Two unbeaten Michigan powers meet Thursday night in Grandville, and both arrive with something to prove after opening the 2026 season in very different ways.
No. 2 Cass Tech, 1-0, rolled past Michigan City (Indiana) 62-0 in the Prep Kickoff Classic at Wayne State University.
No. 22 Grandville, also 1-0, had to grind out a 29-28 road win over Muskegon to get its season started.
The Bulldogs now get home field for a showdown that could tell us plenty about both teams early in the fall.
The game is set for Thursday, Sept. 3, with kickoff at 7 p.m. ET in Grandville, Michigan.
Cass Tech looked every bit like a team ready to make another run. The Technicians put up 62 points and never gave up a score in their opener, a statement performance that immediately put them back in the conversation among the state’s best.
Junior quarterback Donald Tabron II, a five-star Class of 2028 prospect committed to Texas A&M in August, played just enough to remind everyone why he is so highly regarded. He completed 4 of 9 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns in the first half before the game got too out of hand for much more.
Grandville’s opener was a different kind of test entirely. Instead of cruising, the Bulldogs had to survive a tight one against a perennial state power. Their one-point victory at Muskegon gave them an early signature win and a little momentum heading into this week’s home date.
There’s also recent history between these teams. Cass Tech edged Grandville 31-28 in Detroit last season, one of the Technicians’ closest regular-season games before they went on to reach the Michigan Division 1 state championship game. That narrow result gives Grandville a clear shot at payback on its own field.
For Cass Tech, this is a chance to show the opener was no fluke. For Grandville, it’s another swing at one of Michigan’s traditional powers, with last year’s three-point loss still fresh and a chance to erase it right there at home.
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