Because of the lack of Division 1 teams that will qualify for the playoffs, Division 2 teams like Midland and Warren DeLaSalle will almost certainly move up and compete in the Division 1 playoffs when they start Oct. 28-29.
There are 30 Division 1 teams with a 5-3 record or better heading into the final week of the regular season. Of those, 18 have automatically qualified. It would seem six of the remaining 12 will get in — Macomb Dakota, Detroit Cass Tech, Livonia Churchill, Warren Mott, Walled Lake Central and Pontiac. Of course, upsets can happen, so that list could change. Others on the border include Clarkston, Dearborn Fordson, Holt and Roseville. Clarkston has a good shot at defeating Lake Orion, Fordson will likely lose at Monroe, Holt is a toss-up with its game with Grand Ledge and Roseville could get past Clinton Township Chippewa Valley.
Normally we would see an abundance of Division 1 teams getting in, forcing a number of these down to Division 2 for the playoffs. This will force coaches to scout more teams because they won’t know which teams they will be playing. For instance, instead of DeLaSalle playing in the same district as Grosse Pointe South in Division 2 (South might actually move up to Division 1, as well), DeLaSalle will likely play in Division 1 with Warren Mott and Warren Cousino.
With Division 2 teams moving up, a Division 3 team like Holland could move up to Division 2 as well.
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