Of the teams in The Advance coverage area, both Blissfield and Whiteford earned spots in the postseason playoffs which begin Friday. Whiteford will be defending its 2018 state Division 8 championship.
A full preview is included in the Oct. 24 edition of The Advance’s “Destination Detroit” special section. Here is a brief intro to stories included in that section:
BLISSFIELD
For the second straight year the Blissfield Royals have earned a berth in the Michigan High school Athletic Association football tournament. While not an automatic contender, the Royals had enough play-off points to get one of the coveted spots in the district tournament in Division 6.
Teams with six wins on the regular season were received automatic berths in the playoffs across eight divisions. Once those were determined teams with 5-4 records were selected based on playoff points and
strength of schedule.
While many predictions suggested Blissfield may find themselves in a Detroit area district, once the brackets were released the Royals found out they would be heading into some familiar territory with the co-champions of the league HIllsdale (8-1) and Columbia Central (8-1) both in the same district along with Quincy (6-3)of the Big 8 Conference.
WHITEFORD
The road to a possible repeat Division-8 football state championship for the Whiteford Bobcats begins this Friday night, as the Bobcats play host to the Lenawee Christian Cougars in Ottawa Lake, 7 p.m. It is a rematch for both squads from one year ago, when the teams met for the first time ever on the football field. Whiteford won that initial battle, 61-6, as they made their way through the D8 bracket and eventually up to Ford Field for a repeat trip, winning the title over Saginaw Nouvel. It was Whiteford’s first ever football state championship in program history.