Here are Oakland County’s top 10 football teams following the ninth and final week of the 2026 regular season:
1. Detroit Catholic Central (8-1 D1) — The Shamrocks, despite losing Saturday night, finish where they began. They were potentially inches from going to another OT in the loss to Brother Rice, and like with other teams on this list, factoring the quality of the loss with injuries is sometimes a decider. How many other teams should (or are) you picking against the Shamrocks with a healthy Duke Banta? That question will soon answer itself, and if Detroit Catholic Central makes it out of the region, it’ll certainly be earned. They’ll host Lake Orion to open the road to a repeat.
2. Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (7-2 D2) — There’s no better example of what getting healthy does for you. At one point, the Warriors were down almost an entire lineup of starters, and taking down a top CHSL Central Division team tends to require all the horses. That goal-line stand in OT was impressive, as was Christian Marshall’s performance. It earned Brother Rice the top seed in their region, which could set up for another familiar foe in a few weeks. Rice opens up the postseason against Roseville.
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (6-3 D2) — There can’t be a better three-loss team in the state. The defending D2 champs wrapped the regular season by beating Detroit U-D Jesuit 56-7 after back-to-back losses by seven points to Detroit Catholic Central and Toledo Central Catholic. Toledo CC was the only other team that really took it to Brother Rice aside from the Eaglets, so their top couple victories (Rice and Mona Shores) are as strong as their defeats. Last year, the Warriors knocked off St. Mary’s in the regular season and OLSM paid it back in the playoffs on the way to Ford Field. Their potential rematch in a regional final with Rice will be one all but the other six teams will anticipate.
4. Clarkston (8-1 D1) — The argument could be made for the Wolves or the Eaglets to be ahead of one another. One a couple of the teams they played all season failed to make the playoffs, so they’re as tested as any of the teams above them even if the OAA Red wasn’t as strong as in some past years. But that loss to Harper Woods may serve them well, and none of it prevented them from getting the No. 1 seed in their region. Clarkston gets the playoffs started by hosting Bloomfield Hills.
5. Oxford (7-2 D1) — It was not the Wildcats’ night against Romeo to close the regular season. The offense produced, including the run game, but giving up 56 points won’t be a winning recipe on many nights. For weeks, there was a feeling that their date with the Bulldogs was going to carry weight, and it did, for both teams. Romeo ended being a top seed in its region and Oxford ends up with just one home game (against Davison) before having to potentially travel to Novi to face DCC. That region is a gauntlet, no doubt.
6. South Lyon (7-2 D2) — Speaking of a gauntlet run, this region the Lions are in has all sorts of intrigue. The co-LVC champs won their final three games. Their body of work will allow them to potentially host two playoff games, and that’s big considering they’re 11-1 on home turf over the past two seasons. The only loss in there was to last year’s D2 finalist, Dexter, and the victories include a couple against SL East, who the Lions may match up with in the district final. They’ll have to feel good about the prospect of making it to the third weekend with the way this set up for them.
7. Milford (8-1 D2) — It might not be right to bump them above South Lyon, the only team they lost to, but the Mavericks do appear to be peaking at the right time. They did their best work in October, including the Week 9 victory over WL Western to clinch a share of the league, and ended up with victories over four playoff teams, finishing with the second-most points in D2. After Midland in the opening round, it’s going to get a lot tougher, but they’ve already got the blueprint to beat the Warriors if that’s who their opponent would end up being in the district final. It’s going to end up a fun region altogether.
8. Walled Lake Western (7-2 D2) — Even with a freshman quarterback starting his first game, the Warriors were one play away (several times) from leaving Milford with a piece of the LVC last Friday. Easton Meek looked good, has talent around him, and it’s not like Western can’t run the ball, either. It is a long trip up to Midland Dow for the first round, but the Warriors have the talent to earn another trip to Milford.
9. Rochester Adams (6-3 D1) — Tony Patritto and his staff deserve immense credit for losing what they did from teams that reached the D2 semifinals the past two seasons and still managing to comfortably qualify. Adams won close games all year, ended up beating four playoff teams, and only lost on the road to Romeo and Oxford by a combined eight points. Pick against the Highlanders at your own risk the first couple weeks of the playoffs.
10. Stoney Creek (7-2 D1) — This probably could have been Stoney or South Lyon East rounding out the list (each had three wins over postseason schools). Taking it to Ferndale without starting quarterback Brandon Gergics was probably the Cougars’ best win of the season, and suffering losses only to Clarkston and Adams is solid. A rematch with Adams beckons in the second round if both teams make it there, and Stoney would have the fortune of hosting.