The state playoffs are upon us once again. And once again the county is full of highly ranked teams – nearly a dozen in all – which leads one to wonder about various streaks. Can the OAA Red make a fourth straight appearance in the Division 1 championship game – and can they claim a third straight Division 1 title? Will the county as a whole continue its streak of claiming at least one title every year since 2015 (excepting for 2020 when COVID cancelled the tournament)?
This has been a year of parity where seemingly anything can happen, so the answers to those questions are as up in the air as anything else.
The conference tournaments in the Lakes Valley Conference and the Catholic High School League both gave us multiple surprises, and there is no reason to think that those surprises won’t continue in the playoffs. Who is hot? Who is healthy? And who is just plain lucky? When the regional finals roll around and we’re down to just eight teams in each division, will it be the same teams we’re used to seeing? Or will there be some surprising teams to pop up and serve notice?
In a year like this, it feels like the latter will be the case. But again, who knows?
On to the picks:
DIVISION 1
District 5
Host: Davison
Teams: Clarkston, Davison, Flushing, Grand Blanc, Lake Orion, Lapeer, Oxford
Analysis: This district seems to typify the year. Clarkston are OAA White champs but split two games with Lake Orion who has more wins than anyone in the district. Oxford got the number one seed. Davison has wins over Clarkston and Grand Blanc, who has a win over highly ranked Troy Athens. Flushing finished second in the Flint Metro League. Just throw a dart here – you can defend almost anyone as the winner of this district. But since I have to take someone…
Pick: Clarkston
District 7
Host: Novi
Teams: Milford, Novi, South Lyon, South Lyon East, Walled Lake Central, Walled Lake Northern, White Lake Lakeland
Analysis: And here we have another district that is wide open. Walled Lake Northern got the top seed here. The Knights won the Lakes Valley Conference Tournament after finishing second in the regular season standings. Milford was the regular season champion. East upset Milford in the Lakes Valley Tournament and Kettering knocked off both Milford and Northern during the season and are having their best season in years. And we still haven’t gotten to the hosts who played arguably the toughest schedule of any of these teams.
Pick: Walled Lake Northern were playing the best down the stretch, though I do not envy them if they have to play rival Central for a third time in the semis.
District 8
Host: Waterford Mott
Teams: Bloomfield Hills, Farmington, North Farmington, Southfield A & T, Waterford Mott, West Bloomfield
Analysis: Bloomfield Hills are the clear favorites here. The Black Hawks started slow but have begun to pick things up as the season moved on. West Bloomfield did well in the OAA Blue but struggled outside their division and down the stretch overall. Everyone else just plain struggled. Mott got the second seed, but it’s hard to see anyone challenging Bloomfield Hills here.
Pick: Bloomfield Hills looks primed for a run.
District 14
Host: Birmingham Seaholm
Teams: Berkley, Birmingham Groves, Birmingham Seaholm, Ferndale, Royal Oak, Troy, Troy Athens
Analysis: This really looks like Troy vs Athens again. They were the cream of the crop in OAA Red and should be the top teams here. But some of these OAA White teams, notably Berkley and Groves could be sneaky tough here. Both played some OAA Red teams and other quality squads out of league. They didn’t win many of those games, but they should be ready for what they are getting into and could prove tough outs. Royal Oak, Ferndale, and Seaholm are just too young and will likely struggle if they run into one of the Troy teams. Athens cooled off a little down the stretch though so I’ll take…
Pick: Troy.
District 15
Host: Rochester
Teams: Rochester, Rochester Adams, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek, Romeo, Utica, Utica Eisenhower, Utica Ford
Analysis: This is a familiar group of teams – the Rochester teams tossed in with Romeo and at least one of the Utica teams is a consistent group every year. And it is consistently one of the toughest districts around. This year is no exception. Adams got the top seed. Stoney Creek is hot, Eisenhower has only one loss. On paper the worst team here is arguably Utica Ford – who are 9-4-4. Based on MPR, four of the top 15 teams in MPR are in this district – Adams, Eisenhower, Stoney Creek, and Rochester. Honestly, everyone here is good, and anyone could win this district.
Pick: Stoney Creek seems to rise to the occasion this time of year
Division 2
District 26
Host: Flint Carmen-Ainsworth
Teams: Clio, Flint Carmen-Ainsworth, Flint Kearsley, Goodrich, Imlay City, North Branch, Ortonville Brandon, Swartz Creek
Analysis: Most of the teams here are in the Flint Metro League, though there are a couple of exceptions, including the hosts. Still, Goodrich was the class of the Flint Metro, going unbeaten in league play. Carmen-Ainsworth, Imlay City and North Branch all struggled this year. Brandon is the only county team. The Black Hawks had an up and down year but lost 3-0 to Goodrich the first time around.
Pick: Goodrich.
District 27
Host: Linden
Teams: Fenton, Holly, Lake Fenton, Linden, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, Walled Lake Western, Waterford Kettering
Analysis: This is a good district. St. Mary’s just won the CHSL Cardinal Championship in their third year,. The Eaglets did not do very well out of their division, however. Meanwhile, Waterford Kettering might be the biggest surprise of the year. After just two wins a year ago, the Captains finished third in the Lakes Valley Conference and have 10 wins overall. The Flint Metro teams from outside the county – Lake Fenton, Fenton, and Linden – are all solid as well. And Holly was a middle of the pack team in the Flint Metro as well. Walled Lake Western is a young team that doesn’t look quite ready to challenge. There are very few common opponents here except for the group of Flint Metro teams. This feels like a very open district again…
Pick: Lake Fenton
District 31
Host: Auburn Hills Avondale
Teams: Auburn Hills Avondale, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood, Birmingham Marian, Detroit Renaissance, Farmington Hills Mercy, Madison Heights Lamphere, Oak Park, Warren Fitzgerald
Analysis: Cranbrook, Marian and Mercy are the cream here. Lamphere did okay in their division but had no success trying to play “up”. Renaissance is an odd team to be here geographically and were .500 in the regular season but like Lamphere did not fare well against the better teams on their schedule. This feels like it should be Marian vs Mercy – and probably will be. But Cranbrook was quite competitive in their first year in the CHSL Central with the Mustangs and Marlins and will likely be a tough out. Still, it’s hard to pick against…
Pick: Marian
Division 3
District 45
Host: Detroit Country Day
Teams: Dearborn Advanced Technology, Dearborn Heights Star International, Detroit Country Day, Hazel Park, Livonia Clarenceville, Wixom St. Catherine
Analysis: This looks like Country Day’s district. Dearborn Advanced Tech and Hazel Park both have good records and did well in their leagues. But neither of those teams has played anyone on Country Day’s level all year and will likely be hard pressed to keep up with the Yellowjackets. Frankly, Country Day is probably the best team anyone here has seen all year and it’s hard to see them losing.
Pick: Country Day
District 46
Host: Clawson
Teams: Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart, Center Line, Clawson, Macomb Lutheran North, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, Warren Regina
Analysis: Just down the road from DCD a few miles we find a district that is much deeper. Lutheran North, Regina and Notre Dame Prep all look particularly strong here. Sacred Heart won their division in the Catholic League, and Clawson and Center Line look decent as well. Still, Notre Dame seems the best team here. Their only losses are to Division 1 teams, and at 9-3-5 against a good schedule they got the top seed. Lutheran North might have the best draw.
Pick: Notre Dame Prep…barely
Division 4
District 60
Host: Royal Oak Shrine
Teams: Bloomfield Hills Roeper, Detroit Academy of the Americas, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, Madison Heights Bishop Foley, Royal Oak Shrine, Southfield Christian
Analysis: This is another familiar looking district. The Catholic League teams usually dominate this district, and that looks to be the case again. Shrine is the best team here, but their games against both Bishop Foley (a tie) and Liggett (a 3-2 win) were very close. Add in the rivalry between Shrine and Foley and things get even more interesting. Any of those three teams – Shrine, Liggett, and Foley- could win this district. But Liggett and Bishop Foley open against each other.
Pick: Royal Oak Shrine
District 61
Host: Genesee Christian
Teams: Auburn Hills Oakland Christian, Byron, Clarkston Everest Collegiate, Genesee Christian, Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest, West Bloomfield Frankel Jewish Academy
Analysis: Everest and Genesee Christian are usually the two best teams here. But both are down this year. Oakland Christian and Everest got he byes though. The Lancers also own a win over the district hosts – and one over Bishop Foley. Frankel had a good year as well. But in the end, this feels like either Everest or Oakland Christian.
Pick: Oakland Christian finally gets over the hump here.
