OT: MHSAA 11-man Football State Championship Weekend recap
The 2023 MHSAA Football State Championship games were played this past Saturday and Sunday at Ford Field.
The list of champions is as follows:
D1 : Southfield A&T 34, Belleville 32
D2 : Muskegon 33, De La Salle 21
D3 : Forest Hills Central 27, Mason 10
D4 : Harper Woods 33, South Christian 27
D5 : Grand Rapids Catholic Central 21, Corunna 7
D6 : Kingsley 38, Almont 24
D7 : Lumen Christi 34, Menominee 30
D8 : Ubly 21, Ottawa Lake Whiteford 6
A few notable storylines:
- A&T snapped Belleville's 38-game win streak and thwarts their effort to 3-peat. In a matchup of top in-state QBs, Kansas commit Isaiah Marshall outplayed 5-star Bryce Underwood in the big game.
- GRCC won its eighth state title overall, Kingsley its 2nd and Lumen Christi its 13th.
- With its win, Muskegon won its seventh MHSAA title and 19th title overall. The win was also its 900th, most in state history and sixth-most nationally.
- Four schools – A&T, FHC, Harper Woods, Ubly – took home state titles for the first time. A&T, Mason, Harper Woods and Corunna made their first-ever trips to the state finals.
Michigan commits/targets
- '24 Four-star Michigan DB commit Jacob Oden tallied seven tackles to help Harper Woods beat South Christian 33-27 in the D4 final.
- '24 Four-star Michigan LB commit Jeremiah Beasley tallied 15 carries for 106 yards and two touchdowns on offense and five tackles on defense in Belleville's loss to A&T in the D1 final.
- '25 Five-star Michigan QB target Bryce Underwood completed 11 of 24 passes for 164 yards and one TD pass and had five carries for 39 yards in Belleville's D1 finals loss.
Anybody attend the games this past weekend or have their school/community make it? Do you like the Saturday-Sunday format over the Friday-Saturday? I was happy to see my Big Reds get another championship.
November 28th, 2023 at 3:36 PM ^
I liked the fact that the D1 and D2 games were played in the evening ---- that put more of a spotlight on those games and moved them away from the OSU/U-M time slot (that game obviously sucks up a LOT of oxygen within the state).
It may not be logistically viable, but I'd even make an argument for splitting the games between Friday and Sunday. Stay off Saturday completely.
Also good to see some new state champs, along with 6 of them being Public schools.
On a side note, I thought I'd see some of the HS teams at the PSU/MSU game Friday night --- admittedly I may have missed them, but I didn't see any.
November 28th, 2023 at 6:49 PM ^
I count Public schools (6). Private schools (2).
is that accurate?
November 28th, 2023 at 4:06 PM ^
EDIT: Southfield A&T beat Belleville 36-32. My apologies, ladies and gents!
November 28th, 2023 at 4:38 PM ^
Underwood’s completion percentage doesn’t look great for being the #1 QB recruit. Anyone have any details on his performance?
November 29th, 2023 at 12:55 AM ^
All 3 of his passes on the final possession could’ve (should’ve) been INTs. 3rd down was finally picked. He had an “off” day from the start. Missed a receiver over the middle, back of the end zone on a high dart. Had the kid not had to jump up while on the run he would’ve been in bounds. I think that was 1st or 2nd quarter.
i had the game on in my garage while trying to install a plow on my riding mower so I didn’t watch as closely in the middle quarters. I think BallySD replays the MHSAA finals throughout the week following.
November 28th, 2023 at 4:08 PM ^
One D5 public school champ since 2012 sucks. Small towns can’t compete against Catholic Schools pulling from big towns.
November 28th, 2023 at 4:28 PM ^
It has been an interesting phenomenon over the past decade or two: overall enrollment in Catholic schools has decreased, but they still attract (recruit?) a similar number of high level athletes as in the past. Jackson Lumen Christi used to be a Class B school (equivalent to Division 3 and 4 now, approximately) and has slid down in size through the various divisions to now overpower many of the very small Division 7 schools. In past years some of the Grand Rapids area non-public schools might have been in Divisions 2 and 3, but now are in 4, 5, or even 6, and small-town public schools, like the one where I used to teach, are fortunate just to make it to the semis (as mine did this year) before they go up against a private school juggernaut.
Another factor in the larger equation: with more and more very small schools (Class D when I grew up) opting for 8-player ball, it shifts the classifications slightly so that some schools' populations might stay the same yet they end up moving to a higher classification. Prediction: Michigan's 8-man playoffs will expand in the coming years.
I don't have any answers to the situation, and not really any worthwhile complaints. I do like that approximately half of the schools in the state make the playoffs each year, unlike only four teams in four classes as when I was in high school. Marching in the band at the Silverdome my sophomore year was a memorable experience, and I would wish that sort of high school event for as many students in the state as possible.
November 28th, 2023 at 4:38 PM ^
There are a few answers. First, is that Catholic schools could have their own playoffs. That’s what they do in California. Second, is that instead of that, they would have some kind of a multiplier for their student count. Maybe one and a half or even two times the actual student count for simple fact of the matter is they have a huge recruiting advantage over public schools. They can take kids from any district. Meanwhile, if a public school could pick up a couple of kids from neighboring districts they could be a powerhouse. No offense to Catholics, the schools we played they’ve been good kids, but is it grossly inherently unfair advantage.
November 28th, 2023 at 4:55 PM ^
In California --- the Catholic schools compete within the CIF (the MHSAA equivalent). For instance, Concord De La Salle (the NorCal Catholic infamous for their 151-game win streak earlier this century) is playing a Fresno public (Clovis North) Saturday in one of the D-1AA state semis.
What California does do --- and I would be a proponent of for Michigan --- is they have an OPEN division. Anyone can opt in those divisions, regardless of their size. This is where all of the SoCal and NorCal Catholic powerhouses tend to congregate.
(actually, as I type this, I'm not sure why Concord DLS themselves aren't playing in the open division in 2023. But they aren't)
Anyway --- for Michigan, I think an Open Division of 32 (where all 32 automatically qualify for the state playoffs) would work. Then spread everyone else among 7 divisions. The Open Division would be more of a challenge for the state's TRUE "big dogs", while it would also makes it more competitive at D-2 and D-3 (where the likes of Muskegon, DLS, and MLK are just dominating of late). You may even see a GRCC/GRWC opt up to the Open Division (but probably not).
November 28th, 2023 at 7:27 PM ^
New York State does something similar in at least some of the sports--separate divisions for public and private schools. In swimming (which was my son's sport), the state finals are split by school size but combined otherwise, however separate scores are kept for the public and the private, and so are state records. I have no idea about football--their high school had a perfect record the three years my daughter attended, 0-27, and my son couldn't have cared less about football. Not sure he even ever attended a game.
November 28th, 2023 at 8:56 PM ^
LC's enrollment is a third of what it was when is was in Class B. If you'd double its enrollment for classification purposes (like MSHAA used to do for non-coed schools) it would have moved up two divisions, from 7 to 5. I think that's a fair proposition for private and parochial schools.
November 28th, 2023 at 4:31 PM ^
It's definitely time for GRCC (and GRWC too) to play up (Division 3 feels right for them).
My own alma mater (De La Salle) - I'd like to see them play up in Division 1. They simply don't get challenged in Division 2 until the Semis any more.
November 28th, 2023 at 4:37 PM ^
I went to Lumen before moving to California back in the Class B days, and I'm a little surprised they don't play up a division or two. My kids swam for AA Skyline, which tended to be right on the border between D1 and D2 for both men's and women's swim/dive--the years they were D2, they opted up to D1 to keep their state cutoff times more consistent from year to year.
November 28th, 2023 at 4:17 PM ^
Muskegon's 26 unanswered points for the win was impressive.
As was Isiah Marshall in win over Belleville.
November 28th, 2023 at 4:24 PM ^
It was awesome to see Ubly finally pull through after losing in each of its three prior trips to Ford Field. Great small town program from the Thumb. And I just found out today that a cousin is a starter for Ubly (my dad grew up in that area).
That D1 game....wow! Athletes all over. The receivers for both sides really stood out to me.
November 28th, 2023 at 4:55 PM ^
Yeah, but the future LSU QB was not very impressive.
November 28th, 2023 at 5:07 PM ^
U-B-L-Y, we don't need no alibi, we're just beating your ass...
Not from the area, I just like the town name.
November 28th, 2023 at 4:29 PM ^
This kid from Belleville had one of the most impressive interceptions I've seen at any level!
November 28th, 2023 at 5:05 PM ^
The lower-tier Catholic schools continue to dominate smaller divisions but the legendary high level Catholic High Schools have dropped off drastically since the early 2000's/2010's
Detroit Catholic Central (Mike Martin, Matt Godin, Wyatt Shallman)
- Last team to 3-Peat Division 1 (Class A) 2001-2003, State Title in 2009, Runner Up 2011-2013, 2016
- Hasn't made the Finals since 2016, hasn't won double-digit games since 2016 either.
Orchard Lake St. Mary's (Morgan Trent, Dion Sims, Allen Robinson, KJ Hamler, James/Josh Ross)
- Runner Up/Won Division 3 2001, 2004, 2007, 2009-2012, 3-Peat Champions in Division 3 from 2014-2016
- Two winning seasons since 2016 (one being 6-5) and has missed playoffs 3 times since.
Brother Rice (Traditional power, most alumni known for lacrosse/baseball)
- 2002, 2003 Division 2 Runner-Up, 2005 Champion, 3-Peat Division 2 Champions from 2011-2013
- Has won their district once since 2014, went 0-9 this season!
De La Salle seems to be the only remaining Metro-Detroit Catholic League powerhouse. There used to be a dominance from Division 1-3 out of the Detroit Catholic League, but it seems the majority shift of power and talent in metro-Detroit has landed in the public schools like Belleville and West Bloomfield.
November 28th, 2023 at 8:39 PM ^
The private schools have a huge advantage particularly since they have a higher rate of "redshirting". Surprising to see they're not as competitive as prior years.
November 28th, 2023 at 5:38 PM ^
Bummer that FHC won, FHN had long been the only Forest Hills School with a title, but good for them
November 28th, 2023 at 10:30 PM ^
I wish FHC would’ve lost as well, but only bc I’m from Mason. They lost in the semis the previous two years, both times to ML King and Dante Moore. Was really hoping they’d win it all this year after finally beating King in their 3rd straight meeting in the semis.
November 28th, 2023 at 6:15 PM ^
Appreciate the recap!
November 28th, 2023 at 7:13 PM ^
My dislike is teams that play in one division during the season and then bump down for the playoffs. See the West MI teams results. It hurts the little guys like Mason and Corunna.
November 28th, 2023 at 7:49 PM ^
It's not that they 'bump down' for the playoffs; the playoffs are based on school size. It's just that they happen to play in a league with mostly larger schools, which, if they are winning just some of their games, provides them more playoff points and even can give them home field advantages for the first three rounds. Some schools are finding it increasingly difficult to schedule out-of-conference games because many HS ADs don't want to hurt their chances of making the playoffs by either losing games to larger schools or losing potential points when they beat smaller schools. If they can play in a league with larger schools, it usually helps their playoff positioning. Lansing Catholic plays in a league with nearly all larger schools although they have now slid down to Division 6. They made the playoffs the last two years even with a losing record both seasons due to beating a couple larger schools.
November 28th, 2023 at 8:06 PM ^
Yes, I know the population criteria.
The O-K Conference is largely based on school size. if you’ve always been a division 2 school, and played at that playoff level for years, but play division 3 in the playoffs, it’s a bump down. FHC should have been D2 and GRCC should have been D4.
November 28th, 2023 at 8:31 PM ^
MHSAA now determines the division a school will be in before the season begins. so if you're a D-3 school on the count date then that's where you will be during playoffs months later, regardless of what your regular season schedule is. where that schedule makes a difference, as rendezvous alluded to, is the playoff points. playing teams in higher divisions, and winning, garners more points so that when it comes time to rank teams that are actually in your division, your points control, plain and simple. for instance, we played 3 teams in higher divisions than us this year. that got us points.
November 28th, 2023 at 11:57 PM ^
What you are saying makes no sense.
(See XM-MT 1822's comment)
November 28th, 2023 at 9:56 PM ^
My dad kept checking in on the Ubly score. Local team we were pulling for. Cool to see them win.
November 28th, 2023 at 10:40 PM ^
Great turnout for Mason. Our community really supports our team…
November 28th, 2023 at 11:49 PM ^
I was pulling for them! Not sure how some of those guys don't have offers.
November 29th, 2023 at 1:04 AM ^
The D1 & D7 games were great games if you get a chance to watch the replays. Isaiah Marshall and Beasley were clearly the best in the D1 game.
JLC RB, Kadale Williams, had a tremendous game. I think he carried for 267yds on 27 with 3 TDs to power his team to the D7 championship in a back and forth tilt.