The 2022 high school football season has come to an end.
Eight teams walked off the field in Detroit over the weekend with the one trophy they were dreaming about when they first took the field in August for practice, the one they had to battle through a nine-week regular season and a 32-team bracket just to get their hands on.
So as the sun sets on this season, let’s take one final look at how the teams around the state of Michigan stack up.
Here is the final, end-of-season Top-50.
Honorable mention: Birmingham Seaholm, Brother Rice, Clarkston Everest Collegiate, Country Day, Dearborn Divine Child, East Kentwood, East Lansing, Hamady, Iron Mountain, L’Anse Creuse, Linden, Muskegon Reeths Puffer, Negaunee, New Lothrop, Northville, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, Reed City, Rochester, Roseville, South Lyon, Ubly
50. Napoleon (12-1)
Division: 7
Previous ranking: 20
Postseason: lost to Lumen Christi in semifinal 20-7
49. Ottawa Lake Whiteford (14-0)
Division: 8
Previous ranking: 29
Postseason: won Division 8 state title
48. Traverse City St. Francis (13-1)
Division: 7
Previous ranking: 15
Postseason: lost in state championship game 15-12 to Lumen Christi
47. Holt (7-4)
Division: 1
Previous ranking: NR
Postseason: lost to Grand Ledge 21-20 in district final
46. Gibraltar Carlson (9-2)
Division: 3
Previous ranking: 36
Postseason: lost to Trenton 17-7 in district final
45. Grand Ledge (9-3)
Division: 1
Previous ranking: NR
Postseason: lost to Caledonia 42-14 in regional
44. Clinton (12-1)
Division: 6
Previous ranking: 26
Postseason: lost to Grand Rapids West Catholic 33-14 in semifinal
43. Trenton (10-2)
Division: 3
Previous ranking: NR
Postseason: lost to Mason 49-30 in regional
42. Jackson Lumen Christi (11-3)
Division: 7
Previous ranking: 25
Postseason: won Division 7 state championship 15-12 over St. Francis
41. Lapeer (7-3)
Division: 1
Previous ranking: NR
Postseason: lost to Clarkston 62-41 in district semifinal
40. Riverview (12-1)
Division: 4
Previous ranking: 23
Postseason: lost to Goodrich 51-26 in semifinal
39. Hastings (10-2)
Division: 4
Previous ranking: NR
Postseason: lost to Edwardsburg 24-14 in regional
38. Midland (10-2)
Division: 2
Previous ranking: 37
Postseason: lost to Dexter 42-7 in regional
37. Mt. Pleasant (9-2)
Division: 3
Previous ranking: NR
Postseason: lost to DeWitt 56-49 in triple OT in district final
36. Zeeland West (10-2)
Division: 3
Previous ranking: NR
Postseason: lost to Muskegon 27-20 in regional
35. Whitehall (11-1)
Division: 4
Previous ranking: NR
Postseason: lost to Grand Rapids South Christian 28-21 in regional
34. Grandville (7-3)
Division: 1
Previous ranking: NR
Postseason: lost to Caledonia 48=26 in district semifinal
33. Saline (8-3)
Division: 1
Previous ranking: NR
Postseason: lost to Belleville in district final 62-44
32. DeWitt (9-4)
Division: 3
Previous ranking: 19
Postseason: lost to Muskegon in semifinal 49-21
31. Muskegon Mona Shores (8-3)
Division: 2
Previous ranking: NR
Postseason: lost to Forest Hills Central 33-21 in district final
30. Utica Eisenhower (6-4)
Division: 1
Previous ranking: NR
Postseason: lost to Dakota 28-0
29. Walled Lake Western (9-2)
Division: 3
Previous ranking: NR
Postseason: lost to Brother Rice 30-22 in district final
28. Goodrich (11-2)
Division: 4
Previous ranking: 24
Postseason: lost to Grand Rapids South Christian 28-0 in Division 4 title game
27. Frankenmuth (13-1)
Division: 5
Previous ranking: 16
Postseason: lost in state championship game 10-7 to Gladwin
26. Southfield A&T (8-3)
Division: 1
Previous ranking: NR
Postseason: lost to Cass Tech 25-14 in district final
25. Davison (9-2)
Division: 1
Previous ranking: NR
Postseason: lost to Clarkston 49-40 in district final
24. West Bloomfield (8-2)
Division: 1
Previous ranking: 11
Week 9 score: lost to Cass Tech 38-13
23. Gladwin (14-0)
Division: 5
Previous ranking: 14
Postseason: won the Division 5 state championship 10-7 over Frankenmuth
22. Detroit Catholic Central (8-3)
Division: 1
Previous ranking: NR
Postseason: lost to Belleville 33-10 in regional
21. Rockford (10-1)
Division: 1
Previous ranking: NR
Postseason: lost to Caledonia 14-13 in OT in district final
20. Birmingham Groves (9-4)
Division: 2
Previous ranking: 21
Postseason: lost to De La Salle 43-15 in the semifinal
19. Chippewa Valley (7-3)
Division: 1
Previous ranking: NR
Postseason: lost to Romeo 22-21
18. Mason (12-1)
Division: 3
Previous ranking: 11
Postseason: lost to Detroit King 52-17 in semifinal
17. Edwardsburg (11-2)
Division: 4
Previous ranking: 10
Postseason: lost to Grand Rapids South Christian 26-20 in semifinal
16. Livonia Franklin (10-2)
Division: 2
Previous ranking: NR
Postseason: lost to Groves 32-25 in the regional
15. Grand Rapids Catholic Central (11-2)
Division: 5
Previous ranking: 12
Postseason: lost to Grand Rapids South Christian 26-20 in semifinal
14. Rochester Adams (10-2)
Division: 1
Previous ranking: NR
Postseason: lost to Clarkston 36-33 in regional
13. Romeo (8-3)
Division: 1
Previous ranking: NR
Postseason: lost to Dakota 17-0 in district final
12. Clarkston (10-3)
Division: 1
Previous ranking: 8
Postseason: lost to Caledonia 21-0 in semifinal
11. Macomb Dakota (11-1)
Division: 1
Previous ranking: NR
Postseason: lost to Cass Tech 35-21 in regional
10. Dexter (12-1)
Division: 2
Previous ranking: 2
Postseason: lost to Forest Hills Central 20-17 in overtime in the semifinal
The Cole Cabana era was certainly fun for the Dreadnaughts who completely re-wrote the program’s history. The season was one in which every week it seemed Dexter was doing something no Dexter team had done in decades, or ever. Now the hard work begins. Now the next group tries to keep things going in the right direction.
9. Forrest Hills Central (13-1)
Division: 2
Previous ranking: 4
Postseason: lost to De La Salle 52-13 in state championship game
Take nothing away from Forest Hills Central, who simply ran into a buzzsaw in the state title game, after a remarkable season overall. This is still a team which put up three shutouts in the regular season and held four other regular-season opponents under 10 points, then outscored Mona Shores and Reeths Puffer 65-27 in a pair of district wins before eking out close wins over East Lansing and Dexter.
8. Muskegon (11-3)
Division: 3
Previous ranking: 13
Postseason: lost to Detroit King in Division 3 title game 56-27
M’Khi Guy was able to get things moving to a certain extent against a great defense from King in the state championship game, with 135 rushing yards and 97 passing yards (on just four attempts), but King had too much at just about every spot on the field for Muskegon. Still, the Big Reds come away from this season having lost just three games, two of them to state champions.
7. Grand Rapids South Christian (14-0)
Division: 4
Previous ranking: 17
Postseason: won the Division 4 state championship 28-0 over Goodrich
Defense wins championships, and a team which spent most of the regular season holding opponents under 10 points ended the season with a shutout. Forcing the Martians to go three-and-out on three of the first four drives set the tone early, and the Goodrich offense’s lone promising drive ended with a missed field goal.
6. Cass Tech (9-4)
Division: 1
Previous ranking: 9
Postseason: lost to Belleville 29-28 in OT in the semifinal
At the end of the day, this was the team that came closest to beating Belleville. The Technicians were in front at one point thanks to an interception-fueled flurry of touchdowns to end the first half, but couldn’t close things out. Cass Tech was able to play close games with a pair of state champions this year, having lost 28-23 to King in Week 4.
5. Grand Rapids West Catholic (11-1)
Division: 6
Previous ranking: 5
Postseason: won the Division 6 state championship 59-14 over Negaunee
From the point where the Miners returned the opening kickoff of the third quarter to tie the score until the end of the third quarter, West Catholic escalated things quickly.
4. Caledonia (12-2)
Division: 1
Previous ranking: 7
Postseason: lost Division 1 state championship game to Belleville 25-17
Even if they couldn’t keep it up for the full 48 minutes, it was impressive to see Caledonia go toe-to-toe with Belleville, and even hold a lead in the second half. Mason McKenzie did not shy away from playing on the big stage with 134 rushing yards and 77 passing yards, though Belleville was able to pick him off twice and get some pressure on him
3. Martin Luther King (8-3)
Division: 3
Previous ranking: 6
Postseason: won the Division 3 state championship 56-27 over Muskegon
A 96-yard kickoff return from Jameel Croft to open the scoring just 15 seconds into the title game set the tone pretty quickly and King demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt why they keep going back to Ford Field over and over. Keep in mind, Muskegon is a very good team, and King gained 529 yards of total offense on 58 plays. That’s an average of 9.1 yards per play. Dante Moore nearly had as many touchdown passes (four) as he did incomplete passes (five).
2. Warren De La Salle (13-1)
Division: 2
Previous ranking: 3
Postseason: won Division 2 state championship 52-13 over Forest Hills Central
It took just over two minutes of the state championship game for the Pilots to get on the board, and midway through the second quarter it was 35-0. Brady Drogosh’s 21-for-23 passing for 249 yards and two touchdowns and 15 carries for 152 yards and three more touchdowns certainly was impressive was the De La Salle defense, which forced Forest Hills Central to punt on three of its first four drives.
1. Belleville (14-0)
Division: 1
Previous ranking: 1
Postseason: won the Division 1 state championship 35-17 over Caledonia
It’s hard to argue with the results. Despite the coaching situation which saw one coach first suspended and then fired during the postseason run, Belleville came out of it with the championship in Division 1. There might not have been a better trio on any roster at Ford Field than Jeremiah Beasley, Bryce Underwood and Mychal Yharbrough, and when the Tigers found themselves behind 17-14 in the second half against Caledonia, it was touchdowns from Beasley, Underwood and Yharbrough leading to a 35-17 win.
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