HILLSDALE COUNTY — Week 6 solidified the early postseason outlooks for four Hillsdale County high school football teams, all of which won important victories that they hope propel them into big rivalry matchups on the horizon.
Week 6 also brought two major wins for local teams in SCAA-B play, which highlight their growth and potential to win more matchups before season’s end. But before diving into the full Week 6 high school football review, the Hillsdale Daily News will name its top performer Week 6 football athlete of the week winners.
11-player Athlete of the Week — Harper Griffiths
The Jonesville football team earned its first shut out of the 2025 season in a 20-0 victory over Addison. The victory — on homecoming night — was anchored by another standout performance by junior Harper Griffiths. Griffiths has led the team in tackles each week of the season. He added another seven solo stops against the Panthers to his season totals.
As a key piece on the offensive line, he helped pave the way for a 175-yard rushing day for junior John Milks, who scored two touchdowns. Overall, the rushing attack eclipsed 250 yards, and Griffiths and his fellow linemen held the line to allow for several big pass plays.
8-player Athlete of the Week — Jacob Drawe
Pittsford senior quarterback Jacob Drawe had 210 of his team’s 297 rushing yards in the 44-24 defeat of a strong Concord Yellowjackets squad. The win brought crucial playoff points to solidify the team’s chances of making the tournament and continued the Wildcats’ five-game winning streak and streak of scoring 45-plus points in each matchup.
He carried the ball 23 times, ran for 210 yards and scored three touchdowns. He completed eight of 11 passes for 113 yards and another scoring. Drawe would add seven tackles and two assists from his safety-hybrid position.
Week 6 Top Performers
Week 6 Scores
Week 6 Biggest Takeaway
11-man playoff picture becomes clearer
With their big time conference victories, Jonesville and Reading solidified their chances of making the 11-player MHSAA playoffs.
Jonesville stands at 4-2 overall, still right in the fight for the Cascades West — depending on how the next two games go. Jonesville currently stands at 25th overall in the playoff points standings for Division 7, with 25.167 points. Jonesville could conceivably make the playoffs winning just one of its last three games, but the Comets wouldn’t want a repeat of last year’s overtime loss to Manchester in the Cascades crossover game.
The best case scenario is Jonesville wins both of its next two C-West games — at Columbia Central and home against Vandercook lake — and wins its game against the crossover C-East team. A 7-2 record might be enough to earn home field advantage round one of the postseason.
At 3-3 overall, the 2024 district champion Rangers maintain their status of being a D8 playoff team with their Battle for the Bell win over Quincy. This was the second-straight Bell win for the Rangers, which couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. Last year, Reading made it into the postseason with a 5-4 record, but this year might need a better result to secure a spot in the 32-team field. Reading’s 21.833 playoff points currently puts them 27th. Winning their last three games against Union City, Bronson and a Soutwest 10 crossover team will be enough to put them into the playoffs. However, the Rangers realistically can only afford one more loss before their hopes of a postseason are shattered.
8-player postseason odds
As expected, Waldrona nd Pittsford remained in the 8-player, Division 2 postseason cutline with their Week 6 wins. Pittsford and Waldron both remain 5-1 and are headed to a Week 8 battle for the SCAA-B title. However, regardless of that game’s outcome, both teams will have curcial non-conference matchups that could help their playoff points and solidify them both as playoff bound. Waldron heads to Lenawee Christian (3-3, D1) in Week 7. Pittsford faces 5-1 Climax-Scotts to end its season, a 8-player D1 team.
Camden-Frontier massive victory over Burr Oak to stay at 3-3 overall technically keeps their postseason hopes alive. The RedHawks and first-year coach Kevin Slusher might have to win out, or at least beat one of Pittsford or Deerfield, to have a shot at making the cut.
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This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Jacob Drawe and Harper Griffiths named Week 6 Football Athletes of the Week
Reporting by Joseph Flaherty, Hillsdale Daily News / Hillsdale Daily News
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