Amid Covid-19, Michigan HS Football Playoffs With New Format

Like everything else in our lives, the Michigan High School football playoffs will be different this year. But...depending on your point of view, that may be a good thing.

The Michigan High School Athletic Association has really changed things around for this year. Partly due to teams only playing six games this season, the MHSAA has put all the 507 11 man teams into the playoffs (five teams get byes), to essentially create an open tournament. This means years from now, players can brag that their team made into the playoffs.

And crazy as it may sound, even a winless team could get hot at the right time and maybe advance much further than it could in a "normal year".

Here's where area teams are playing this weekend in Round 1.:

Division 1:

Loy Norrix and Kalamazoo Central are playoff teams. Loy Norris, which was 0-6, will travel to play 4-2 Grand Ledge Friday evening at  7 pm.
Kalamazoo Central (2-4) will play host To Ann Arbor Huron (2-2), also Friday evening at 7pm.

In Division 2:

3-3 Jackson will travel to play 2-4 Portage Central Friday night at 7pm. The winner plays East Lansing.
1-4 Battle Creek Central will play 5-1 Portage Northern on Friday night at 7pm.
Battle Creek Lakeview 4-2 will host winless Okemos on Saturday at 1pm.

Division 3:

Gull Lake (0-6) travels to St Joseph (5-1) Friday night at 7 PM.
Parma Western (4-2) will be at Harper Creek (4-2) Friday night at 7 PM
Sturgis (3-3) goes to Coldwater (4-2) Friday night at 7 PM

Division 4:

Plainwell (3-2) will be at Vicksburg (4-2) Friday evening at  7 PM The winner plays Edwardsburg.
Three Rivers (1-5) travels to Hastings (5-1) Friday at 7 PM
Otsego (2-4) will be at Paw Paw (4-2) Friday night at 7PM.
Eaton Rapids (1-5) heads to Pennfield (3-3) Friday night at 7pm
Marshall (2-4) battle Flint Powers Catholic (2-4) @ Atwood Stadium in Flint, Friday night at 7 PM.

Divison 5:

Benton Harbor (2-4) is the visiting team at Hackett Catholic (5-1) Friday night at 7 PM

Division 6:

Watervliet (2-4) at Constantine (5-1) at Sweetland Stadium, Saturday at 1PM
Parchment (2-4) travels to Coloma (4-2) Friday night at 7PM

Division 7:

Galesburg-Augusta (0-5) is at Schoolcraft (5-1) at Schoolcraft Middle School, Friday at 7PM
Delton Kellogg (3-3) at Bronson (3-2) Friday at 7PM
Hartford (0-6)  at Lawton (5-1) Friday at 7PM
Union City (2-4)  at Homer (4-2)  Friday at 7PM

Divison 8:

Saugatuck (3-3)  at White Pigeon (3-2) Friday at 7PM
Decatur (1-4) at Reading (5-1) Friday at 7PM
Cassopolis (2-4) at Mendon (5-1) Friday at 7PM

The MHSAA website has maps to the schools hosting games.