MHSAA Notebook: Brandywine looks to lock up playoff spot

The Brandywine football team already has a playoff mindset heading into its final regular season game against Parchment.

Currently, the Bobcats (4-4) are on the cusp of the Division 7 playoff field, currently sitting at 28th in playoff points, with the top 32 teams qualifying for the postseason.

"We are at a point where if we do not win this week, there is a shot we are in," first-year head coach Justin Kinzie said. "All we are doing is telling our guys that this is Week 1 of playoffs right now. There are two teams walking on the field and one team won't play next week. And that is kind of where we are at right now."

The fact Brandywine, loser of its last three games, is even in position to make the playoffs is impressive, considering the injuries it has had to overcome.

The Bobcats lost two quarterbacks before their first offensive snap of the season, one breaking his hand during a summer practice and another tearing his ACL in their first game against Watervliet, while playing defense.

Eventually, Brandywine had to move tight end, Owen Hulett to quarterback, where he has started since the team's second game.

"For a guy who has never played quarterback, he was tackle as a freshman, and playing tight end for us, he didn't open the playbook and study it like quarterback until the Saturday after our Week 1 game," Kinzie said. "It was just awesome to see the way the team rallied behind him."

Since its five game winning streak, Brandywine has lost three consecutive games to Benton Harbor, Buchanan and Berrien Springs. But Kinzie, who previously coached at South Bend Riley, credited his players for fighting from the beginning, despite the adversity thrown their way.

"These guys have worked so hard and we already a couple months behind the other programs in the area," he said. "Just to be in a situation now where they are fighting to get a shot to play in the playoffs, in spite of the fact our quarterback wasn’t on the depth chart as a quarterback until week 2, It shows what a hardworking group of kids these are."

Edwardsburg hitting peak at right time

Like year's past, Edwardsburg has rounded into form right before an expected long playoff right. Only this year, long-time head coach Kevin Bartz said it took a little longer than expected.

"We lost a lot of seniors from last year," Bartz said. "We had some injuries early. I think we are finally healthy right now. We are finally starting to figure out who we are. The last three games we have been able to put points on the board and our defense has played a lot better. I think we are starting to peak at the right time of the season now."

Since its Week 1 loss to West Catholic, Edwardsburg (7-1) has won seven consecutive games. In their last three, as Bartz mentioned, the Eddies have outscored their opponents 160-43. It was punctuated with a 46-7 win over last year's Division 4 state champion, Chelsea.

"We came into that (game) not sure who we were and our kids and coaching staff came out with a lot more confidence after a pretty decisive win," Bartz said. "I was most impressed with what we did up front against them. I liked our physicality and our aggressiveness. They threw a lot of different looks at us and we handled those well."

Edwardsburg has also had quarterback injury issues, with Brendan Madison taking the reigns after a broken leg sustained by Zach Bartz. During its win streak, Madison has also helped Edwardsburg's defense at cornerback.

Ultimately, Bartz said he learned of the tenacity his team had, with other guys, like Brenden Seabolt and Colten Strawderman, stepping in to get the Eddies through the beef of the season.

The Eddies finish their regular season slate on Friday against Sturgis, where Bartz hopes his players take another step to become the complete team he thought they could be this year.

"I'm looking for the consistency that we had last game going against Chelsea, knowing the type of team they were," Bartz said. "I don't want to see a letdown and keep improving from where we were last game, getting better from where we were last week."

Buchanan relying on senior leaders for special season

From its very first snap, Buchanan has relied on its senior football players.

Against Saugatuck in their opening game, Bucks quarterback Connor Legault connected with Thomas Van Overberghe for a 71-yard touchdown on the team's first offensive snap.

It has been those seniors that have led Buchanan (7-1) to its most wins in two seasons.

"Seeing our guys play at a high level together has been a nice thing," Buchanan coach Mark Frey said. "They have a great brotherhood and it has been a lot of fun being around.

"It's been a lot of guys refusing to quit, lose and coming up with big plays when we need them."

Buchanan hasn't lost since falling to Niles in Week 2 action. Since then, the Bucks have reeled off wins against Dowagiac, Cassopolis, Norrix, Berrien Springs, Brandywine and last week's 34-22 win over Benton Harbor putting them one step closer to a Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference championship.

The Bucks can lock that up this Friday in their regular season final against Centreville before hoping a long playoff run extends their season deep into the fall.

"Just trying to finish strong," Frey said. "It is going to be a challenge mentally this week because you could win a conference title a week before the playoffs. It is a weird mental week and hoping the guys don't take it off because there is less skin in it. We are excited for the challenge from Centreville, they are a good program, but we want to finish strong and hopefully our seniors will step up and have a big night."

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notebook: Checking in on area Michigan high school football programs