Bill Khan's predictions for Week 1 Livingston County high school football games

With high school football kicking off Thursday night, everyone fired up about the prospects for the coming season.

Everyone is 0-0. Everyone had the best offseason ever. Everyone has a closer bond than last year.

Leave it to me to walk into the room and kill the buzz.

In records going back to 1950, which is as far back as John Hulsebus’ legendary Michigan-football.com site goes, Livingston County teams have never gone 0-5 in Week 1. The only winless Week 1 during that span came in 1959 when Brighton tied South Lyon, 6-6, and the other four teams lost.

As I sat down to make predictions for the opening week of 2023, it dawned on me that an 0-5 Week 1 for the county’s teams is a distinct possibility.

The level of difficulty has been cranked up this season for the county’s three Division 1 programs. When the KLAA opened up Week 1 to schedule nonleague opponents, Brighton, Hartland and Howell were free to work out deals with other teams.

To their credit, no one ducked tough competition. Under the KLAA’s previous format, at least one of those teams could count on getting a more manageable East Division opponent.

That isn’t the case with Brighton hosting Saline, Hartland hosting East Kentwood and Howell traveling to Hudsonville.

Fowlerville will host a strong Corunna team, while a Pinckney squad low on numbers will play at Lake Fenton.

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Hopefully, Fowlerville and Pinckney can save a road trip next year and schedule each other permanently in a matchup that will draw more interest than some of the nonleague games they arranged. It makes no sense that Fowlerville will drive past Pinckney later this year and go another hour south to play at Adrian while the Pirates are playing Richland Gull Lake.

Anyway, here are breakdowns and predictions of the Week 1 matchups in Livingston County, all of which were scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. Thursday before the Pinckney-Lake Fenton game was moved to 7 p.m. Friday. I hope to improve on a successful 32-12 season predicting games last year.

Saline at Brighton

The run of elite quarterbacks visiting Brighton continues.

Saline senior CJ Carr is the No. 1-ranked player in Michigan, according to the Detroit Free Press, and has committed to Notre Dame. In the Bulldogs’ last two games of 2022, both at home, they faced Belleville’s Bryce Underwood and Grand Ledge’s Shawn Foster.

A Brighton defense that doesn’t return a starter in the back seven will have its work cut out for it against Carr, who threw for 2,685 yards and 26 touchdowns last year. Saline will score points. It’s a matter of whether the Bulldogs, under the guidance of new starter Grant Hetherton, can play keep-up with the Hornets. Their best plan might be to play keep-away, which is what worked to perfection in a 2019 state semifinal victory over Belleville.

Prediction: Saline 35, Brighton 24

East Kentwood at Hartland

Hartland will have to pay extra attention to East Kentwood linebacker Stellan Bowman, an all-stater who is committed to Ohio University. Bowman is a disruptive force, finishing four tackles short of the school record with 128, which included 24 for losses and five sacks. Hold on to the ball, because he also forced four fumbles.

The Falcons have gone through a down cycle the last three years, going 9-16 over that time, but they play one of the toughest schedules in the state.

Hartland returns its starting quarterback, James Butzier, and some key offensive linemen, but East Kentwood is a big test for a team breaking in so many new starters.

Prediction: East Kentwood 28, Hartland 21

Howell at Hudsonville

Howell’s student section travels better than most. It will be interesting to see how many familiar faces will be in the stands cheering on the Highlanders, who will ride the bus nearly two hours for their opener.

Hudsonville is 4-5 and 3-6 the last two years after making the playoffs seven times in the previous eight, but the Eagles play a challenging nonleague schedule in addition to their brutal OK Red slate.

Playing in a different environment could be great preparation if Howell has to travel for a state playoff game, but home field will benefit Hudsonville on this night.

Prediction: Hudsonville 27, Howell 21

Corunna at Fowlerville

Corunna was a handful for Fowlerville last season, when twins Wyatt and Tarick Bower were juniors and led the Cavaliers to a 36-13 victory.

It won’t be any easier for the Gladiators now that Wyatt, a quarterback, and Tarick, a receiver, are a year older. They were part of a state championship track and field team in the spring and are among nine returning starters on offense and eight on defense.

Prediction: Corunna 35, Fowlerville 21

Pinckney at Lake Fenton

Although Pinckney has the smallest roster in Livingston County and is coming off a 3-6 season, this is the most likely victory on what could be a tough night for local teams.

The Pirates’ offense could be explosive, with record-setting receiver Nolan Carruthers returning to catch passes from promising senior Luke Marhofer. Lake Fenton is also coming off a 3-6 season, so each team is looking for a turnaround season.

Pinckney’s low numbers could become a problem in the second half of what should be a close game.

Prediction: Lake Fenton 28, Pinckney 21

Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Livingston County football Week 1 predictions, led by Saline-Brighton