Week 9 preview: Western-Milford for a title share, Romeo at Oxford, and the playoff picture

The high school football regular season ends this week, and the MHSAA announces its playoff field on Sunday, Oct. 25. For several Oakland County teams, Friday is also a chance to win a league title or reach six wins.

Games below are Friday, Oct. 23, unless noted. The schedule comes from MaxPreps team schedules, the Lakes Valley Conference website and the Detroit Free Press. The Journal could not confirm Week 9 games for every county team, so this list is not complete.

Games to watch

Walled Lake Western (7-1) at Milford (7-1). Western, Milford and South Lyon are tied for first in the Lakes Valley Conference at 6-1, according to the league's website. Friday's winner keeps at least a share of first place. South Lyon hosts Livonia Stevenson. The Journal did not find the league's tiebreaker rules.

Romeo (8-0) at Oxford (7-1). Romeo is No. 7 in the Free Press Super 25, and Oxford is No. 15. Both are in the top six of the Free Press's Division 1 playoff points.

Muskegon at Clarkston (7-1). Clarkston plays its first game since losing 28-13 at Harper Woods.

Ferndale (6-2) at Birmingham Groves (5-3). Groves can reach six wins. Ferndale is coming off a 36-12 loss to Stoney Creek.

Full schedule (confirmed games)

OAA and area

• Romeo at Oxford
• Muskegon at Clarkston
• Ferndale at Birmingham Groves
• Clawson at Royal Oak
• Waterford Mott at Troy
• L'Anse Creuse at Waterford Kettering
• Birmingham Seaholm at Utica
• Oak Park at Rochester Adams
• Rochester Hills Stoney Creek at Huron

Lakes Valley Conference

• Walled Lake Western at Milford
• Livonia Stevenson at South Lyon
• South Lyon East at White Lake Lakeland
• Livonia Franklin at Walled Lake Central
• North Farmington at Walled Lake Northern
• Livonia Churchill at Farmington

Others

• Holly at Yale
• Madison Heights Madison at Ecorse
• University Liggett vs. Madison Heights Bishop Foley

Prep Bowl at Ford Field, Saturday, Oct. 24

The Catholic High School League's Prep Bowl LIV is Saturday at Ford Field in Detroit, Hoodline reported. The league is marking its 100th season.

• Gates open: 7:15 a.m.
• 1:30 p.m.: Catholic League Cardinal title game, between the winners of the Intersectional 1 and Intersectional 2 divisions
• 4:30 p.m.: Dearborn Divine Child vs. Jackson Lumen Christi
• 7:30 p.m.: Detroit Catholic Central vs. Birmingham Brother Rice

Going into Week 8, Hoodline reported that the Everest Collegiate-Cranbrook Kingswood winner would earn one Cardinal spot and Royal Oak Shrine would earn the other with a win. Everest won 35-7 and Shrine won 56-13. The Journal has not found a league announcement confirming the matchup.

Catholic Central (8-0) is No. 1 in the Free Press Super 25 and has not lost to Brother Rice since 2014, according to Hoodline. Brother Rice is 6-2 and No. 19.

Who has six wins

Unbeaten (8-0): Detroit Catholic Central, Royal Oak Shrine

7-1: Clarkston, Oxford, Milford, Walled Lake Western, Madison Heights Madison, Clarkston Everest Collegiate

6-2: Rochester Hills Stoney Creek, South Lyon, South Lyon East, Brother Rice, Ferndale, Holly, Clawson

Five wins, playing for six this week: Rochester Adams, Rochester, Orchard Lake St. Mary's, North Farmington, Birmingham Groves, Madison Heights Lamphere, Ortonville Brandon, Detroit Country Day and Southfield Bradford Academy.

Records are from the Free Press and MaxPreps.

Six wins in a nine-game schedule, or five wins in eight games or fewer, has long been the mark for an automatic playoff berth, according to MHSAA.com. Teams that finish 5-4, or 4-4 in eight games, may also get in if fewer than 256 teams qualify automatically. The field is 256 teams, 32 in each of eight divisions.

The Free Press playoff-points standings

The list below is the Detroit Free Press's playoff-points tally through eight weeks, published Monday. It is not the MHSAA's official seeding. The MHSAA's field and pairings come out Sunday. Oakland County teams are shown with their rank, points and record.

Division 1

• No. 2 Detroit Catholic Central, 80.607 (8-0)
• No. 3 Clarkston, 80.375 (7-1)
• No. 5 Oxford, 78.875 (7-1)
• No. 14 Rochester Adams, 66.875 (5-3)
• No. 15 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek, 66.875 (6-2)
• No. 21 Rochester, 61.625 (5-3)
• No. 27 Lake Orion, 52.375 (4-4)
• First three out: Bloomfield Hills, 46.000 (4-4)

Division 2

• No. 3 South Lyon, 68.250 (6-2)
• No. 5 Milford, 67.375 (7-1)
• No. 8 South Lyon East, 66.250 (6-2)
• No. 10 Walled Lake Western, 66.000 (7-1)
• No. 14 Orchard Lake St. Mary's, 61.750 (5-3)
• No. 16 Birmingham Brother Rice, 59.500 (6-2)
• No. 20 Ferndale, 56.500 (6-2)
• No. 21 North Farmington, 55.250 (5-3)
• No. 22 Birmingham Groves, 54.750 (5-3)
• No. 24 Birmingham Seaholm, 48.625 (4-4)
• First three out: Royal Oak, 39.375 (4-4)

Division 3

• No. 19 Holly, 53.625 (6-2)
• No. 30 Waterford Mott, 43.250 (4-4)

Division 4

• No. 15 Madison Heights Lamphere, 52.875 (5-3)
• No. 21 Ortonville Brandon, 46.625 (5-3)
• No. 25 Detroit Country Day, 45.500 (5-3)

Division 5

• No. 27 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 36.125 (4-4)
• First three out: Hazel Park, 30.875 (3-5)

Division 6

• No. 13 Clawson, 44.250 (6-2)

Division 7

• First three out: Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest, 24.750 (3-5)

Division 8

• No. 1 Madison Heights Madison, 45.750 (7-1)
• No. 6 Royal Oak Shrine, 40.250 (8-0)
• No. 8 Clarkston Everest Collegiate, 37.625 (7-1)
• No. 20 Southfield Bradford Academy, 29.000 (5-3)

Selection Sunday and beyond

• Selection show: 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25, on the NFHS Network
• District semifinals: Friday and Saturday, Oct. 30-31
• State finals: Nov. 27-28 at Ford Field

Dates are from the Free Press and MHSAA.com.

This story uses reporting from the Detroit Free Press and Hoodline, MaxPreps schedules, the Lakes Valley Conference website and MHSAA.com.