If you’re an athletic director for one of the Catholic League’s Central Division schools and you have the task of planning the football schedule for the coming fall, having an atlas on hand would be most useful.
“It’s tough for us,” said U-D Jesuit AD Nick Kocsis.
The emphasis is on winning to qualify for the state tournament — at least six games in a nine-game schedule (five if you play eight games) — where the Catholic League has performed admirably: 35 finalists (17 champions) since the eight-division format was adopted in 1999.
Kocsis said the Michigan High School Athletic Association rejected a proposal “two or three years ago by the football coaches” to reduce the victory number to three, a la neighboring Indiana’s format.
But that’s another story for another time.
The MHSAA allows schools to play teams within 300 miles of their campus or in neighboring states (or, in our locality, a country). A review of the schedules as of this date shows Central teams playing schools from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Canada (five home, seven away). Only Wisconsin is left out.
Novi Detroit Catholic Central will travel 75 miles to play Toledo Whitmer and 275 miles to face St. Michael’s in Toronto.
Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice will hit the road on back-to-back weekends: 210 miles to Mishawaka Penn and 200 miles to challenge Elkhart Central.
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s will have a 300-mile journey to play Warrenville South in Wheaton, Ill., some 45 miles west of Chicago.
Inside the state, Warren De La Salle will make a 150-mile trip to play Lowell and U-D Jesuit will head due west for 200 miles to St. Joseph.
Understand that usually the contracts are written with a home-and-home clause. Mishawaka Penn will return St. Mary’s favor of playing there last fall, while Rice had hosted Penn and Elkhart Central a year ago.
The CHSL Central Division is regarded as one of the toughest football leagues in the state. Every confrontation among the five members is intense. The non-league contests promise to be just as eagerly anticipated.
“I’m very excited about our schedule,” said CC’s AD Aaron Babicz, echoing, I’m certain, the thoughts of his peers.
Opening weekend Aug. 26-30 alone should get any rabid football fan’s pulse racing.
The Shamrocks meet Sterling Heights Stevenson of the Macomb Red League in a game to be played at the University of Michigan. Later in the season, CC, an 11-time state champ, will host Cleveland St. Ignatius, likewise an 11-time state champ.
Two-time defending Division 3 champ St. Mary’s will clash with another formidable Macomb Red opponent, Division 1 Macomb Dakota, on Aug. 26. The Eaglets bump into Detroit Loyola on Sept. 3, the only Central foe Loyola from the AA Division is scheduled to play.
De La Salle, under new coach, Mike Giannone (Dakota’s head coach for 18 years), will face a severe test at Lowell, whom fans recall lost the Division 2 title last year to Detroit King on a last-second Hail Mary TD. The Red Arrows are perennial finalist contenders.
Brother Rice could practically walk the two miles to open against Birmingham Seaholm. I expect the Warriors to be the surprise team of the Central and bounce back from a 2-7 season a year ago, only their first losing record since 1985, and fifth overall dating back to 1962. Stevensville Lakeshore from southwest Michigan comes in for a Week 7 game.
U-D Jesuit will open against Detroit Mumford. In addition to St. Joseph, the Cubs will play St. Mary’s, De La Salle, Ann Arbor Pioneer, Simcoe Holy Trinity from Canada and Detroit Country Day.
Fall ball can’t come back too soon.
Don Horkey may be reached at [email protected].
