Photo by Daniel Gretzner
Fordson varsity players take a break during a recent practice. The Tractors are champions of the Western Wayne Athletic Conference Blue Division.
Regular season high school football games have now come and gone. Fordson has taken the lead among the local Dearborn and Downriver teams that qualify for the coming state district playoffs.
A strong performance by the Tractor varsity puts them in line for an automatic playoff berth for the Western Wayne Athletic Conference Blue Division, champions of 2012, a repeat from the 2011 season.
The Tractors owned a 7-1 overall record going into last week and their final regular season contest with visiting Monroe. Both teams are ranked among the top 20 as head coach Walker Zaban hopes to have his grid machine ready to make a potent showing in playoff competition.
Other WWAC teams headed for automatic playoff berths include Dearborn High (6-3) and Dearborn Heights Robichaud (7-2). They will be seeing pigskin activity during this weekend’s post-season. The Pioneers are now playing a winning brand of football behind their coach, Dave Mifsud, after dropping an earlier tilt to archrival Fordson.
Edsel Ford was on the bubble of making the playoffs and has the status of an at-large team that could squeeze into the state formula. The Thunderbirds are a much improved team over last year, despite losses to Dearborn and Fordson this season.
Over in the Downriver League, there was a three-way tie for the lead between Wyandotte Roosevelt, Taylor Truman and Woodhaven — all 7-1 — heading into last weekend’s games.
In the meantime, the Downriver League front-runners are all posied to make their presence felt during the coming playoff games. The trio of schools are all factored in by way of automatic berths by having six or more wins.
Allen Park needed a victory over Melvindale in its final regular season game to claim an automatic berth in state playoffs. The Jaguars lost to Wyandotte 27-8 and are knocking on the playoff door with a 5-4 record.
Barring a surprise, both Fordson and Wyandotte should go deep into the playoffs. Taking the prep grid wars past the district stage would be a nice treat for these two schools. Early victories in post-season play for local teams would mean an early Halloween treat.