The Dakota boys cross country team celebrates after winning its first regional championship at the Division 1 meet at Metro Beach on Saturday. (Photo courtesy Dakota cross country coach Mike Timpa.)

Warren-Mott football coach Tom Milanov and L'Anse Creuse North coach Joe Politowicz break down the high school football playoffs by analyzing three matchups involving Macomb County teams.
First, Milanov gives his views on the Roseville at Dakota game. His Marauders played both schools in the regular season.


Politowicz gives his thoughts on the Utica at Romeo game. His Crusaders played both in the regular season.

Finally, Politowicz talks about the Rochester at Eisenhower matchup.

The Macomb Daily picks the first round of the high school football playoffs.
Which teams do you think will win this week?
High School Picks

Longtime East Detroit tennis coach Carol Gray is retiring. Here she talks about her tenure with the Shamrocks, which included a MAC Blue co-championship this fall.

Romeo and South Lake continue to top The Macomb Daily's high school football rankings.
What team do you think is the best?
Week 9 Rankings

The Macomb Daily sports staff makes picks for Week 9 of the high school football season.
Which teams do you think will win this week?
Week 9 Picks

Romeo is the only Macomb County team in the latest Associated Press high school football poll.

The Bulldogs, who are the MAC Red Division champions and are 7-1 overall, are No. 8 in Division 1.

Two other Macomb County teams are receiving votes. Eisenhower (7-1) is an honorable mention team in Division 1, and Michigan Collegiate (7-1) received votes in Division 7.

With Michigan Collegiate’s 41-20 loss to Chandler Park in Week 8, no Macomb County team will complete the regular season with a perfect 9-0 record for the first time since 1999.
The good news: in ’99, one county team reached the state championship when Eisenhower advanced to the Division 1 final at the Silverdome.
Will a Macomb County team reach Ford Field this year?

Romeo and South Lake continue to lead The Macomb Daily's high school football rankings.
What team do you think is the best in Macomb County?
Week 8 Rankings

The Macomb Daily sports staff predicts high school football games for Week 8 of the high school football season.
Which teams do you think will win this week?
Week 8 Picks

Two Macomb County teams are in the latest state high school football rankings released by The Associated Press.

Michigan Collegiate, the only unbeaten team in Macomb County, comes in at No. 7 in Division 7.

Romeo, which clinched a share of the MAC Red Division crown last week is No. 10 in Division 1.

Two other teams also received votes: De La Salle in Division 1 and Parkway Christian in Division 8.

Dakota’s swimming and diving team claimed the MAC White Division championship with a 113-73 dual-meet victory over Fraser on Tuesday.

With the triumph, the Cougars improved to 5-0 in the league and 7-0 overall. They claimed their first league title since winning the MAC Blue two years ago.

Hannah Pugh, Marah Pugh and Hannah Scruggs each won two events for Dakota, and the Cougars swept all three relays.

Dakota, which finished second at the Macomb County Swimming and Diving Championship last weekend, will face county champion Chippewa Valley on Thursday night in a MAC crossover showdown.

Romeo and South Lake top The Macomb Daily's high school football rankings. Which team do you think is the best?
Week 7 Rankings

There is only one Macomb County high school football team with an undefeated record: Michigan Collegiate.
The small charter school in Warren improved to 7-0 on the gridiron after a 47-8 victory over Southfield Bradford on Friday.
The Cougars are prevailing with dominant efforts on both sides of the ball.
The offense is averaging 34.1 points per game behind quarterback Alante Gardner and running back Tommie Bush.
Meanwhile, the defense is allowing just 1.6 points per game. Michigan Collegiate has posted shutouts in five of the seven games, and the Cougars allowed their only touchdown of the season so far to Southfield Bradford this week.
The Cougars face their toughest test of the season against Chandler Park on Oct. 17 at Lakeview. Chandler Park is 6-1 overall – its only loss came to undefeated Detroit Country Day - and tied with Michigan Collegiate for first place in the Charter Schools Conference.
Chandler Park defeated Michigan Collegiate 14-6 last season.

Dakota could celebrate in the last event of the day at the Macomb County Swimming and Diving Championships at L'Anse Creuse North on Saturday.
The Cougars' 400 freestyle relay team of freshman Marah Pugh, junior Hannah Scruggs, junior Chelsea Waterstraat and senior Hannah Pugh set a county meet record of 3:50.32. That mark broke the old record of 3:50.39 set by Eisenhower in 2006.
"It was amazing," Hannah Pugh said.

Going into Week 7, Anchor Bay already had lost two games by an identical score of 21-20. So it’s safe to assume Tars coach Phil Latona probably did not play that combination of numbers in the lottery anytime soon. (Anchor Bay lost 21-20 to Westland John Glenn in Week 1 and 21-20 to Ford in Week 5).

But Anchor Bay’s fortune turned on Friday when the Tars prevailed 21-20 over Port Huron Northern. Michigan State recruit Taiwan Jones had another big game, and Anchor Bay kept its postseason hopes alive by improving to 4-3 overall.

Anchor Bay can qualify for the state playoffs for the first time since 2004 with victories over Sterling Heights and Fraser in the next two weeks. Both games are at home, and both teams are struggling – Sterling Heights is winless and Fraser has just two victories.

The Macomb Daily sports staff makes its predictions for Week 7 of the high school football season.
Which teams do you think will win?
Week 7

The Romeo golf team captured the MAC White Division dual-meet and tournament championships. The Bulldogs shot a 371 and won on a tiebreaker over Stevenson at the MAC White tournament at Fore Lakes on Sept. 30.

Does sportsmanship matter?

The MHSAA insists it does, and the organization has vowed to make good sportsmanship a reality.

To that end, the MHSAA will hold a sportsmanship summit for student-athletes, coaches and administrators on Monday at DeCarlos Banquet Center in Warren. The meeting runs from 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m., and the cost is $25 per person.

The MHSAA will hold three other sportsmanship summits in the state this fall: Oct. 18 at Northern Michigan University in Marquette; Nov. 1 at the Lexington Lansing Hotel in Lansing; and Nov. 8 at the Crowne Plaza in Grand Rapids.

What does sportsmanship mean to you?