Week 8 preview: Clarkston at Harper Woods leads a big crossover week

Week 8 of the Michigan high school football season starts Thursday, Oct. 15, and the regular season ends a week later. The MHSAA announces playoff pairings on Selection Sunday, Oct. 25.

The schedule below is from the MaxPreps Michigan scoreboard. Records are as listed by MaxPreps. Games are Friday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. unless noted.

Games to watch

• Clarkston (7-0) at Harper Woods (6-1). MaxPreps ranks Clarkston No. 3 in the state and Harper Woods No. 18. Clarkston is 3-0 in the OAA Red. Harper Woods, a Wayne County school that plays in the OAA, leads the OAA Blue at 5-0, according to MaxPreps standings.
• Oxford (6-1) at Birmingham Groves (5-2). Oxford, No. 6 in the MaxPreps rankings, is coming off a 51-7 win over West Bloomfield. Groves is 4-1 in the OAA Blue, second behind Harper Woods.
• Rochester Hills Stoney Creek (5-2) at Ferndale (6-1). Two league leaders meet in a non-league game. Ferndale is 4-0 in the OAA Gold and has won five straight, outscoring opponents 336-73 this season. Stoney Creek is 4-0 in the OAA White, according to MaxPreps.
• Troy (0-7) at Pontiac (0-7). One winless team will get its first victory.

Full schedule

Thursday, Oct. 15

• Waterford Mott (3-4) at Waterford Kettering (2-5), 4 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 16 — OAA

• Rochester (4-3) at Royal Oak (4-3)
• Bloomfield Hills (3-4) at Berkley (3-4)
• Troy Athens (2-5) at Auburn Hills Avondale (3-4)
• Lake Orion (3-4) at Oak Park (3-4), 6:30 p.m.
• West Bloomfield (1-6) at Southfield Arts & Tech (1-6)

Friday, Oct. 16 — Lakes Valley and others

• Lakeland (1-6) at Milford (6-1)
• Walled Lake Western (6-1) at South Lyon East (6-1)
• South Lyon (5-2) at Walled Lake Central (1-6)
• Walled Lake Northern (1-6) at Livonia Franklin (5-2)
• Farmington (3-4) at North Farmington (5-2)
• Dearborn Fordson (6-1) at Novi (0-7)
• Owosso (2-5) at Holly (5-2)
• Brandon (5-2) at Linden (5-2)
• Port Huron (7-0) at Madison Heights Lamphere (5-2)
• Hazel Park (3-4) at Clawson (5-2)
• Madison (6-1) at St. Clair Shores South Lake (0-7)

Friday, Oct. 16 — Catholic League and private schools

• Detroit Catholic Central (7-0) at Toledo St. Francis de Sales (1-7)
• Orchard Lake St. Mary's (5-2) at Toledo Central Catholic (6-2)
• Toledo St. John's Jesuit (3-5) at Birmingham Brother Rice (5-2)
• Royal Oak Shrine (7-0) at Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes (0-7)
• Cranbrook Kingswood (4-3) at Clarkston Everest Collegiate (6-1)
• Jackson Lumen Christi (6-1) vs. Detroit Country Day (5-2)
• Warren Lincoln (2-5) at Notre Dame Prep (3-4)
• Muskegon Catholic Central (2-5) at Oakland Christian (0-7)
• Livonia Clarenceville (2-4) at Lutheran Northwest (2-5)
• Marine City Cardinal Mooney (4-2) at Bishop Foley (3-4)
• Redford Westfield Prep at Pontiac Arts & Tech
• Southfield Bradford Academy (4-3) at Melvindale ABT (1-5), 4 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 17

• Byron Center Grand Valley Christian vs. Rochester Hills North Oakland
• Morenci vs. Southfield Christian

No game listed

MaxPreps lists no Week 8 game for Birmingham Seaholm or Rochester Adams. Seaholm's next listed game is at Utica on Oct. 23. Adams' next listed game is against Oak Park on Oct. 23. It was not clear whether either team has an open date or a forfeit.

League races

MaxPreps standings show several Oakland County teams unbeaten in league play: Clarkston in the OAA Red, Ferndale in the OAA Gold, Stoney Creek in the OAA White and Madison (5-0) in the MAC Bronze. Harper Woods, a Wayne County school, leads the OAA Blue at 5-0. The Journal found no published report that any of those teams has clinched a title.

Royal Oak Shrine has clinched at least a share of the Catholic League Intersectional 2 title, according to MHSAA.com. Its game at Our Lady of the Lakes is a league game, so an outright title is at stake.

In the Lakes Valley, Milford (5-1 in the league) leads South Lyon (4-1) and Walled Lake Western (3-1). Milford hosts Lakeland this week and Western on Oct. 23.

Detroit Catholic Central (7-0), ranked No. 1 by MaxPreps, can clinch a share of the Catholic League Central title with a win at Toledo St. Francis de Sales, according to MHSAA.com.

Playoff picture

The MHSAA will announce the playoff field on Oct. 25. The Journal did not find a published playoff-points list for these teams, so the counts below are win totals only, based on MaxPreps records.

Six or more wins: Clarkston (7-0), Shrine (7-0), Ferndale, Madison, Milford, Oxford, Walled Lake Western, South Lyon East and Everest Collegiate (all 6-1).

Five wins, one away from six: Groves, Brother Rice, Orchard Lake St. Mary's, Holly, Brandon, Lamphere, Clawson, Country Day, Stoney Creek, South Lyon and North Farmington.

Looking ahead to Week 9 (Oct. 23)

Ferndale plays at Groves, Milford hosts Walled Lake Western, Oxford hosts Romeo, Clarkston hosts Muskegon, Royal Oak hosts Clawson and Mott plays at Troy, according to MaxPreps team schedules.

This story uses MaxPreps scoreboards, schedules, standings and rankings and reporting from MHSAA.com.