The Detroit News high school football preview: Top 5 story lines for this season

Here are five story lines to watch going into the 2026 prep football season.

5. Will Jackson Lumen Christi head coach Herb Brogan surpass John Herrington as the state’s all-time winningest coach?

In his 47th season as head coach, Brogan enters with 432 career wins, which is 11 behind Herrington, the former Farmington Hills Harrison legendary head coach. Brogan surpassed former Birmingham Brother Rice head coach Al Fracassa for second on the all-time list last year. Last season, Lumen Christi went 11-3 in adding to its state record total of 15 state championships .

If Lumen Christi repeats that win total, Brogan will tie Herrington. There are games against bigger schools like Toledo Central Catholic, Toledo St. Francis De Sales, Detroit Country Day and Dearborn Divine Child, but if Lumen Christi can win at least two of those, avoid slip-ups in other games and go on another championship run, it’s possible Brogan could celebrate breaking the record and a state championship at the same time in November at Ford Field.

More: Check out our Michigan high school football season previews

4. What will the last season of the KLAA be like?

The Kensington Lakes Activities Association will be no more after this year, with 12 of the league’s 14 schools heading to the Southeastern Conference and the other two, Novi and Northville, going to the Oakland Activities Association.

KLAA teams hope to make the last season a memorable one, with coaches voting Howell to be both the overall league and Gold Division champion, and Northville to be the Black Division champion at the league’s final media day.

Howell is led by one of the state’s best seniors, running back/linebacker Bryce Kish, who has committed to Clemson.

Brighton and Hartland were picked to finish behind Howell in the Gold, while Belleville was picked to finish second to Northville in the Black.

3. What will new teams add to the OAA and Lakes Valley Conference?

There was some significant conference reshuffling this year, with Livonia Churchill, Livonia Stevenson, Livonia Franklin, Farmington and North Farmington joining the league.

The three Livonia schools left the KLAA, while the two Farmington schools came over from the OAA. A year before the OAA welcomes in Novi, Northville, Davison and Grand Blanc, this year the league replaced the two Farmington schools with Waterford Mott and Waterford Kettering, who came from the LVC. Mott and Kettering coming into the league forced some reshuffling of divisions.

The two top teams in the White Division last year, Harper Woods and Birmingham Groves, are now in the Blue. Mott will be in the Blue, while Kettering will compete in the Gold.

2. Can the Catholic League be even more dominant than last year?

In a word, yes.

The league had four of the eight state champions last year. The teams that won the Division 1 and Division 2 titles , Detroit Catholic Central and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, might be even more talented than last year. Dearborn Divine Child should still be good team as it defends its Division 4 state title , while Lumen Christi is the gold standard in Division 6.

If all that weren’t enough, Birmingham Brother Rice might have the best team its had since the Fracassa days, Warren De La Salle should be stronger after making the Division 3 state semifinals last year, and look out for a rising small-school power, Allen Park Cabrini, in Division 8. Cabrini made the state semifinals last year and returns its best player, quarterback Evan Bergdoll.

1. How will NIL rules affect players in the state?

This will be the first football season under new Name, Image and Likeness rules instituted by the Michigan High School Athletic Association in January.

Last November, the consensus top senior in the state, Dakota Guerrant of Harper Woods, filed a lawsuit against the MHSAA over what said were limited NIL opportunities athletes in other states enjoyed.

While the new MHSAA rules still prohibit group activities such as collectives or pay-for-play arrangements, athletes are now permitted to do social media endorsements, personal appearances, photo sessions, autograph signings, merchandise and the use of name, image, or likeness in marketing materials.

In the winter, basketball players such as Keyshawn Summerville of Lansing Sexton and KJ Torbert of East Lansing were examples of players who signed NIL deals with local companies.

With it being football season though and the number of players in the state who have committed to Power Four college programs, NIL deals could really be prominent as the fall progresses.

Keith Dunlap is a freelance writer.

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: The Detroit News high school football preview: Top 5 story lines for this season

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