The final week of the high school football regular season is here! Wow! Despite being back to a normal schedule, this feels like it’s been one of the fastest football seasons of my lifetime, the leaves haven’t even changed colors yet in most of the area! I spent much of this past weekend nerding out calculating playoff projections lol. Based on our data, here is what I think each Muskegon-area team’s playoff chances look like on paper.

SAFELY IN
-Holton (5-3)
-Mona Shores (6-2)
-Montague (6-2)
-Muskegon (7-1)
-Muskegon Catholic Central (7-1)
-Muskegon Heights (5-3)
-Oakridge (7-1)
-Ravenna (5-3)
-Spring Lake (6-2)
-Whitehall (7-1)
-Zeeland East (5-3)
-Zeeland West (5-2)

ON THE BUBBLE
-Fruitport (4-4)
-Kent City (5-2)
-North Muskegon (3-5)
-Reeths-Puffer (3-5)

OUT
-Grand Haven (3-5)
-Hart (3-5)
-Hesperia (0-7)
-Holland (1-7)
-Holland Christian (2-6)
-Ludington (3-5)
-Mason County Central (1-5)
-Shelby (0-8)
-West Ottawa (0-8)

Before we get to our predictions, here’s how we’ve fared so far this season:

Picks Records

• Mike Meekhof: 100-31 (76%)
• Christian Slusser: 98-33 (75%)
• Grant Kieft: 93-38 (71%)
• Bella Borgeson: 84-47 (64%)
• Brandon Nichols: 104-27 (79%)
• Nick Johnson: 105-26 (80%)

Now, here are our Week 9 Muskegon-Area Game Picks!

Hudsonville Unity Christian (6) at Fruitport (0)

• Mike Meekhof: Hudsonville Unity Christian 63-6
• Christian Slusser: Hudsonville Unity Christian 49-14
• Grant Kieft: Hudsonville Unity Christian 79-9
• Bella Borgeson: Hudsonville Unity Christian 38-14
• Brandon Nichols: Hudsonville Unity Christian 34-12
• Nick Johnson: Hudsonville Unity Christian 54-14

Rockford (6) at Grand Haven (0)

• Mike Meekhof: Rockford 56-0
• Christian Slusser: Rockford 42-14
• Grant Kieft: Rockford 65-6
• Bella Borgeson: Rockford 62-35
• Brandon Nichols: Rockford 38-14
• Nick Johnson: Rockford 45-17

White Cloud (3) at Hart (3)

• Mike Meekhof: Hart 35-14
• Christian Slusser: Hart 35-21
• Grant Kieft: White Cloud 35-21
• Bella Borgeson: White Cloud 17-7
• Brandon Nichols: White Cloud 21-12
• Nick Johnson: Hart 28-17

Hesperia (5) at Shelby (1)

• Mike Meekhof: Hesperia 16-14
• Christian Slusser: Hesperia 21-14
• Grant Kieft: Hesperia 21-20
• Bella Borgeson: Shelby 28-13
• Brandon Nichols: Hesperia 12-6
• Nick Johnson: Hesperia 48-10

Holland (0) at Zeeland West (6)

• Mike Meekhof: Zeeland West 63-18
• Christian Slusser: Zeeland West 56-7
• Grant Kieft: Zeeland West 42-9
• Bella Borgeson: Zeeland West 32-14
• Brandon Nichols: Zeeland West 56-21
• Nick Johnson: Zeeland West 56-14

Grand Rapids West Catholic (6) at Holland Christian (0)

• Mike Meekhof: Grand Rapids West Catholic 49-14
• Christian Slusser: Grand Rapids West Catholic 42-7
• Grant Kieft: Grand Rapids West Catholic 56-14
• Bella Borgeson: Grand Rapids West Catholic 28-10
• Brandon Nichols: Grand Rapids West Catholic 45-12
• Nick Johnson: Grand Rapids West Catholic 42-7

Newaygo (0) at Holton (6)

• Mike Meekhof: Holton 21-20
• Christian Slusser: Holton 35-14
• Grant Kieft: Holton 35-12
• Bella Borgeson: Holton 24-14
• Brandon Nichols: Holton 21-12
• Nick Johnson: Holton 35-10

Kent City (6) at Grant (0)

• Mike Meekhof: Kent City 35-13
• Christian Slusser: Kent City 28-14
• Grant Kieft: Kent City 42-14
• Bella Borgeson: Kent City 35-28
• Brandon Nichols: Kent City 21-7
• Nick Johnson: Kent City 35-28

Ludington (4) at North Muskegon (2)

• Mike Meekhof: Ludington 36-20
• Christian Slusser: Ludington 28-21
• Grant Kieft: Ludington 28-21
• Bella Borgeson: North Muskegon 28-17
• Brandon Nichols: Ludington 28-14
• Nick Johnson: North Muskegon 35-21

Mason County Central (5) at Lakeview (1)

• Mike Meekhof: Mason County Central 28-14
• Christian Slusser: Mason County Central 28-14
• Grant Kieft: Mason County Central 7-6
• Bella Borgeson: Mason County Central 21-0
• Brandon Nichols: Lakeview 12-0
• Nick Johnson: Mason County Central 21-17

Wyoming (0) at Mona Shores (6)

• Mike Meekhof: Mona Shores 58-6
• Christian Slusser: Mona Shores 63-14
• Grant Kieft: Mona Shores 65-12
• Bella Borgeson: Mona Shores 56-22
• Brandon Nichols: Mona Shores 63-20
• Nick Johnson: Mona Shores 69-20

Montague (3) at Portland (3)

• Mike Meekhof: Portland 31-7
• Christian Slusser: Portland 42-21
• Grant Kieft: Montague 28-21
• Bella Borgeson: Montague 22-21
• Brandon Nichols: Montague 26-21
• Nick Johnson: Portland 35-21

Zeeland East (0) at Muskegon (6) 

• Mike Meekhof: Muskegon 49-7
• Christian Slusser: Muskegon 35-14
• Grant Kieft: Muskegon 42-35
• Bella Borgeson: Muskegon 42-20
• Brandon Nichols: Muskegon 56-23
• Nick Johnson: Muskegon 56-14

Muskegon Catholic Central (4) at Oakridge (2)

• Mike Meekhof: Muskegon Catholic Central 35-28
• Christian Slusser: Oakridge 28-21
• Grant Kieft: Oakridge 35-32
• Bella Borgeson: Muskegon Catholic Central 28-27
• Brandon Nichols: Muskegon Catholic Central 27-21
• Nick Johnson: Muskegon Catholic Central 28-21

McBain (2) at Muskegon Heights (4)

• Mike Meekhof: McBain 38-28
• Christian Slusser: Muskegon Heights 35-28
• Grant Kieft: Muskegon Heights 28-21
• Bella Borgeson: Muskegon Heights 21-14
• Brandon Nichols: Muskegon Heights 28-21
• Nick Johnson: McBain 49-35

Central Montcalm (0) at Ravenna (6)

• Mike Meekhof: Ravenna 28-7
• Christian Slusser: Ravenna 42-14
• Grant Kieft: Ravenna 31-21
• Bella Borgeson: Ravenna 22-17
• Brandon Nichols: Ravenna 21-17
• Nick Johnson: Ravenna 49-21

Reeths-Puffer (5) at Grand Rapids Union (1)

• Mike Meekhof: Reeths-Puffer 35-6
• Christian Slusser: Reeths-Puffer 42-28
• Grant Kieft: Reeths-Puffer 28-21
• Bella Borgeson: Reeths-Puffer 28-13
• Brandon Nichols: Grand Rapids Union 32-28
• Nick Johnson: Reeths-Puffer 42-21

Allendale (0) at Spring Lake (6)

• Mike Meekhof: Spring Lake 24-14
• Christian Slusser: Spring Lake 42-28
• Grant Kieft: Spring Lake 49-14
• Bella Borgeson: Spring Lake 31-8
• Brandon Nichols: Spring Lake 34-14
• Nick Johnson: Spring Lake 35-21

Grandville (6) at West Ottawa (0)

• Mike Meekhof: Grandville 44-28
• Christian Slusser: Grandville 35-14
• Grant Kieft: Grandville 35-21
• Bella Borgeson: Grandville 45-14
• Brandon Nichols: Grandville 54-21
• Nick Johnson: Grandville 49-7

Whitehall (6) at Reed City (0)

• Mike Meekhof: Whitehall 42-28
• Christian Slusser: Whitehall 42-21
• Grant Kieft: Whitehall 35-31
• Bella Borgeson: Whitehall 28-14
• Brandon Nichols: Whitehall 32-21
• Nick Johnson: Whitehall 42-28