The football season has ended, and as we get started with our winter sports coverage, here is what we took away from this high school football season.
Full of Talent
Michigan is ripe with football talent, and it was all on display this season. Michigan is full of talent, from the quarterbacks to the running backs and wide receivers to the defensive players. From the 2023 class to the 2025 class Michigan has two players in the top ten, including the number three player in his class, Belleville QB Bryce Underwood, and ten more players in the top 300 from 247 sports, two five-stars, and 17 four-stars. Although the 2024 class doesn’t have anyone ranked in the top ten or any five stars they have the most players in the top 100 at four and might have the biggest names. The future of the state of Michigan looks bright for football, and it can regain a spot as a top pipeline state for colleges.
Back-to-Back
We running it back-to-back. This year we saw three teams claim back-to-back titles. Those teams were Belleville, De La Salle, and Detroit King. Belleville had some controversy surrounding them on their way to their second title in school history and a second in as many years. With the vast majority of their team coming back next year, they could go for a three-peat. King and De La Salle both lose their quarterback and key pieces of their teams, but they both have winning cultures and coaches who know how to win. These three teams could find their way back to Ford Field next season. Would we be shocked if King or De La Salle take a step back next? No, we wouldn’t. Look for all three to be just fine heading into next season.
Private Schools vs Public Schools
The gap between the two types of schools is getting wider and wider. That leads to a question: how can these public schools compete with private schools? In high school sports, you can’t recruit; however, private schools have found a way around it. Since most of the private schools are catholic schools, they get around it by using religion as a means to make it legal to play right away. Public schools, however, don’t have that ability, but some schools find ways around it, and it gets people in trouble, as we are seeing with Belleville right now. In the State finals, three of the games were public vs private; in each case, the private school won and won big. Can we get to a point where we can level the playing field, or will the MHSAA need to look into separating public and private schools come playoffs?
East Side of the State is still King.
Six of the eight champions are on the east side of the state. Gladwin, you could argue, should be counted as a west team as they are smack in the middle, but that would still make it five of eight. According to 24/7 sports, only three players ranked for the state of Michigan are from the west side of the state. So, could it just be a disparity in talent because more of the bigger cities are on the east side? Maybe, but with Muskegon, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and others, you would think that the divide wouldn’t be as huge.
Dynasties Forming
What’s a dynasty without some scandals? De La Salle and Belleville are in divisions one and two, and both are back-to-back champions. The dynasty might be easier for one of the teams than the other, but we can see the writing on the wall for the other.
The easier of the two will be for Belleville as they could be the first team to win three titles in division 1 football since Detroit Catholic Central did so from 2001-2003, and with their offense coming back, they could pick up where they left off. The one thing that could hinder them is if they change up the coaching staff entirely and don’t keep anyone who was on staff under former coach Jermain Crowell. Crowell was suspended after recruiting allegations came to light before the playoffs started.
De La Salle is almost at the point where you could call them a dynasty, as they have made three straight finals, winning two, and have been there five times in the last six years, winning four of them. They will now look for a quarterback to replace Brady Drogosh, but head coach Dan Rohn has been there and done it multiple times. This is Rohn’s sixth title as head coach. Rohn came to De La Salle at a tough time for the program as they were under investigation for a hazing incident, and he has kept the team afloat and winning titles.
Both teams look like they are in for the long haul of a true dynasty.
Closer To Home
While we cover a larger area now, we still have to stick to our roots. Here are takeaways from the downriver area.
Downriver League Can’t Compete?
Over the years, the Downriver league has been a three-dog race between Allen Park, Woodhaven, and whoever is the best of Trenton, Carlson, and Wyandotte. This year it was different. Allen Park didn’t win six games in the regular season, not counting the shortened 2020 season since 2017. This was the first year since at least 2018 that Woodhaven didn’t win a share of the league title. Carlson is under their fourth head coach in four years and is finally hitting a stride. Trenton might have found their next guy to lead them to some winning ways. Then after nine losing seasons since the end of the 2011 season, Southgate might finally have a coach who can build a culture in Bobby Martin. Then Taylor’s Michael Pitts is still trying to overcome the demons at Taylor. Show us there are more than three teams on a yearly basis, and we won’t consider your league schedule weak.
Postseason Nightmares
These teams have had success in the past, with Wyandotte making a state semifinal in 2014. However, since they redid the leagues, and did away with the Mega-Conference, none of the teams are challenged in the regular season. In the Downriver League or the Huron League, these bigger schools play smaller schools and beat them by three scores. Then wonder why they can’t make it out of the first round. When Riverview was in division three, they would run into Allen Park or River Rouge, who played more teams their size or bigger, resulting in Riverview being knocked out early. This year they were in division four, and they made a run to the semifinals. Woodhaven is the same way. They play Allen Park each year, who will give them a run for their money. That game still doesn’t help Woodhaven when they play a team like Belleville, Fordson, or Cass Tech in the playoffs. Those teams then do you what you do to the rest of the teams in the league. Teams must play bigger and better competition to prepare for the playoffs. The Huron league has two open dates, and the Downriver League has one. Fill those dates with opponents who can challenge you so you can be ready come the playoffs. Allen Park is division three, but they get used as a punching bag for teams like Detroit King every year. However, most years, they make it to the regional round, where these other teams get beat in pre-district.