Who has the best football team in the Monroe County Region?
That’s never an easy question to answer.
It becomes even more difficult this fall because there are no non-league games pitting Region teams against each other.
All we can do is guess.
That’s exactly what The Monroe News sports department is doing.
Like previous years we are ranking the teams from 1 to 14.
It’s all speculation because scheduling and varying sizes of the schools make a true analysis nearly impossible.
Just for fun, here are the rankings for 2025.
St. Mary Catholic Central and Gibraltar Carlson share the top spot in the preseason rankings.
There also is a tie for third place with Ida and Whiteford occupying that position.
Flat Rock rounds out the top five followed by Bedford, Monroe, Airport, New Boston Huron, Summerfield, Jefferson, Milan, Dundee and Erie Mason.
We will re-visit the rankings at midseason.
1. SMCC (13-1): The Falcons have unfinished business after falling in the Division 7 state finals last season. They have to replace several key players including quarterback Ian Foster and leading rusher Drew Harris, but the defense, led by Brady Hines and Brock Cousino, should be dominant and coach Adam Kipf says the offensive tackle tandem of Chris Clarke and Jimmy Rostash could be the best he’s had in 11 years as head coach at his alma mater.
1. Gibraltar Carlson (10-2): The big news for the Marauders is that Purdue recruit Izaiah Wright is heathy again. The running back came close to 1,000 yards a year ago despite suffering an ankle injury in the second game that caused him to sit out four games and hampered him the rest of the way. The defense is built around a core of players entering their third year as starters.
3. Ida (9-2): Dean Thomas, who ran for nearly 1,500 yards last season was lost to graduation, but the best Ida teams always start with a punishing offensive line. The line is shaping up as a major strength this year and Owen Snyder is beginning his third season as the starting quarterback. The defense should be solid again.
3. Whiteford (5-5): The Bobcats wen 38-3 from 2021-2023, won a state championship in 2022 and placed second in 2023. They took a few knocks last year, but look poised to regain their former glory with all 22 starters back this fall. The offense will be a nightmare for opponents with Tre Eitniear and Drew Ruddy takings turns at quarterback.
5. Flat Rock (10-3): All-Stater Graham Junge rightfully got a lot of attention the past four years, setting new school and Region records nearly every time he took the field. Junge was lost to graduation, but don’t feel too bad for the Rams. A lot of quality players return and they have been hardened by back-to-back runs to the state semifinals.
6. Bedford (5-5): The Mules are due for some good luck on the injury front after being hampered badly the past few years. By the time they took on Gibraltar Carlson in the playoffs last season, more than half of the starters were sidelined. Watch for Trenton Smithson to have a big year on both sides of the ball.
7. Monroe (2-7): Monroe believes the new strength coach Brad Bielaniec, who served in a similar capacity at Army, Marshall and Appalachian State, will make a big difference this season. Coach Kyle Reed has tinkered with his offense in hopes of getting his top athletes open in space. Tanner Collett, a four-year starter at linebacker, could reach 400 career tackles.
8. Airport (4-5): Can momentum carry over into a new season? The Jets got off to a rough start under new coach Derek Anderson last year, dropping its first four games. There was no shame in any of those losses. Gibraltar Carlson, Riverview, Flat Rock and St. Mary Catholic Central all made long playoff runs. Winning four of the last five built hope for this season.
9. New Boston Huron (4-5): Huron is determined to return to the playoffs after sitting out the past two seasons. The Chiefs boasted of a serious, more focused attitude in training camp. There is plenty of athletic talent available to the Chiefs, who are coming off great seasons in wrestling, baseball and track and field.
10. Summerfield (8-2): The Bulldogs were one of the best feel-good stories of 2024, capturing the league title in the final year of the Tri-County Conference. There are a lot of question marks about moving into the Toledo Area Athletic Conference without many of its offensive weapons from a year ago. Look for the offensive and defensive lines to lead the charge.
11. Jefferson (1-8): The Bears finally look like a varsity team. Low numbers forced coach Rob Beaudrie to play lots of freshmen and sophomores in key roles the last two years. The roster size has nearly doubled this year and the players will be competing against foes their own age. Quarterback Luke Beaudrie is one of the Region’s most dangerous players.
12. Milan (3-6): Numbers are shrinking at Milan. It doesn’t appear as if the Big Reds will be able to field a junior varsity team this season. That’s shocking for a program that was a model for consistency, making the playoffs seven straight seasons from 2015-2021.
13. Dundee (2-7): New coach Jason Carpenter is a Milan native who earned Southeastern Conference White Coach of the Year honors at Pinckney last season. He brings in an entirely new staff who will be entrusted with installing his offensive and defensive schemes.
14. Erie Mason (1-8): Mason’s season got off to a promising start last fall with a dominant victory in the season opener. Eagle fans never saw that team on the field again as injuries took their toll. The bright spot was that lots of players gained valuable experience.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: SMCC, Carlson share top spot in rankings of Region’s football teams
Reporting by Niles Kruger, The Monroe News / The Monroe News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
