Division 1 District Finals Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Pre-District stage went mostly as expected, aside from a massive upset with Woodhaven beating Belleville, and a minor upset with Brighton beating West Bloomfield. Now, we're at the point of the postseason where any game could go either way. We're headed toward a legendary weekend of high school football, and I'm here to preview it on the Division 1 side of things. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Region 1</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>District 1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Rockford @ Hudsonville</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hudsonville took care of Jenison, and Rockford took care of Grandville. Both programs played on par with expectations on Halloween Friday. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Just under a month ago, Hudsonville won a thriller at Rockford, capped off by an ESPN #1 play. Hudsonville was able to get out to an early lead, but Rockford stormed back and nearly pulled off the comeback win. To me, these teams look evenly matched. I do give a slight nod to Hudsonville. At the end of the day, Hudsonville has consistently won close games. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Prospects: </strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1613777' first='Ryan' last='Aukeman'], [player_tooltip player_id='1529533' first='Luke' last='Brodnicki'], [player_tooltip player_id='1049451' first='Tyler' last='Strick'], [player_tooltip player_id='1576478' first='Brady' last='Van Laecke'], Carter Cronk, [player_tooltip player_id='913846' first='Brayden' last='Daniels'], [player_tooltip player_id='1148719' first='Luke' last='Ahern'], [player_tooltip player_id='1291399' first='Sam' last='Cummings']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>District 2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>East Kentwood @ Howell</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What a matchup. In the Pre-district round, both programs took care of business. EK took care of Grand Ledge, and Howell handled Kalamazoo Central. This was the expected District Finals matchup. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I'm going to say this out front- I like East Kentwood's odds. I feel that Howell's defense matches up decently well with the EK offense, but I'd be surprised if the Howell offense scored more than 3 TDs. EK has experience against elite power T offenses, having faced Grandville and having held Grandville to 20 points earlier this season. Howell is going to need to get healthy if they want to defend their home turf next weekend. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Prospects:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='570285' first='Kayd' last='Coffman'], [player_tooltip player_id='1225707' first='Owen' last='Van Der Veen'], J.R. Jones, [player_tooltip player_id='1613599' first='Drew' last='Lynn'], [player_tooltip player_id='1668755' first='Palmer' last='Van Deven']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Region 2</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>District 1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Brighton @ Detroit Catholic Central</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both programs won decisively. DCC was a very heavy favorite, but Brighton was a decent underdog. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I was able to catch Brighton's second half against West Bloomfield, and was extremely impressed with their energy. This is a young, eager Brighton team that could go on a Cinderella run. Yes, they have a shot against DCC, but even with the positive momentum, I see DCC pulling away in the second half. DCC is extremely talented, and they're a state championship favorite for a reason. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Prospects:</strong> Dom Nauss, [player_tooltip player_id='1277061' first='Jack' last='Carlson'], Brody Shannon, [player_tooltip player_id='1687171' first='Gideon' last='Gash'], [player_tooltip player_id='1148715' first='Samson' last='Gash'], [player_tooltip player_id='212357' first='Benjamin' last='Eziuka']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>District 2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Grand Blanc @ Clarkston</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I refuse to pick this game. My gosh, this one is going to be fun. This is, by a long shot, the game of the week. An incredible matchup between two of the best offenses in the state. Last week, Grand Blanc won by two scores against a gritty Oxford team. On the other side, Clarkston dismantled Davison, just as Grand Blanc did a few weeks ago. I predict there'll be over 100 total points scored, but there's no way I'm picking a winner. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>GO. TO. THIS. GAME.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Prospects:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='909904' first='Jake' last='Morrow'], [player_tooltip player_id='1148724' first='Jack' last='Stewart'], [player_tooltip player_id='1685021' first='Joey' last='Asperger'], [player_tooltip player_id='1317918' first='Alex' last='Waszczenko'], [player_tooltip player_id='1316908' first='Griffin' last='Boman'], [player_tooltip player_id='1148720' first='Lukas' last='Boman']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Region 3</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>District 1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Woodhaven @ Saline</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I'm writing this just a couple of hours after Woodhaven stunned Belleville on their home turf. I wonder if Saline is a little bitter that they didn't get to eliminate Belleville, considering Belleville eliminated Saline in the past 3 postseasons. Of course, no matter if it was Woodhaven or Belleville, Saline was always going to be the favorite. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Woodhaven has just as much of a shot against Saline as they did against Belleville. Guess what? They beat Belleville and showed the world what they're capable of when they're playing good, confident football. I came away super impressed with Woodhaven's young secondary, as well as their pass rush. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Prospects:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='568192' first='Tommy' last='Carr'], [player_tooltip player_id='1625661' first='Louis' last='Esposito'], [player_tooltip player_id='1326375' first='Lincoln' last='Keyes'], [player_tooltip player_id='1398317' first='Preston' last='Scheffler'], Marquez McAdoo, Tahj Ferguson</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>District 2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Fordson @ Cass Tech</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both programs were on par with my expectations on Friday. Fordson caught a sneaky-good Farmington team and pulled away in the second half. Cass Tech beat Northville, who proved to be a good team, but simply not on the same level as Cass Tech this time of year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cass Tech is the heavy favorite. A boatload of talent, including a group of elite, hungry seniors. If Fordson were to pull off the upset, they would need to control the clock and limit Cass Tech's time of possession. I'm pretty confident that Cass Tech advances to the Regional Finals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Prospects:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1605085' first='Murtadha' last='Allabbah'], [player_tooltip player_id='1689115' first='Dean' last='Hammoud'], [player_tooltip player_id='212358' first='Corey' last='Sadler'], [player_tooltip player_id='557747' first='Khalief' last='Canty'] Jr.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Region 4</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>District 1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Stoney Creek @ Rochester Adams</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both games in this region are spectacular. On Friday, Stoney Creek earned a tough 35-31 win against IKE, while Adams met expectations, blowing out Rochester. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This has a chance to be an amazing game. These programs met back on October 3, and Adams pulled out a gutsy win in overtime. While Adams is the better team with the better strength of schedule on paper, Stoney Creek has played all of their toughest opponents to the wire. They lost to Adams by 6, Harper Woods by 1, and beat IKE by 4. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both of these teams are battle-tested, and I give Adams a 60/40 chance to move onto the next round. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Prospects:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='566987' first='Ryland' last='Watters'], Cameron DaWood, [player_tooltip player_id='1550557' first='Quinn' last='Zezula'], Ambrosio Telegadas</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>District 2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Dakota @ Romeo</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game rhymes quite a bit with Stoney vs. Adams. Two rivals who had a great regular season game running it back for all the marbles. On October 3, Romeo dominated Dakota in the first half and held off Dakota's comeback attempt in the second half, still winning by a decisive 19 points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game will be on defense. Dakota's defense is among the best in the state when they're playing at their best. They have the talent, especially in the secondary. On the other side, Romeo's defense is consistently one of the better units in the state, and their offense has absolutely looked better than Dakota's so far this season. Like Adams vs. Stoney, I think Romeo has 60/40 odds to move on. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Prospects:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1157440' first='Elijah' last='Goins'], [player_tooltip player_id='1225800' first='Nikkos' last='Davis'], [player_tooltip player_id='1619778' first='Troy' last='Smith']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Regional Finals Matchup Predictions</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Region 1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hudsonville vs. East Kentwood</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Region 2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Detroit Catholic Central vs. IDK</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Region 3</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Saline vs. Cass ech</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Region 4</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Adams vs. Romeo</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->