OVER 300 GAMES, ONE WILD WEEK: MICHIGAN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL'S WEEK 3 RECAP

Week 3 of the 2026 Michigan high school football season covered more than 300 games across the state.Conference play arrived in force on Friday, September 11, after a competitive Thursday slate. Ranked teams confirmed their status in some places and survived scares in others. A few results flipped early perceptions. Here is a full recap with deeper looks at a featured game in every region.

NXTGEN Game of the Week Spotlight: Hudsonville 42, Grand Haven 14

This was the game NXTGEN put under the lights for a reason. Two West Michigan programs with playoff aspirations, an OK-conference measuring stick, and a Friday night crowd that expected a fight. What they got instead was a Hudsonville statement.

The Eagles took control early and never really let Grand Haven into the game, winning 42-14 at home. Hudsonville “skated past” the Buccaneers, according to the postgame recap, and the tape backed it up. The Eagles’ skill players created explosives, the line won the first-down battle, and Grand Haven — coming off two tight wins to open the year (35-34 in double overtime over Spring Lake and 17-14 at Reeths-Puffer) — could not match the physicality or the big-play pace. 

The clip that will live all week is CJ Beckham’s acrobatic touchdown catch. It was the kind of play that turns a Game of the Week into a recruiting and social-media moment: contested catch, body control, finish. Hudsonville’s offense had been building toward this kind of night after a 49-0 win over East Lansing the week before. Against Grand Haven, the Eagles looked like a team that belongs in the upper half of a loaded west-side conference, not a team still searching for its identity after an uneven start to the season. 

Grand Haven dropped to 2-1 and 0-1 in league play. The Buccaneers are not a finished product — those first two wins showed they can win close games — but this one exposed the gap when a more complete roster gets to play downhill for four quarters. Hudsonville improved and sent a message heading into a stretch that includes Grandville, Caledonia, West Ottawa, and the rest of the OK gauntlet.

Why it was the NXTGEN Game of the Week:

It was not the closest game in the state. It was one of the most revealing. Hudsonville needed a clean, physical win against a conference neighbor to prove the East Lansing blowout was not an outlier. Grand Haven needed to show its early resilience would travel. Only one of those things happened. For NXTGEN viewers, it delivered exactly what a mid-September spotlight should: a clear winner, a signature skill-player moment, and a result that will sit in the standings when the west side starts separating itself in October.

Hudsonville 42, Grand Haven 14 was more than a score. It was the Eagles announcing they intend to be in the conversation.

Thursday night: South Lyon East survives North Farmington

The Lakes Valley Conference opener between two 2-0 teams produced the night’s best game. South Lyon East escaped North Farmington 35-34. East rushed for 197 yards and did just enough to stay unbeaten at 3-0. North Farmington, which had already survived a chaotic Week 2 home-opener relocation and a 54-26 win over Lakeland, dropped to 2-1. The one-point result immediately made the new-look Lakes Valley feel wide open. Other Thursday games were more one-sided: Livonia Stevenson 45-10 Walled Lake Central, Milford 53-14 Walled Lake Northern, South Lyon 35-14 Walled Lake Western, Ferndale 48-0 Berkley, Groves 42-0 Southfield A&T, Seaholm 41-20 Waterford Mott, Rochester 21-10 Bloomfield Hills, Dexter 35-14 Ann Arbor Huron, Monroe 37-6 Skyline, and Saline 48-13 Pioneer. Cranbrook-Kingswood rolled Our Lady of the Lakes 64-0.

Catholic League and Metro Detroit: Brother Rice holds off De La Salle

The week’s signature game was Brother Rice 31, De La Salle 28 at Lawrence Tech. Rice led 17-0 late in the first half after a Marcus Hayes pick-six and a Drake Martin fourth-down touchdown run. Brandon Davison scored twice, including a fourth-and-goal plunge that made it 24-7 late in the third. Grayson Thurston then threw three touchdown passes, including an 80-yard strike, and De La Salle pulled within 31-28. With under two minutes left, Jayden Bell sacked Thurston on third down and the coverage held on fourth down. Rice improved to 3-0. De La Salle fell to 2-1. The game showed both teams belong in the Catholic League title conversation, but Rice’s ability to finish a close game was the difference after last year’s struggles in similar spots.

Around Metro Detroit, Cass Tech blanked Southeastern 46-0 and King shut out Renaissance 41-0. Divine Child beat Country Day 14-7. Catholic Central rolled Holy Names 56-14. St. Mary’s crushed Toledo St. John’s 56-7. Northville survived Brighton 35-34 on a late stand and Avery Caldwell’s game-saving play. Rochester Adams beat West Bloomfield 42-41 in overtime. Belleville held off Fordson 26-21. Grosse Pointe South scored 56 against Chippewa Valley. Lake Shore snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 43-0 win over Sterling Heights behind Lucas Osmand’s 169 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Howell demolished Dearborn 54-14. Hartland shut out Wayne Memorial 55-0.

West Michigan: Caledonia stuns Rockford

Caledonia’s 35-23 win over Rockford was the clearest statement in the west. Rockford entered as a ranked program that had already played a brutal early schedule. Turnovers and special-teams mistakes doomed the Rams, who dropped to 1-2. Caledonia improved to 2-1 and immediately became a factor in the OK Red conversation. The result will follow both teams for weeks. East Kentwood scored 56 in a 56-35 win over Grandville. Unity Christian handled Zeeland East 50-22. West Ottawa used 277 rushing yards and a second-half surge to beat Jenison 31-21. Holland’s Eli Wolters threw six touchdown passes in a 48-21 win over Grand Rapids Union. West Catholic outlasted South Christian 45-34. Hudsonville beat Grand Haven 42-14. Cedar Springs put up 63 points against Allendale. Muskegon survived River Rouge 21-14. Portage Central beat rival Portage Northern 25-14.

Mid-Michigan and Greater Lansing: Chelsea ends Adrian’s unbeaten start

Chelsea’s 49-21 win over Adrian was the featured result in the center of the state. Adrian entered 2-0. Chelsea’s physical offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage and the rushing attack. A muffed punt helped the Bulldogs seize early momentum, and they never let Adrian back into the game. It was Adrian’s first loss and a clear SEC-West statement for Chelsea. Ithaca continued its early-season destruction with a 63-7 win over Saginaw Nouvel. Pewamo-Westphalia crushed Perry 61-6. Mount Pleasant beat Midland Dow 28-7 behind Prosper Enehiroana’s 109 rushing yards and a stout defense. DeWitt exploded for 73 points against Everett. Grand Ledge rolled Okemos 45-7. East Lansing shut out Holt 24-0. Davison pounded Traverse City Central 54-28. Alma earned its first win, 46-0 over Bridgeport. Sexton’s Abdual Carter Foreman threw for 238 yards and two scores in a 26-6 win over Lansing Catholic. Williamston slipped past Fowlerville 10-7. Frankenmuth, Goodrich, Chippewa Hills, and several other mid-Michigan programs stayed unbeaten or improved.

Thumb and East: Allegan survives Watervliet in a 42-40 shootout

The featured game east of Flint was Allegan’s 42-40 win over Watervliet. In a week full of blowouts, this one went down to the final possessions and became one of the state’s tightest 11-player results. Almont beat Richmond 42-14 and Armada defeated North Branch 28-6 to stay strong in the Blue Water Area Conference. Ubly beat Harbor Beach 28-8 in a rivalry game. Millington handled Laker 43-16. All Saints beat North Huron 33-14. Memphis improved to 2-1 with a 30-6 win over Capac. Marlette scored 60 against Bad Axe. East Jordan edged Glen Lake 20-19. Eaton Rapids survived Ionia 21-20. North Muskegon nipped Shelby 21-20.

Upper Peninsula: Bark River-Harris outlasts Iron Mountain again

Bark River-Harris beat Iron Mountain 38-33 in the UP’s featured game. The Broncos have recently flipped a long series deficit against the Mountaineers and improved to 3-0. The five-point win kept the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference race interesting and continued BR-H’s strong early-season run. Calumet edged Negaunee 21-18. Forest Park beat Bessemer 41-24. Norway handled Ironwood 36-12. Several other UP programs posted comfortable wins as the northern season found its rhythm.

8-player football: Montabella stays perfect

Montabella remained unbeaten with a 46-30 road win over Breckenridge in its MSAC opener. Breckenridge quarterback Gavin Corbat threw for 313 yards and three touchdowns in a losing effort, but Montabella’s offense has now scored at least 46 points in each of its first three games. The Mustangs look like the class of their division again. All Saints, Akron-Fairgrove, and multiple other 8-player teams posted decisive wins. High-scoring games remained the norm across the classification.

What the week actually changed

Brother Rice’s late stand against De La Salle, Caledonia’s win over Rockford, Chelsea’s dismantling of Adrian, South Lyon East’s one-point escape, Bark River-Harris holding off Iron Mountain, and Montabella’s continued scoring binge are the results that will move rankings and conference races most. The volume of one-score games—South Lyon East-North Farmington, Rice-De La Salle, Northville-Brighton, Adams-West Bloomfield, Allegan-Watervliet, Bark River-Harris-Iron Mountain, and more than a dozen others—showed that even good teams are still learning how to close.

After 300-plus games, Week 3 gave the 2026 season its first real shape: a group of confirmed powers, a rising second tier, and enough chaos to keep Friday nights interesting statewide. Week 4 now has film, standings, and storylines that did not exist seven days ago.