Alcona Football Aims for Playoff Eligibility

ALCONA, MI – The Alcona Tigers football team has been hard at work in the offseason as they work on becoming playoff eligible in the 2024 season.

The Tigers finished their 2022-2023 season with a 7-2 record. Despite the team’s success, Alcona did not have a chance to appear in playoffs because of enrollment issues. The school just missed the 215 student cutoff enforced by the Michigan High School Athletic Association for eight-player football. Head Coach Jason Somers is leading the charge for an Alcona playoff berth. “We would be considered division zero of eight-man football which there’s no playoffs for,” he said. “We were stuck last year even though we had a pretty successful season.”

Coach Somers has been working with several other coaches who are in the same spot as Alcona. Ultimately, the main objective is for the MHSAA to give playoff recognition to their team. Alcona remains hopeful regarding their playoff bid and Somers knows the chance would motivate his team. “That’s the critical thing to all high school football players,” he said. “They want something to work towards.”

While the decision is unclear for the upcoming year, the Tigers are optimistic that the answer will given ahead of the 2024 season. Alcona is looking at their 2023 schedule as an opportunity to improve if the decision goes their way in 2024. “We’ll continue to use league play as a motivator,” he said. “We’ll be who we can be no matter what the situation from the state might be.”

The Alcona Tigers 2023-2024 football season kicks off on August 25 against the Mio Thunderbolts.