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Whitmore Lake did not make the high school football playoffs in Michigan. The Trojans were left out of the 32-team bracket at 7-2 because they tried to do the right thing.
Meanwhile, Detroit Voyageur College Prep will compete for a state championship with a regular season record below .500.
This unique high school football playoff scenario ultimately stems from a weak schedule and a series of unfortunate events. It came down to less than one point.
Whitmore Lake Secondary School is located in Whitmore Lake, Michigan, 10 miles north of Ann Arbor. It enrolls approximately 250 students in Grades 7-12 and only 172 students in Grades 9-12.
Being as small of a school as it is, the Trojans would normally compete on the Division 8 level of competition.
However, the Whitmore Lake football team played this season in Division 5 due to a co-op with Brighton Charyl Stockwell Prep. Their combined enrollment totals 500 students, which bumps the football team from Division 8 to Division 5.
Even though the Trojans are included in D5 standings, they played mostly D7 and D8 opponents because of roster constraints. They have just 17 varsity players in total with a game day roster of 26 that includes nine players elevated from JV.
That ultimately proved to be the difference when it came to the postseason. Their schedule did not yield enough playoff points to make the state tournament.
Whitmore Lake went 7-2 during the regular season but it only earned 36.429 total playoff points because of its weak schedule and finished as the No. 33-ranked team in Division 5. 32 teams make the playoffs.
Detroit Voyageur College Prep finished with a 4-5 record. It made the playoffs as the 32nd team with 36.889 total playoff points.
The Trojans are on the outside looking in because of a forfeit.
Whitmore Lake won seven games in a row after a pair of losses against Ecorse and Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard to begin the regular season. A cancelation in week nine prevented the Trojans from playing a full schedule as planned.
They tried to do the right thing!
Whitmore Lake originally scheduled Dearborn Advanced Tech Academy, a Division 6 program, for Week 9. And then Advanced Tech shut down its football team over the summer. The game was canceled.
The Trojans could’ve accepted a free win by forfeit and left Week 9 open. They instead decided to try and find another opponent, which proved to be the wrong decision.
Whitmore Lake replaced Advanced Tech with Flint Beecher, a Division 8 program, but Flint Beecher eventually forfeited the game on the Monday prior.
The Trojans received a win by forfeit against a Division 8 team because of the last-minute cancellation. They would’ve received a win by forfeit against a Division 5 team if they did not try to reschedule.
A win by forfeit against a Division 5 team would’ve awarded enough high school football playoff points to Whitmore Lake to make the postseason in Michigan. A win by forfeit against a Division 8 team did not award enough points to make the postseason. It came down to less than .500 points.
If the Trojans had not tried to reschedule Week 9, they would be in the playoffs.