Greater Lansing football regional overview: Rematches in store for Mason, P-W

The Mason and Pewamo-Westphalia football teams got past league opponents for the second time this season while claiming district championships last week.

Now Division 3 top-ranked Mason and Division 7 No. 6 Pewamo-Westphalia have rematches from regular-season non-league games as both try to claim regional titles this week.

Mason hits the road to face Walled Lake Western for the second time in four weeks, looking to complete the season sweep. P-W will try to avenge a narrow Week 1 loss when it returns to North Muskegon for the second time this season.

Here's an overview of the eight regional matchups featuring Greater Lansing teams.

Byron Center at East Lansing

The CAAC Blue champion Trojans (9-2) captured their second straight regional title with their home win over White Lake Lakeland last week and now host a Division 2 regional game for the second time in four years Friday. The Trojans are on a nine-game winning streak and have gotten big performances from star running back Jace Clarizio — who just picked up a scholarship offer from Michigan State — each week of the playoffs. East Lansing will now try to break through in the regional round. Their two recent regional losses to Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central last season and Muskegon Mona Shores in 2020 have come by a combined seven points.

OK Conference White champion and No. 4-ranked Byron Center (10-1) has been on the road each week of the postseason and has recorded playoffs wins over No. 5 Portage Central and No. 2 Caledonia. East Lansing suffered one of its losses this fall to Portage Central.

Mason at Walled Lake Western

These teams were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in Division 3 when they met in Week 8 and Mason came away with a 30-7 victory. That win has helped the Bulldogs open with 11 straight victories for the second straight season. Mason (11-0) made history by capturing a third straight district title when it beat No. 9 DeWitt for the second time this season. The Bulldogs will try to capture a third straight regional title against the No. 5-ranked Warriors, who won the Lakes Valley Conference.

Walled Lake Western (10-1) has scored at least 50 points in each of its games since that loss to Mason, which included a 50-22 win over No. 8 Auburn Hills Avondale in the district final.

Haslett at Goodrich

Bowling Green commit Nakai Amachree has been a major factor in the playoffs as the Vikings (8-3) have captured their first district championship since 2005. Amachree had 341 yards on the ground and four touchdowns in a 30-22 victory over No. 3-ranked Chelsea that helped Haslett extend its winning streak to a season-best four games. The Vikings now will try to get past another Division 4 ranked team when they face No. 4 Goodrich (10-1) for a regional title.

Goodrich, which was last year’s state runner-up, edged No. 5 Freeland by a point while claiming a district title and has won five straight since a loss to Corunna. The lone common opponent between the teams is Williamston. Haslett suffered a 20-7 loss in Week 7 to Williamston. The Martians beat Williamston, 26-15, on the road to close the regular season.

Portland at Niles

CAAC White champion Portland (11-0) captured its third straight district championship with last week's victory over Hastings and now is in pursuit of the program's second regional title in three years. The No. 2-ranked Raiders overcame a small halftime deficit thanks to a pair of second-half touchdowns from Caden Thelen in the Division 4 district final win. Hastings became the first opponent to score more than 20 points against Portland, which has allowed just 7.0 points per game.

Niles, which is located near the Michigan-Indiana border, ended the regular season ranked No. 6. The Wolverine Conference champion Vikings (10-1) routed No. 7 Paw Paw for the second time in three weeks to claim a district title, 42-13, last week. Niles, which has won nine straight since a Week 2 loss to Stevensville-Lakeshore, averages 49.4 points per game.

Macomb Lutheran North at Corunna

Flint Metro League champion and No. 3-ranked Corunna (11-0) has taken out a pair of top-10 and unbeaten teams the past two weeks while capturing its second Division 5 district title in three seasons. The playoff wins over No. 8 Flint Hamady and No. 5 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep gave the Cavaliers 11 wins in a season for the first time in program history. That bested the mark of 10 wins set by the 1994 and 2002 teams.

Corunna will try to add to that record when it hosts Macomb Lutheran North (9-2) in a regional. Lutheran North has opened the playoffs with narrow wins over Armada and No. 9 Marine City. Armada is the lone common opponent between the programs. Corunna beat Armada 31-7 to wrap up a perfect regular season.

Ovid-Elsie at Constantine

Ovid-Elsie (7-4) is in a regional for the first time since 2009 after knocking off Lansing Catholic in last week's district final. The Marauders will attempt to capture their first regional title since 2008, which is the season they finished as the Division 5 state runner-up.

Ovid-Elsie enters its Division 6 matchup against Constantine (10-1) on a four-game winning streak. Constantine, which is ranked No. 2 and was the Southwestern Athletic Conference Lakeshore champion, has won nine straight since a Week 2 loss to Benton Harbor.

Pewamo-Westphalia at North Muskegon

A field goal in the fourth quarter marked the difference in the Week 1 meeting between these teams. P-W (10-1) bounced back from that 17-14 loss and has recorded 10 straight victories. That streak started with a 21-0 win over Bath for the CMAC champions, who have won each of their games by at least 13 points. No. 6 P-W claimed its second district title in three years with a 42-15 win over Bath.

North Muskegon, which shares the No. 1 ranking in Division 7 with Jackson Lumen Christi, edged No. 4 Lawton, 27-24, to claim its first district title since 2006 last week. The 11 wins for North Muskegon (11-0) are tied for the most in school history with the 1981 and 1986 teams.

Ithaca at Ubly

No. 2 Ithaca (11-0) has opened the Division 8 playoffs with back-to-back one-point victories over No. 8 Fowler and No. 7 New Lothrop. The TVC White champion Yellowjackets will now try to capture their first regional title since 2017 when they travel to face Ubly, which was last year's Division 8 state runner-up.

Ubly (11-0) shares the No. 2 ranking with Ithaca, has won each of its games by at least 21 points and beat honorable mention ranked Harbor Beach in last week's district final. Ubly is attempting to capture a fifth straight regional championship.

Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on X @brian_calloway.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: High school football: Mason, P-W face regional rematches