Friday night’s Howell-Brighton game is about the Little Brown Jug. It’s about who wins at least a share of the KLAA West Division crown.
It is the Channel 7 High School game of the week with Brad Gali. But more importantly it could come down to the numbers. In the event of a Howell victory in this grudge match we may not know who represents the West in the KLAA championship game next week at Bellville because the KLAA West could turn topsy turvy with a three-way tie for first with Brighton, Howell and Northville.
Once again it could be about the numbers to decide.
In the event of a three-way tie the school that has the most playoff points gets into the big dance. We won’t know that until the big three’s non-league opponents play. Every win by a Brighton opponent nets it more playoff points.
The same with Howell and Northville. Currently, Brighton (6-1 overall, 6-0 in the KLAA) is in the driver’s seat. The Bulldogs are a game ahead of both Northville (6-1, 5-1) in league play. If Brighton wins its in. If Howell wins, then chaos unless Novi (2-5) pulls off the biggest upset of the year by beating Northville
A Brighton loss to Howell throws the race into a three-way tie and then high school officials must pull out their calculators to figure it out.
How did we get here? Northville beat Howell. Brighton beat Northville. And in the event Howell beats rival Brighton that is how this thing turns maddening.
So, what will you need for this game?
A sweater or jacket because the autumn cool will hit Bulldog Stadium.
A loud voice because there is likely to be plenty of cheering.
And maybe a calculator, just in case.