Whitehall’s football team will be trying to win “The Bell” back for the first time in seven years when the Vikings host arch-rival Montague at 7 p.m. Friday.
The Vikings (6-1 overall, 4-1 West Michigan Conference) also will be playing for a share of the league title, which the Wildcats (6-1, 5-0) have already earned.
Early in the “Battle for the Bell” week, Whitehall is movin’ on up in The Associated Press Michigan high school football rankings, while Montague stays steady.
The Vikings are No. 4 in Division 4 in the latest AP poll, while the Wildcats remain No. 5 in Division 6.
Whitehall and Montague are among seven teams from the Muskegon area to be ranked in the top 10 of their respective divisions. Mona Shores is No. 8 in Division 2, Muskegon No. 4 in Division 3, Spring Lake No. 10 in Division 4, Oakridge No. 10 in Division 5, and Muskegon Catholic Central No. 7 in Division 7.
In last week’s CatchMark SportsNet Game of the Week, Muskegon won 49-28 at Mona Shores. This week, our Game of the Week is a no-brainer: Montague at Whitehall.
Here are the complete state rankings for this week, reflecting first-place votes in parentheses, followed by team records in parentheses and total points listed last:
Division 1
1. Rockford (4) (7-0) – 49
2. Belleville (1) (6-1) – 43
3. Saline (7-0) – 40
4. Grand Blanc (7-0) – 31
5. Rochester Adams (7-0) – 30
6. Dearborn Fordson (6-1) – 23
7. West Bloomfield (6-1) – 22
8. Clarkston (6-1) – 16
9. Brownstown Woodhaven (7-0) – 9
10. Romeo (6-1) – 6
Others receiving votes: Hartland 4. Detroit Cass Tech 2.
Division 2
1. Warren De La Salle (5) (6-0) – 50
2. South Lyon (7-0) – 44
3. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central (6-1) – 33
4. Traverse City Central (6-1) – 32
5. Livonia Churchill (6-1) – 31
6. Caledonia (6-1) – 28
7. Byron Center (6-1) – 23
8. Muskegon Mona Shores (5-2) – 13
9. Bay City Western (6-1) – 9
10. Port Huron Northern (6-1) – 4
Others receiving votes: Temperance Bedford 3. Portage Central 2. Berkley 2. Dexter 1.
Division 3
1. Detroit King (5) (6-1) – 50
2. DeWitt (6-1) – 45
3. Mount Pleasant (7-0) – 40
4. Muskegon (6-1) – 35
5. Riverview (7-0) – 29
6. River Rouge (5-2) – 26
7. Birmingham Brother Rice (5-2) – 18
8. Cedar Springs (6-1) – 13
9. Harper Woods (6-1) – 11
10. Stevensville Lakeshore (6-1) – 8
Others receiving votes: None.
Division 4
1. Chelsea (5) (7-0) – 43
2. Edwardsburg (7-0) – 43
3. Hudsonville Unity Christian (7-0) – 42
4. Whitehall (6-1) – 32
5. Croswell-Lexington (6-1) – 23
6. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (6-1) – 22
7. Vicksburg (6-1) – 18
8. Freeland (6-1) – 17
9. Lake Fenton (6-1) – 13
10. Spring Lake (6-1) – 11
Others receiving votes: Cadillac 2. Detroit Country Day 1. Livonia Clarenceville 1.
Division 5
1. Grand Rapids Catholic Central (5) (7-0) – 50
2. Frankenmuth (7-0) – 45
3. Kingsley (7-0) – 40
4. Portland (6-1) – 32
5. Marine City (7-0) – 29
6. Grand Rapids West Catholic (6-1) – 22
7. Berrien Springs (7-0) – 18
8. Gladwin (7-0) – 17
9. Comstock Park (7-0) – 14
10. Muskegon Oakridge (6-1) – 5
Others receiving votes: Howard City Tri-County 2. Williamston 1.
Division 6
1. Lansing Catholic (5) (7-0) – 50
2. Constantine (7-0) – 45
3. Millington (7-0) – 40
4. Jonesville (7-0) – 35
5. Montague (6-1) – 29
6. Reed City (6-1) – 21
7. Negaunee (6-1) – 20
8. Michigan Center (6-1) – 19
9. Boyne City (6-1) – 9
10. Standish-Sterling (6-1) – 5
Others receiving votes: Menominee 2.
Division 7
1. Traverse City St. Francis (5) (7-0) – 50
2. Pewamo-Westphalia (7-0) – 42
3. Bad Axe (7-0) – 36
4. Lawton (7-0) – 33
5. Jackson Lumen Christi (6-1) – 32
6. Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (6-1) – 29
7. Muskegon Catholic Central (6-1) – 20
8. Reese (6-1) – 11
9. Madison Heights Bishop Foley (6-1) – 8
(tie) Detroit Central (7-0) – 8
Others receiving votes: Ishpeming Westwood 4. Ithaca 1. Detroit Loyola 1.
Division 8
1. Hudson (5) (7-0) – 50
2. Addison (7-0) – 44
3. Ottawa Lake Whiteford (6-1) – 41
4. Ubly (7-0) – 35
5. Beal City (6-1) – 27
6. Clarkston Everest Catholic (6-1) – 20
7. Centreville (6-1) – 16
(tie) Sand Creek (5-2) – 16
9. White Pigeon (6-1) – 12
10. Breckenridge (5-2) – 7
Others receiving votes: Carson City-Crystal 6. Petersburg Summerfield 1.
8 Player
1. Powers North Central (4) (7-0) – 75
2. Adrian Lenawee Christian (2) (7-0) – 66
3. Portland St Patrick (1) (7-0) – 64
4. Suttons Bay (1) (7-0) – 52
5. Morrice (7-0) – 45
6. Martin (7-0) – 34
7. Pickford (6-1) – 29
8. Crystal Falls Forest Park (7-0) – 26
9. Britton-Deerfield (7-0) – 18
10. Au Gres-Sims (7-0) – 8
Others receiving votes: Marion 7. North Huron 6. Deckerville 4. Pellston 3. Colon 2. Ontonagon 1.
Editor’s note: Zach Zweigle contributed to this story.
