Northern Michigan Football League
This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2015) |
Founded | 2014 |
---|---|
Division | MHSAA |
No. of teams | 24 |
Region | Northern Michigan |
Locations | |
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The Northern Michigan Football League is an interscholastic athletic conference affiliated with the Michigan High School Athletic Association. It is located in Northern Michigan and contains twenty teams that encompasses fourteen counties: Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Chippewa, Crawford, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Iosco, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Mackinac, Ogemaw and Otsego.
History
The League formed from the merger of the Lake Michigan Conference and the Northwest Conference, for football only. The schools were then split up based on enrollment and competitiveness, with the larger schools forming the Legends Division, and the smaller ones forming the Legacy Division. Mesick, who was a member of the Northwest Conference, declined to join the league, leaving the Legacy Division with one school less than the Legend Division.[1] Before the 2015 season, it was announced that the six members of the Ski Valley Conference not dropping to Eight-man Football as well as Cheboygan, Onekema and Traverse City Christian High Schools would join the league during the 2016 season, causing the league to expand to three divisions; the Leaders, Legends, and Legacy divisions.[2][3] The league is also considering the applications of several other schools, and the possibility of further divisions to help with travel costs. On October 6, 2015, Traverse City Christian announced that it would not be joining the NMFL and that Mesick would be replacing them in the conference on a two-year trial basis.
For the 2017 season, more changes will be happening, as four schools will be making the move to eight-man football. In the last few months of 2016, Central Lake,[4][5] Mesick,[4][5] Onekama,[6] and Suttons Bay[5] all announced moves to the eight-man game. However, for the 2018 season, Newberry, from the former Mid Eastern Football Conference, was brought into the league.[7] This did not last long, however, as for the 2019 season, Newberry, along with Gaylord St. Mary announced their own move to the 8 man game as well. Starting in 2020, the league will welcome Sault Ste. Marie and West Branch-Ogemaw Heights, who both previously were independent. In corresponding moved Kalkaska and Boyne city will move from the Legends Division to the Leaders Division, and Frankfort will move from the Leaders Division to the Legacy Division. This aligns the league, with the exception of Traverse City St. Francis, to divisions based on enrollment sizes, with the Legends being the largest, Leaders being the middle, and Legacy being the smallest schools.[8]
Effective 2021, the NMFL added 2 new schools, Tawas & Oscoda. Tawas was added to the largest division, Legends, while Oscoda was added to the smallest division, Legacy. Former North Star League foes Rogers City & Lincoln-Alcona were both originally set the join the Legacy Division, but opted instead to drop to 8-Man Football.[9]
Member schools
Current members
Team | School | Location | Joined | Type | Enrollment | All-Sports Conference | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Legends Division | ||||||||
Benzie Central Huskies | Benzie Central | Benzonia Township | 2014 | Public | 337 | Northwest Conference | ||
Cheboygan Chiefs | Cheboygan | Cheboygan | 2016 | Public | 602 | Straits Area Conference | ||
Grayling Vikings | Grayling | Frederic Township | 2014 | Public | 439 | Lake Michigan Conference | ||
Kingsley Stags | Kingsley | Kingsley | 2014 | Public | 486 | Northwest Conference | ||
Ogemaw Heights Falcons | West Branch Ogemaw Heights | West Branch Township | 2020 | Public | 556 | Independent | ||
Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils | Sault Area | Sault Ste. Marie | 2020 | Public | 884 | Straits Area Conference | ||
St. Francis Gladiators | Traverse City St. Francis | Traverse City | 2014 | Private | 356 | Lake Michigan Conference | ||
Leaders Division | ||||||||
Boyne City Ramblers | Boyne City | Boyne City | 2014 | Public | 432 | Lake Michigan Conference | ||
Charlevoix Rayders | Charlevoix | Marion Township | 2014 | Public | 281 | Lake Michigan Conference | ||
Elk Rapids Elks | Elk Rapids | Elk Rapids | 2014 | Public | 392 | Lake Michigan Conference | ||
Kalkaska Blazers | Kalkaska | Kalkaska | 2014 | Public | 447 | Lake Michigan Conference | ||
Mancelona Ironmen | Mancelona | Mancelona Township | 2016 | Public | 269 | Ski Valley Conference | ||
Tawas Braves | Tawas Area | Tawas Township | 2021 | Public | 373 | Independent | ||
Legacy Division | ||||||||
East Jordan Red Devils | East Jordan | East Jordan | 2014 | Public | 239 | Lake Michigan Conference | ||
Frankfort Panthers | Frankfort | Frankfort | 2014 | Public | 155 | Northwest Conference | ||
Glen Lake Lakers | Maple City Glen Lake | Kasson Township | 2014 | Public | 200 | Northwest Conference | ||
Harbor Springs Rams | Harbor Springs | Harbor Springs | 2014 | Public | 325[a] | Lake Michigan Conference | ||
Johannesburg-Lewiston Cardinals | Johannesburg-Lewiston | Charlton Township | 2016 | Public | 209 | Ski Valley Conference | ||
Oscoda Owls | Oscoda | Au Sable Township | 2021 | Public | 311 | North Star League | ||
St. Ignace Saints | Saint Ignace | St. Ignace Township | 2016 | Public | 201 | Straits Area Conference |
- ^ Co-Op with Harbor Light Christian (50 Students) & St. Michael Academy (31 Students)
Future members
Former members
Team | School | Location | Joined | Departed | Enrollment | Type | Current Conference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Central Lake Trojans | Central Lake | Central Lake | 2016 | 2017 | 84 | Public | Ski Valley Conference (8-Man) |
Gaylord St. Mary Snowbirds | Gaylord St. Mary | Gaylord | 2016 | 2019 | 69 | Private | Ski Valley Conference (8-Man) |
Indian River Inland Lakes Bulldogs | Inland Lakes | Tuscarora Township | 2016 | 2020 | 177 | Public | Ski Valley Conference (8-Man) |
Mesick Bulldogs | Mesick | Mesick | 2016 | 2017 | 197 | Public | West Michigan 8-Man Football League |
Newberry Indians | Newberry | Newberry | 2018 | 2019 | 171 | Public | Great Lakes 8-Man Conference - East |
Onekama Portagers | Onekama | Onekama | 2016 | 2017 | 99 | Public | Independent (8-Man) |
Suttons Bay Norsemen | Suttons Bay | Suttons Bay | 2014 | 2017 | 132 | Public | Independent (8-Man) |
Football Champions
Year | NMFL I | NMFL II | |
---|---|---|---|
2014 | Boyne City 12-1 (6-0) | Suttons Bay 9-2 (5-0) | |
Year | Legends | Leaders | |
2015 | St. Francis 12-1 (6-0) | Frankfort 9-3 (5-0) | |
Year | Legends | Leaders | Legacy |
2016 | St. Francis 11-1 (6-0) | Frankfort 11-1 (5-0) | St. Ignace 11-2 (6-0) |
2017 | Boyne City 9-1 (7-0) | Maple City Glen Lake 7-3 (5-0) | Gaylord St. Mary 10-1 (5-0) |
2018 | St. Francis 12-1 (6-0) | Maple City Glen Lake 5-5 (4-0) | Johannesburg-Lewiston 9-2 (6-0) |
2019 | Kingsley 12-1 (6-0) | Maple City Glen Lake 12-2 (4-0) | Johannesburg-Lewiston 10-1 (4-0) |
2020 | Kingsley 8-1 (6-0) | Charlevoix 8-1 (5-0) | Johannesburg-Lewiston 10-1 (4-0) |
2021 | St. Francis 12-1 (7-0) | Boyne City 9-2 (5-0) | East Jordan 6-3 (5-0) |
State Championship Appearances
Season | NMFL | Non-NMFL | Site | Division | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Maple City Glen Lake (12-2) | 14 | Jackson Lumen Christi (11-3) | 26 | Ford Field • Detroit, MI | 6 | [10] |
2019 | Maple City Glen Lake (12-2) | 0 | Monroe Saint Mary Catholic (12-1) | 7 | Ford Field • Detroit, MI | 6 | [11] |
2020 | St. Francis (9-3) | 35 | New Lothrop (11-0) | 42 | Ford Field • Detroit, MI | 7 | [12] |
Membership Timeline
![](/images/timeline/jblkypzt6ub4g6m1kulr64x9hg1h0sm.png)
Legends Leaders Legacy
References
- ^ "New League to begin play". Record-Eagle.
- ^ COOK, JAMES. "Onekama, Cheboygan join NMFL; more on the way?". Traverse City Record-Eagle.
- ^ DOBROWOLSKI, CHRIS. "Conference up to 22 teams, 3 divisions". Traverse City Record-Eagle.
- ^ a b "Mesick Football Drops to 8-man". November 23, 2016.
- ^ a b c Beeby, Harrison (December 12, 2016). "Suttons Bay football program moving to 8-man division". WPBN.
- ^ Yoshonis, Scott (December 13, 2016). "Onekama makes the switch to 8-player football". Manistee News Advocate.
- ^ "West PAC to add three football teams in 2018, Newberry to join NMFL".
- ^ dkochanny@petoskeynews.com, Drew Kochanny (231) 439-9345. "Northern Michigan Football League changes coming at start of 2020 season". Petoskey News-Review.
- ^ "3 Join NMFL". Record-Eagle.com.
- ^ "GL-JLC". MHSAA.
- ^ "2019 Class 6 Championship" (PDF).
- ^ "TCSF-NL". MHSAA.
External links
- Boyne City Public Schools
- Charlevoix Public Schools
- East Jordan Public Schools
- Elk Rapids Public Schools
- Grayling Public Schools
- Harbor Springs Public Schools
- Kalkaska Public Schools
- Grand Traverse Catholic Schools
- Glen Lake Community Schools
- Kingsley Area Schools
- Benzie Schools
- Frankfort-Elberta Area Schools
- Suttons Bay Public Schools
- Onekama Consolidated Schools
- Cheboygan Area Schools
- Pages using the EasyTimeline extension
- Articles needing additional references from April 2015
- All articles needing additional references
- Michigan high school sports conferences
- High school sports conferences and leagues in the United States
- Northern Michigan
- 2014 establishments in Michigan
- American football in Michigan