2009 MHSAA Team State Preview - Division 1
The road to Battle Creek will begin this Wednesday when the MHSAA Team Districts get underway all across the state and under three weeks from now the Division 1, 2, 3, and 4. Read below to see our in depth preview of every team regional in Division 1, as well as the notable district matchups to watch. In addition, we have taken a stab at predicting the 8 teams we think will qualify for the Team State Finals and stamp a ticket to Battle Creek.
Division 1 Outlook:
The Division 1 District and Regional pairings appear to separate the top teams pretty well. The top 5 ranked teams should all get through relatively easily, especially the top 3 as #1 Rockford, #2 Holt, and #3 Hartland have little interference in their road to Battle Creek. #6 Anchor Bay, #7 Lake Orion, #8 Clarkston, and #10 Rochester Adams all go through the same regional, which means a few very deserving squads will not be in attendance at Kellogg Arena in three weeks. In addition, as usual there are some weaker regionals that should allow some lessser known teams to make a trip to the quarterfinals.
Notable District Matchups:
--- Clarkston vs Holly @ Clarkston District ---
Tough district matchup here between two tough teams. Clarkston has been ranked from 7-10 all year and Holly has been a bubble team. These teams are both from Oakland County and they should know each other very well. Clarkston has to be favored, but Holly has put together some quality wins this year and cannot be overlooked.
--- Lake Orion vs. Rochester Adams @ Rochester District ---
This will be rematch of last year's toughest D1 district, where then #6 Lake Orion ended then #7 Rochester Adams' season. This year should be a similiar situation as the Dragons comes in ranked 8th and Adams 9th in D1. These two see each other numerous times during the year and they are starting to form a pretty competetive rivalry. Rochester Adams beat Lake Orion in a dual this year, however, Lake Orion outscored them en route to winning the Oakland County Tournament, so this will definitely be a tight matchup.
--- Jenison vs Grandville @ Grandville District ---
Jenison has been flown under the radar a little this year, however, they are capable of competing with many of the top teams in Division 1. Their squad is deep with talent, including 5 individuals ranked in the top 10 of their weight class. Grandville is a traditionally stong team as well and they are pretty solid from top to bottom, so don't expect an easy win here for Jenison. The point may be moot for these two, however, because the winner will not have long to celebrate as a meeting with #1 Rockford awaits at Regionals.
Regional Breakdown
Here is a breakdown of what teams will be battling out at each regional for a shot at advancing to the D1 Team State Finals in Battle Creek.
101-1 at Bay City Central
Top contenders: Davison
Outlook: As usual, Davison appears to be the favorite out of this regional. However, this is not the typical Davison squad and they are defintely vulnerable. There doesn't appear to be anyone here capable of knocking Davison off, but don't expect a cakewalk either.
Our Pick: Davison
102-1 at Anchor Bay
Top Contenders: #6 Anchor Bay, #7 Lake Orion, #8 Clarkston, #10 Rochester Adams
Outlook: This region will feature a coouple of the toughest districts coming together to form a very challenging regional. 4 of the Top 10 teams in Division 1 come through the same region. #6 Anchor Bay should get to this point relatively easily and they will meet the district winner of Lake Orion and Rochester Adams in the first round of the regional, then the winner of that dual will likely face Clarkston in the regional final. Anchor Bay has been one of the bigger surprises in D1 this year and they are a very talented team with some big wins including a win over #4 DCC. Lake Orion and Anchor Bay have already this year, with LO coming away with the win, so if Lake Orion wins their district they will be set for a rematch with Anchor Bay. The winner of Lake Orion/Anchor Bay should come away from this regional, however, Clarkston cannot be overlooked. They are a traditional D1 power with a strong tradition of winning and many trips to Battle Creek under their belt. Among Clarkston's notable wins is a victory over Rochester Adams. This regional should be as action packed as the districts that proceed it and the winner from this regional will definitely be a contender at Kellogg.
Our Pick: Lake Orion
103-1 at Hartland
Top Contenders: #3 Hartland
Outlook: Very little trouble for Hartland in their path to Battle Creek. Coach Cheney's squad is beggining to peak and they should roll through all the teams in this regional without any problems.
Our Pick: Hartland
104-1 at Sterling Hts Utica Ford II
Top Contenders: Roseville, Chippewa Valley, Troy Athens
Outlook: This is one of the thinner regionals in D1. With the exception of Roseville, there are no real heavy hitters coming out of this region. Roseville is a solid squad that has been in and out of the D1 rankings this year and they should have the firepower to get through here relatively unscathed. Troy Athens, Chippewa Valley, and Lanse Creuse are among the solid squads that will look to challenge Roseville.
Our Pick: Roseville
105-1 at Novi
Top Contenders: #4 Detroit Catholic Central, Novi, Highland Park
Outlook: In his 2nd year the helm, coach Mitch Hancock seems to have things going in the right direction at DCC. The Shamrocks boast some of the strongest middleweights in Division 1 and they are the heavy favorites out of this regional. Highland Park is a talent-packed team to keep an eye on. HP has some studs that should guarantee them some big points against DCC, however, their depth is the question and if they are not strong from top to bottom they will struggle keeping pace with the Shamrocks.
Our Pick: Detroit Catholic Central
106-1 at Westland John Glenn
Top Contenders: #5 Temperance Bedford, Canton, Westland John Glenn, Monroe
Outlook: This is a relatively deep regiona with a handful of solid teams, but Bedford is definitely the team to beat and they will have a huge target on their backs. The Mules should have a solid district matchup with a decent Monroe team, but their stiffest challenge will likely come from Canton or John Glenn at regionals. Canton made it Battle Creek last year and they have some studs that make them capable of running with Bedford. John Glenn is talented as well and connot be overlooked.
Our Pick: Temperance Bedford
107-1 at Saline
Top contenders: #2 Holt, Howell, Brighton
Outlook: The returning champs shouldn't work up much of a sweat getting to Battle Creek as Howell appears to be the biggest challenge standing in their way. Howell has some tough individuals, however, at least 20 points should separate Holt from any team in their region.
Our Pick - Holt
108-1 at Rockford
Top Contenders: #1 Rockford, #9 Jenison, East Kentwood, Grand Haven
Outlook: It is hard to see anyone hanging with Rockford here. They have already beaten all the teams in their regional this season and the regional should be no different. The Jenison/EK district winner would be there toughest challenge, however, it shouldn't be more than a tuneup for the Rams on their way to Battle Creek.
Our Pick: Rockford
State Finals Outlook:
So based on our predictions the D1 teams advancing to the Quarterfinals should be #1 Rockford, #2 Holt, #3 Hartland, #4 DCC, #5 Bedford, #7 Lake Orion, Roseville, and Davison. This would make for a very deep tournament as Roseville and Davison appear to be the only teams of the 8 that have little shot of advancing. Rockford and Holt are the big two that everybody predicts to make the finals and Hartland, DCC, and Bedford all appear to be right there as well. Lake Orion will not be a favored to win, however, they should have the depth to be competetive with almost any team in D1.
This year will be the first year of seeding the Team State Tournament, therefore, the quarterfinal matchups will not be known until the Sunday prior to the tournament. It will be interesting to see how the seeding proccess works out, and there are a variety of different ways the comittee could seed this division, but here is what I see:
#1 - Rockford, #2 - Holt -- should be very little argument or thought process here. Hartland, DCC, and Bedford will all have a shot at the 3 and 4 seeds. DCC beat Bedford but lost to Anchor Bay this year, and Hartland beat Anchor Bay, so Hartland should get the #3 seed based on that. Then DCC's win over Bedford should put them in the #4 spot.
It is hard to tell who will make it, as anything can happen in February/March, and the seeds could vary based on who advances to Battle Creek. Following the Team Regionals we will release a more in depth preview and breakdown of the Team State Tournament.
District/Regional Pairings
Districts - Feb 18, 2009
Regionals -
No. 101-1 Escanaba
Alpena
Escanaba
Traverse City Central
Traverse City West
No. 102-1 Midland
Bob Scurfield, Athletic Director
Bay City-Central
Midland
Midland-HH Dow
No. 103-1 Flushing
Flushing
Saginaw
Saginaw-Heritage
No. 104-1 Davison
Davison
Flint Southwestern Academy
Flint Carman-Ainsworth
Swartz Creek
No. 105-1 Port Huron
Fair Haven-Anchor Bay
Port Huron
Port Huron Northern
No. 106-1Clarkston
Clarkston
Grand Blanc
Holly
No. 107-1 Rochester-Adams
Lake Orion
Pontiac-Northern
Rochester Hills-Rochester
Rochester-Adams
No. 108-1 Utica Eisenhower
Rochester Hills-Stoney Creek
Romeo
Utica Eisenhower
Utica
No. 109-1 White Lake-Lakeland
Commerce-Walled Lake Northern
Hartland
Highland-Milford
White Lake-Lakeland
No. 110-1 Walled Lake Western
Farmington Hills-North Farmington
Walled Lake Central
Walled Lake Western
West Bloomfield
No. 111-1 Waterford Kettering
Troy
Waterford Kettering
Waterford Mott
No. 112-1 Beverly Hills-Wylie E Groves
Beverly Hills-Wylie E Groves
Bloomfield Hills-Brother Rice
Lathrup Village-Southfield-Lathrup
Royal Oak
No. 113-1 Macomb-Dakota
Clinton Township-Chippewa Valley
Harrison Township-L'Anse Creuse
Macomb-Dakota
Macomb-L'Anse Creuse North
No. 114-1 Sterling Heights UticaStevenson
Sterling Heights
Sterling Heights-Utica Ford
Sterling Heights-Utica Stevenson
Troy-Athens
No. 115-1 Roseville
Fraser
Roseville
Warren-Cousino
Warren-De La Salle Collegiate
No. 116-1 Eastpointe-East Detroit
Eastpointe-East Detroit
Grosse Pointe North
Warren Mott
No. 117-1 Novi-Detroit Catholic Central
Northville
Novi
Novi-Detroit Catholic Central
No. 118-1 Southfield
Farmington
Livonia-Adlai E Stevenson
Redford Union
Southfield
No. 119-1 Dearborn-Fordson
Dearborn-Fordson
Garden City
Livonia-Churchill
Livonia-Franklin
No. 120-1 Grosse Pointe South
Brandon Slone, Athletic Director
Detroit-U Of D Jesuit
Grosse Pointe South
Highland Park Community
Oak Park
No. 121-1 Canton
Suzanne Heinzman, Athletic Director
Canton
Canton-Plymouth
Canton-Salem
No. 122-1 Wayne Memorial
Greg Ambrose, Athletic Director
Dearborn
Dearborn-Edsel Ford
Wayne Memorial
Westland-John Glenn
No. 123-1 Southgate Anderson
David Pinkowski, Athletic Director
Belleville
Lincoln Park
Southgate Anderson
Wyandotte-Roosevelt
No. 124-1 Monroe
John Ray, Athletic Director
Brownstown-Woodhaven
Monroe
Temperance-Bedford
No. 125-1 Saline
Ann Arbor-Huron
Ann Arbor-Pioneer
Saline
Ypsilanti-Lincoln
No. 126-1 South Lyon
Brighton
Howell
Pinckney
South Lyon
No. 127-1 Lansing-Eastern
East Lansing
Lansing-Eastern
Lansing-Everett
No. 128-1 Jackson
Holt
Jackson
Okemos
No. 129-1 Holland
Grand Haven
Holland
Holland-West Ottawa
Muskegon
No. 130-1 Grandville
Grandville
Hudsonville
Jenison
No. 131-1 East Kentwood
East Kentwood
Grand Ledge
Rockford
No. 132-1 Kalamazoo Central
Battle Creek-Central
Kalamazoo Central
Kalamazoo-Loy Norrix
Portage Central
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