Playoff high school football scouting reports

The playoffs begin this week for high school football teams in Michigan.

All teams qualified for the playoffs, though COVID-19 protocols have kept some teams from competition.

The Zeeland East game against Holland, originally scheduled for Saturday at Zeeland Stadium has been canceled because of COVID-19 contact tracing protocols involving Zeeland East. Holland will advance.

Fennville also opted out of their playoff game because of the number of injuries on the team not leaving enough healthy players. This has been an issue for the Blackhawks in multiple games this season.

Here is a look at the matchups:

Ottawa Hills at Zeeland West

KICKOFF >> 7 p.m. Friday at Zeeland Stadium

RECORDS >> Zeeland West 4-1, Ottawa Hills 0-6

LAST WEEK >> Zeeland West did not play because of COVID-19 contact tracing, Ottawa Hills lost 33-6 to Wayland

LAST MEETING >> First meeting

ALL-TIME SERIES >> 0-0

SCOUTING REPORT >> The Dux have a high-powered offense and a defense that has dominated, even against some of the top teams in the state. The Dux have only allowed 62 points all season. Ottawa Hills has scored just 86 points all season and with the Zeeland West defense playing as strong as it has, plus the offense that has scored 242 points this season, the Dux are clearly the favorite.

West Ottawa at Rockford

KICKOFF >> Noon Saturday at Rockford

RECORDS >> West Ottawa 0-5, Rockford 6-0

LAST WEEK >> West Ottawa did not play because of COVID-19 contact tracing, Rockford beat Grandville 28-8

LAST MEETING >> Oct. 2. Rockford won 33-23

ALL-TIME SERIES >> Rockford leads 41-12-1

SCOUTING REPORT >> Rockford has been a nemesis for the Panthers over the years. This year is interesting, however. The Panthers are winless and the Rams have yet to lose, so it looks like Rockford is the clear favorite, and they are. However, in the head-to-head matchup earlier in the season, Rockford escaped with a 33-23 victory. It was the best game the Panthers played this season, and it came against their best opponent. This game should be much more interesting than an undefeated team against a winless team.

Holland Christian at Unity Christian

KICKOFF >> 7 p.m. Friday at Hudsonville High School

RECORDS >> Holland Christian 0-6, Unity Christian 6-0

LAST WEEK >> Holland Christian lost 30-7 to Coopersville, Unity Christian defeated Allendale 42-6

LAST MEETING >> 2019, Holland Christian won 27-14

ALL-TIME SERIES >> Holland Christian leads 9-8

SCOUTING REPORT >> This will be an uphill battle for the Maroons. Holland Christian has shown flashes of greatness, but has not been able to keep that up consistently. Meanwhile, the Crusaders are undefeated and have outscored opponents 255-62 this season. Unity Christian looks like a threat to win the state title.

“Unity has an excellent team this year. They have a very good combination of size, speed and football intelligence. Defensively, they are aggressive and don't miss many tackles. They are well-coached and have only given up nine touchdowns all season. Offensively, they are a juggernaut. They are scoring six touchdowns a game running their traditional wing-T offense. Obviously there is a lot of familiarity between our teams, and we are excited to play a rivalry playoff game since we missed out on playing Unity in Week 3 earlier this year.“ — Holland Christian coach Chris Kuipers

Hamilton at Godwin Heights

KICKOFF >> 7 p.m. Friday at Godwin Heights

RECORDS >> Hamilton 2-4, Godwin Heights 2-4

LAST WEEK >> Hamilton lost 35-7 to West Catholic, Godwin Heights beat Comstock Park 19-13

LAST MEETING >> 2019, Hamilton won 20-0

ALL-TIME SERIES >> Hamilton leads 15-9

SCOUTING REPORT >> The key for Hamilton as it has been the second half of the season, is health. The Hawkeyes were on their fourth quarterback of the season the past couple of weeks and the offense struggled. The defense has kept the Hawkeyes in most of the games this season and will need to do so again. With a couple of big plays on offense, the Hawkeyes could advance.

“The Wolverines have some very good athletes at some positions, including a OL/DL who is a three-star D-1 national recruit. We get a lot of players back from quarantine and injury and are hoping that will bring some consistency back on both sides of the ball.” — Hamilton coach Phil Koops

Saugatuck at White Pigeon

KICKOFF >> 7 p.m.

RECORDS >> Saugatuck 3-3, White Pigeon 3-2

LAST WEEK >> Saugatuck lost 19-2 to Lawton, White Pigeon beat Leslie 28-22

LAST MEETING >> First meeting

ALL-TIME SERIES >> 0-0

SCOUTING REPORT >> Saugatuck and White Pigeon were slated to face off in Week 1 before COVID-19 postponed the season, leaving all teams to start in what would have been Week 4. Saugatuck is coming off of a strong performance despite the loss to Lawton. Saugatuck was up 2-0 at halftime and the defense played a tremendous game. But the offense couldn’t get going. If the offense can get going, Saugatuck might have enough to advance.