The new football season is bringing several changes to the Lenawee County football landscape. Here’s a breakdown of what’s New:
Hudson is Division 7
The Tigers won a Division 8 state title in 2021, moved to Division 7 in 2022 and were back in Division 8 last season. This year they’ll be in Division 7 and that looks like where they’ll be in the future with a new MHSAA policy going into effect in 2025.
Starting in 2025, the MHSAA has an enrollment cap of 250 students for Division 8. Hudson hasn’t been below 250 students for decades, if ever.
What does that mean for Hudson this season?
“We went up, Whiteford went up, New Lothrop went up, so, yeah, it’s going to be a great division,” Hudson coach Dan Rogers said. “It’s going to be a gauntlet no matter what. There won’t be any weeks off once teams get to the playoffs.”
Hudson is ranked No. 1 in at least one statewide preseason rankings.
“Our kids are embracing the expectations,” Rogers said. “But it’s all potential right now.”
New opponents
Several county schools will be playing new opponents this year.
Hudson opens the season against Fowler, a team with a strong tradition, then plays Dowagiac in Week 2, two teams the Tigers have never faced.
New Conference for BD, LCS and Morenci
The Southern Central Athletic Association has a new division – and three Lenawee County teams make up the bulk of it.
Britton Deerfield, Lenawee Christian and Morenci are joined by Concord in the new division of the SCAA, which now has three 8-Player football divisions. BD and Morenci were part of the now defunct Tri-River Conference.
“I don’t know if the kids grasp the whole conference move, but they are excited to play some new teams on the schedule,” BD coach Erik Johnson said.
New Conference for Sand Creek
The Aggies are joining the Big 8 for the 2024 season after 49 seasons in the Tri-County Conference.
Sand Creek will begin league play in Week 2.
No school won more championships than Sand Creek did in TCC football – 15.
No TCC in Lenawee County
For the first time in 51 years, there will be no Tri-County Conference games in Lenawee County.
The 11-Player TCC football is down to just three Monroe County schools – Whiteford, Erie Mason and Summerfield.
The league was formed in 1973 and has included at least one Lenawee County school in every season in league history until this season.
New in-county game
In Week 2, Blissfield and Tecumseh will play for the first time since 1972.
The teams have met 20 times since 1950. Both teams have nine wins in the series and there have been two ties.
The last time the two teams faced off was actually a league game. Both schools were in the Huron League at the time.
New coaches
There are three new head coaches in Lenawee County from last season.
Josh Powers takes the reigns at defensing state champion Lenawee Christian. Ryan Love has returned as the Blissfield head coach after a five-year hiatus and Harry Bailey is in his first year at Addison.
Bailey was one of two head coaches at Adrian College last season – and both are coaching at a Lenawee County school this fall. Jim Deere started the season as the Adrian College head coach but resigned after seven games. Bailey was the interim head coach the rest of the season.
Bailey accepted the head coaching job at Addison after Joshua Lindeman (now at Manchester) resigned and Deere is on staff at Madison.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: A look at the new landscape in Lenawee football
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