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Bill Khan predicts the opening games of the 2024 Livingston County football playoffs

Caradoc Wyn November 2, 2024

This is how high school football is supposed to be.

A year ago, only one Livingston County team made the playoffs and was quickly eliminated in the first round as local teams went 15-31 overall, their worst overall finish since 1969.

It’s like there’s no high school football in Livingston County in 2023.

In 2024, the excitement is back with three of the county’s five teams qualifying for the playoffs, creating some great storylines along the way.

Howell is the No. 1 seed in Division 1 after defeating No. 1 ranked Belleville to secure a 9-0 regular season for the first time since 1963.

Brighton are back at it again and have won three exciting games by just one point along the way.

And Pinckney is back in the postseason, something no one outside the program could have imagined when the Pirates started 0-4 and had lost 13 straight games.

What could make it even better? How about a rematch of the Little Brown Jug rivalry in the second round if Howell and Brighton win their first round games on Friday night?

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Let’s look back first.

Last week I predicted 3-2 county football games, missing Howell’s win and Hartland’s loss to Livonia Stevenson. That gives me a 32-9 record in the regular season.

Below are my breakdowns and predictions for Friday night’s three district playoff games:

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Kalamazoo Central in Howell

Howell won two state playoff games during Brian Lewis’ five-year tenure as head coach, both of which required a last-minute comeback to beat Hartland.

This game won’t be nearly as dramatic.

This would be one of the biggest imbalances of the opening round, as Howell earned the most playoff points in Division 1 by handing two 8-1 teams their only losses while Kalamazoo Central secured the final postseason berth.

The Maroon Giants are 6-3 but don’t play a particularly difficult schedule. This is evidenced by the fact that they finished behind two 4-5 teams and 11 5-4 teams in the playoffs.

Kalamazoo Central has only played two playoff teams, losing to Division 2 Portage Central and Mattawan. The overall record of opponents for the Maroon Giants is 27-54. Howell has now won five Division 1 playoff qualifiers.

Howell will definitely keep his end of the bargain and prepare for a possible rematch with Brighton.

Forecast: Howell 42, Kalamazoo Central 14

Grand Ledge in Brighton

There are still some Brighton players who lost 38-3 to Grand Ledge in the first round of the playoffs two years ago.

The Brighton team limped into the playoffs after several serious injuries and had to face the dynamic Shawn Foster, a wide receiver who took over the Comets’ quarterback position. Foster ran 29 times for 188 yards and three touchdowns on the night.

No one in Grand Ledge is nearly as explosive, although sophomore Anthony Baker could pose problems for Brighton’s defense. Baker, who started as a freshman, has rushed for 1,151 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Brighton has the clear edge at quarterback, with Central Michigan University commit Lawrence Wells throwing for 1,603 yards and 18 touchdowns while completing 114 carries for 908 yards and nine scores.

The Bulldogs will score enough points to win. The question is whether the defense, which allows 30 points per game, can limit the Comets’ offense.

Don’t let Grand Ledge’s 5-4 record fool you – two losses come to DeWitt and Detroit Catholic Central.

Forecast: Brighton 28, Grand Ledge 27

Pinckney at Chelsea

Pinckney has already made history, becoming the first Livingston County team to reach the playoffs after an 0-4 start.

The Pirates want to make even more history. A win over Chelsea would be their first since a 21-0 victory in 1994. The Bulldogs have won the last 13 meetings in an SEC-White rivalry that was broken from 2000 to 2016 when Pinckney played in other leagues.

Chelsea defeated Pinckney 7-0 in their third game of the season. It was one of those losses that was a sign that the Pirates were much better than their 0-9 team a year ago.

Pinckney shut out the all-time league power in the final three quarters after allowing a Caden Steele touchdown run with 1:30 left in the first quarter. The Pirates had a first-and-goal at the 2-yard line in the second half, but were forced back to the 23-yard line by penalties.

Both teams have improved significantly since then. The Bulldogs have averaged 29.3 points over the last six games with Jax Ichesco taking charge at quarterback, while Pinckney has won five straight games behind a defense that has allowed just three touchdowns in the last three games.

Forecast: Chelsea 21, Pinckney 14

Contact Bill Khan at [email protected]. Follow him on X @BillKhan

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