We are back with our playoff picks for the first round of the playoffs. This week, we are joined by Lincoln Park High School Head Coach Chad Bonmon. In the regular season, our trio of experts finished like this: Bear: 15-10, Nat 13-12, Kirby 15-10. We didn’t have a guest picker in the regular season.
Division One
Kalamazoo Central at Howell
This will be the first meeting between the two schools.
Bear: Howell
Nat: Howell
Kirby: Howell
Coach Bonmon: Howell
Ann Arbor Pioneer at Belleville
This will be the third time these two schools have met. The other two times, Pioneer came out on top. The last time they met was in the 2015 Playoffs, in a game that Pioneer won 22-7.
Bear: Belleville
Nat: Belleville
Kirby: Belleville
Coach Bonmon: Belleville
Saline at Northville
This will be the third time these two schools have met, with the series tied at one game each. The teams last met in 2005, when Saline won 40-13.
Bear: Saline
Nat: Northville
Kirby: Saline
Coach Bonmon: Saline
Livonia Stevenson at Detroit Catholic Central
This will be the ninth time these two schools have met. Catholic Central leads the series 7-1, with the last one coming in the 2017 playoffs, a game that Catholic Central won 24-7.
Bear: CC
Nat: CC
Kirby: CC
Coach Bonmon: CC
Sterling Heights Stevenson at Detroit Cass Tech
This will be the third time that the two schools have met. Stevenson leads the series 2-0, with the last game coming in 2019, which Stevenson won 9-7.
Bear: Cass Tech
Nat: Cass Tech
Kirby: Cass Tech
Coach Bonmon: Cass Tech
Dearborn at Dearborn Fordson
This will be the 48th meeting between the cross-town rivals, a set that Fordson leads 33-14. The last meeting came in week five of this season, a game Fordson won 14-10.
Bear: Fordson
Nat: Fordson
Kirby: Fordson
Coach Bonmon: Dearborn
Division Two
South Lyon East at Dexter
This will only be the second time Dexter will face off with South Lyon East. These two schools last met in 2017 in a game in which South Lyon East won 42-13.
Bear: Dexter
Nat: Dexter
Kirby: Dexter
Coach Bonmon: Dexter
Milford at East Lansing
These two schools have met once before. That meeting was in the 2021 playoffs, a game that East Lansing won 27-0.
Bear: Milford
Nat: East Lansing
Kirby: Milford
Coach Bonmon: East Lansing
Temperance Bedford at Gibraltar Carlson
This will be the fifth meeting between Carlson and Bedford. Bedford holds a 3-1 lead all-time. The last time these two schools played each other came in 1989, in which Bedford won 31-7.
Bear: Carlson
Nat: Carlson
Kirby: Bedford
Coach Bonmon: Carlson
Livonia Franklin at Allen Park
This will be the first meeting between the two schools.
Bear: Allen Park
Nat: Franklin
Kirby: Franklin
Coach Bonmon: Franklin
Warren De La Salle at Port Huron Northern
This will be the third time that the two schools have met, with De La Salle winning both previous games. The last time these two met was back in the 2018 playoffs, a game that De La Salle won 21-3.
Bear: De La Salle
Nat: Port Huron Northern
Kirby: De La Salle
Coach Bonmon: De La Salle
Division Three
River Rouge at Southgate
This will be the sixth time Southgate and River Rouge have met, with River Rouge leading the series 3-2. The last time these two schools faced off was in the 2023 playoffs, a game that River Rouge won 47-14.
Bear: River Rogue
Nat: River Rouge
Kirby: River Rouge
Coach Bonmon: River Rouge
Riverview at Trenton
This will be the 28th meeting between the two schools. Trenton leads the series 15-12. The last meeting was in the playoffs last year, and Riverview won 27-25.
Bear: Trenton
Nat: Riverview
Kirby: Trenton
Coach Bonmon: Riverview
Warren Fitzgerald at Detroit Martin Luther King
This will be the second meeting between the two schools, with Martin Luther King winning the only other meeting in the 2021 playoffs by a final score of 55-12.
Bear: MLK
Nat: MLK
Kirby: MLK
Coach Bonmon: MLK
Division Four
Divine Child at Madison Heights Lamphere
This will be the first meeting between the two schools.
Bear: Divine Child
Nat: Lamphere
Kirby: Divine Child
Coach Bonmon: Divine Child
Harper Woods at Redford Union
This will be the third all-time meeting between the two schools, with Harper Woods holding a 2-0 lead. The last game came in week one of the season, a game that Harper Woods won 43-21.
Bear: Harper Woods
Nat: Redford Union
Kirby: Redford Union
Coach Bonmon: Harper Woods
Division Five
Detroit Denby at Flat Rock
This will be the first meeting between the two schools.
Bear: Flat Rock
Nat: Flat Rock
Kirby: Flat Rock
Coach Bonmon: Flat Rock
Detroit Voyageur at Summit Academy
This will be the sixth all-time meeting between the two schools, with Summit holding a 4-1 series lead. They played last in week 8 of the regular season with Voyageur winning it 28-9.
Bear: Voyageur
Nat: Voyageur
Kirby: Summit
Coach Bonmon: Voyageur
Division Six
Dearborn Heights Robichaud at Jackson Lumen Christi
This will be the first meeting between the two schools.
Bear: Lumen Christi
Nat: Lumen Christi
Kirby: Lumen Christi
Coach Bonmon: Lumen Christi
Division Eight
Allen Park Cabrini at Riverview Gabriel Richard
This will be the 49th all-time meeting between the two schools, with Gabriel Richard leading the series 28-19-1. The last time these two faced off was in the playoffs last year, in a game in which Gabriel Richard won 50-14.
Bear: Gabriel Richard
Nat: Gabriel Richard
Kirby: Gabriel Richard
Coach Bonmon: Gabriel Richard
Kenny Mccurdy !!!