 doesn't look overly strong this season.   State Championship   Detroit MLK 42 Zeeland West 35   A rematch of last year's state championship. To put it simply, I feel that Detroit MLK will take a big step forward this season, while Zeeland West will take a slight step backward. In this scenario, it will be extremely interesting to see how King's defense attacks the Dux offense, because, well, they had a very hard time doing so last season. If King's defense still struggles, this could be an extremely high-scoring game. That's exactly what I'm predicting.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Division 4</h2>   Semifinals   Goodrich 35 Harper Woods 21   No shocker here. These two teams may meet before the semifinal round, but regardless, I feel they're the best two teams on the "east side" of the bracket. Goodrich retains good talent, and I feel that their balanced style of play will once again get the better of Harper Woods.   Portland 42 Unity Christian 41   I'm extremely excited for both programs this season. Portland and UC return good talent, and both of these teams had their eyes set on Ford Field last season. Unfortunately, both of these teams were upset. Seeing what the "west side" of the division 4 bracket could offer, I don't see many challengers to Portland or UC. This matchup would undoubtedly see a ton of points, and I'd expect north of 500 total rushing yards.   State Championship   Portland 35 Goodrich 31   No matter who makes the D4 State Championship, I'm expecting a very competitive game. I just have a feeling about Portland. They're always a contender, I love what they've got going on at running back, and I really think this could be their year. Of course, Goodrich is on equal footing. The Martians have been one of the best D4 teams this decade, and I don't see that stopping anytime soon.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Division 5 </h2>   Semifinals   Grand Rapids Catholic Central 21 Ogemaw Heights 7   I have a pretty clear top 4 in Division 5, and three of them are featured in my semifinals. West Catholic could easily be in this spot. Whoever wins the GRCC / WC playoff game should make it to Ford Field. Grand Rapids Catholic Central had a pretty significant down year in 2024, but still managed to play their best football in the postseason. I feel they're going to take a massive step forward this season. In addition, Ogemew Heights has been a sneaky-good team these past couple of seasons. They usually have a gauntlet of a region- I could see a number of teams sneaking into the semis.   Notre Dame Prep 17 Frankenmuth 7   The rise of Notre Dame Prep football has been fun to watch. It was a marvelous state championship run last season. Better yet, they retain a TON of players from last year's championship team. I feel they are easily the preseason #1 in Division 5.   State Championship   Notre Dame Prep 28 Grand Rapids Catholic Central 27   A pretty predictable matchup. During the 2024 regular season, we saw Notre Dame Prep beat the brakes off of Grand Rapids Catholic Central. This season, I'd expect this matchup to be much closer. We unfortunately won't get to see an in-season matchup between these two programs. At the very least, this year's D5 state championship has a good chance of being far more competitve than last season.

A couple of times per year, I deviate from my typical prospect evaluation content. Here, I'll be attempting to predict the semifinalists and champions for divisions 1-5. I fully expect all of these teams to be great this season. In reality, I'd be lucky to get half of these predictions correct!