Shrine Catholic will open the MHSAA Division 8 football playoffs as the No. 2 seed in Region 4, hosting Marine City Cardinal Mooney on Oct. 30 or 31 in Royal Oak.

The Michigan High School Athletic Association released its 2026 playoff bracket on Sunday, Oct. 25. The Knights (8-1) earned a 39.778 playoff-point average, the highest in Region 4, District 2. Cardinal Mooney (6-3) enters as the No. 7 regional seed with a 25.889 average.

The matchup is a rematch. Shrine Catholic beat Cardinal Mooney 38-7 on Oct. 3 in a Catholic High School League game, piling up 305 rushing yards and 113 passing yards, according to MaxPreps.

Senior running back Jaycee Foster has been the engine of the Knights’ offense all season. Foster averages 158.6 rushing yards per game and has scored 17 touchdowns in the statistics posted on MaxPreps. Senior Owen Wisniewski leads the receiving corps at 47.0 yards per game and has two interceptions on defense.

Head coach Chris Kelly’s squad went 4-0 in CHSL Intersectional 2 play to finish first in the league standings. The Knights’ lone loss came Saturday, Oct. 24, when Clarkston Everest Collegiate beat them 34-7 in the CHSL Cardinal championship game at Ford Field, as The Oakland Press reported. Everest recovered a fumble and converted an onside kick early, building a lead the Knights could not overcome. Luke Robinson caught an 11-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter for Shrine’s only score.

Everest Collegiate (8-1) is the No. 3 regional seed and is in Shrine’s district, hosting Allen Park Cabrini (5-4). If both Shrine and Everest win, they would meet in the district final the weekend of Nov. 6-7.

In the other half of Region 4, District 1 features Madison Heights Madison (7-2) hosting Sterling Heights Parkway Christian (5-4) and Southfield Bradford Academy (6-3) hosting Burton Atherton (6-3).

Under MHSAA rules, the highest-seeded team hosts through the first three rounds. Tickets for the district semifinal cost $8 and are sold online only through GoFan. A potential path to the Division 8 state championship game would end at Ford Field in Detroit on Friday, Nov. 27, with kickoff scheduled for 9:30 a.m.

Fans should check GoFan or the Shrine Catholic athletics department for game-day details.