Here are Oakland County’s top 10 football teams following the eighth week of the 2026 season:

1. Detroit Catholic Central (8-0 D1) — The Shamrocks recorded their third shutout of the season as both Josiah Neal (who was dynamic in Week 7 against St. Mary’s) and Kevin Schandevel each recorded sacks against St. Francis De Sales. They’ll have a chance to put a bow on their third unbeaten regular season in a row Saturday against Brother Rice. You have to wonder, as good as they’ve looked, will holding Duke Banta out as a precaution in the opening round of playoffs be a consideration? Few teams have that luxury, but not everyone has such an athletic backup QB or immense talent to support him like DCC.

2. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (5-3 D2) — The decision between keeping the Eaglets where they were and moving them up was tough. But at this point there’s enough evidence to weigh the wins and losses, and with defeats to the No. 1 teams in D1 and D3 and another to Toledo CC who is a top-3 side in Ohio’s D2 combined with wins over Mona Shores and Brother Rice, OLSM’s place right now is essentially on the cusp of the elite. It wouldn’t be a surprise if their first real dogfight in the playoffs is against Brother Rice somewhere down the line.

3. Clarkston (7-1 D1) — It’s not the end of the world for Clarkston to lose to a D3 title contender in Harper Woods. Those non-league wins against Stoney Creek and South Lyon have continued to look good as the season has progressed. They’ll finish at home against a Muskegon team that’s .500 and fighting for a spot in the D2 field. Selection Sunday will be a fascinating one for them. Will the top OAA Red teams get sent over north and west? Will one of them be paired with Romeo? That’ll be a fascinating watch.

4. Oxford (7-1 D1) — Speaking of location, is Oxford’s last regular season game to be a preview of a big postseason showdown? The Wildcats are hosting unbeaten Romeo in a firecracker of a finale. Whatever happens, Romeo and Oxford will have good seeding and certainly host at least one playoff game, but in what region is yet to be determined. Anyone picking their poison will want to avoid DCC, but it feels like one of the two regions that’ll involve all the OAA/MAC/KLAA/CHSL teams is going to be a gauntlet. If Oxford wins Friday, it should be in a good place to host the first two weekends of playoffs, though.

Football Roundup: Walled Lake Western handles SL East in pivotal LVC matchup

5. Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (6-2 D2) — Injuries to key players have prevented everyone from seeing what Brother Rice could be at its peak, but the Warriors will know no tears await them Saturday night in the Prep Bowl. It’s billed as a “showcase game,” and with the division out of reach for Rice, that’s exactly what it is. Can they be the second team, other than OLSM, to keep it close with the Shamrocks? Current projections make it hard to anticipate whether they’ll have the luxury of hosting a game or have to make their D2 push as road warriors.

6. South Lyon (6-2 D2) — South Lyon seems all but assured a share of the Lakes Valley Conference title. They finish at home against a Livonia Stevenson team that’s 2-6 with wins over teams of a similar nature. They’ll almost certainly host their first two playoff games if not be the No. 1 seed in their region, which they’ve got the talent to win. You’d have to give them an A grade for the regular season if not for that OT loss to North Farmington.

7. Walled Lake Western (7-1 D2) — This week’s biggest upward mover from No. 10, and kind of like with Clarkston and St. Mary’s, a tough decision about whether to move them above Milford. The Warriors’ only loss was to South Lyon (by 21), and their best wins are Farmington (7-6) and then last week’s 42-14 triumph at SL East. The trip to take on the Mavs on Friday has a lot riding on it.

8. Milford (7-1 D2) — Again, not much separating them from WL Western, who didn’t play (and therefore beat) North Farmington. But as part of that uneven scheduling, the Mavs didn’t face SL East like the Warriors did. With identical overall and league records, it’s hard to figure out, but there’s no sense in getting a headache over it when Friday’s game will decide everything, including the LVC. Milford has yet to win a game by less than three scores this season. It would be surprising if they beat WL Western by such an amount.

9. Northville (7-1 D1) — Retroactively looking at their schedule, Northville has (or had) just one win against a team over .500 in Brighton up until beating Belleville (who’s now 5-3, like the Bulldogs) in Week 7. Tying for the KLAA Black Division title got them a date with unbeaten Howell to close out the regular season. In another region, Northville would almost certainly host a playoff game at 7-2, but that’ll depend how things shake out. The offense has kept up in close games, as evidenced by the wins against Lake Orion and Brighton.

10. Stoney Creek (6-2 D1) — The Cougars really took it to Ferndale last Friday, winning by 24 without their starting quarterback. Everyone knows the Eagles aren’t your average (or even simply good) OAA Gold opponent, so it stands to serve as one of their top two or three wins. If they can win at Ann Arbor Huron to close out the regular season, the Cougars will almost certainly host a playoff game, but beyond that is anyone’s guess.