With high school football around the corner, here's what stands out when looking at the Livingston County schedule.
Want to get the first look at what Howell’s football team plans to do for an encore in 2025?
Prepare to take a road trip.
The Highlanders, coming off their first 9-0 regular season since 1963, will travel 208 miles north to face Traverse City West in the season opener on Aug. 28.
Led by Howell’s overall record of 11-1, county teams went 31-20 last year, a strong bounce back from a collective 15-31 mark the previous season. Three of the county’s five teams reached the state playoffs.
With the opening kickoff less than one month away, here are some observations about the 2025 county football schedule:
New schedule rotation
Livingston County’s three KLAA teams are beginning a new rotation for their nonleague openers this season, with each facing an opponent that reached the state playoffs last season.
In addition to Howell’s home-and-home with Traverse City West, Brighton host Dexter and Hartland will travel to Oxford to begin two-year contracts. In the two seasons since the KLAA opened up Week 1 for nonleague games, county teams have gone 1-5 in those matchups.
Being larger Division 1 schools, Brighton, Hartland and Howell will probably always take on tough competition in Week 1 and risk an opening loss. Nobody from the nearby Flint Metro League or Lakes Valley Conference will be calling any time soon to set up a game.
Hartland catches a break
A lot of emotional energy is expended during a rivalry week, so imagine how difficult it was for Hartland the last two seasons having to face its two rivals in back-to-back weeks.
The Eagles handled the schedule well two years ago, beating Howell one week after losing to Brighton. They were swept by their rivals last season, which probably would’ve happened regardless of when the games were played.
Hartland gets a bit of a reprieve this season, facing Brighton in Week 4 and Howell in Week 6, with what could be a trap game against Salem in between.
Still scratching our heads
It continues to be baffling that Fowlerville and Pinckney won’t play one another yet again this season.
Instead, this will be the fifth straight season that two county teams of comparable size and ability refuse to play one another.
The last time they played was in 2020 when Pinckney rolled to a 41-0 victory. That result was an anomaly, because the two teams would be evenly matched more often than not.
Fowlerville fans would certainly appreciate the 42-mile round trip between schools rather than being asked to drive 142 round-trip miles to Marshall or who knows how far for a game against Cheboygan that will probably be played at a neutral site between two schools that are 246 miles apart.
Pinckney fans would rather drive to Fowlerville than 106 round trip miles to Owosso for the season opener. At least the Week 8 game against Carrollton, which required a 150-mile round trip last year, will be a home game for the Pirates this season.
The fans and players will lose out for as long as this one-time rivalry remains in mothballs.
2025 Livingston County football schedule
Thursday, Aug. 28
Dexter at Brighton, 7 p.m.
Howell at Traverse City West, 7 p.m.
Corunna at Fowlerville, 7 p.m.
Pinckney at Owosso, 7 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 29
Hartland at Oxford, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 5
Brighton at Canton, 7 p.m.
Novi at Hartland, 7 p.m.
Salem at Howell, 7 p.m.
Fowlerville at Marshall, 7 p.m.
Pinckney at Tecumseh, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 12
Brighton at Novi, 7 p.m.
Hartland at Plymouth, 7 p.m.
Northville at Howell, 7 p.m.
St. Johns at Fowlerville, 7 p.m.
Jackson at Pinckney, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 19
Hartland at Brighton, 7 p.m.
Howell at Plymouth, 7 p.m.
Fowlerville at Williamston, 7 p.m.
Pinckney at Adrian, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 26
Northville at Brighton, 7 p.m.
Salem at Hartland, 7 p.m.
Canton at Howell, 7 p.m.
Haslett at Fowlerville, 7 p.m.
Ypsilanti at Pinckney, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 3
Howell at Hartland, 7 p.m.
Brighton at Plymouth, 7 p.m.
Fowlerville at Lansing Eastern, 7 p.m.
Ypsilanti Lincoln at Pinckney, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 10
Brighton at Salem, 7 p.m.
Hartland at Northville, 7 p.m.
Novi at Howell, 7 p.m.
Mason at Fowlerville, 7 p.m.
Pinckney at Chelsea, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 17
Howell at Brighton, 7 p.m.
Canton at Hartland, 7 p.m.
Carrollton at Pinckney, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 18
Cheboygan vs. Fowlerville, 2:30 p.m. (location TBD)
Friday, Oct. 24
KLAA crossovers at East Division, 7 p.m.
Charlotte at Fowlerville, 7 p.m.
Pinckney at Ann Arbor Pioneer, 7 p.m.
Contact Bill Khan at [email protected]. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Breaking down 2025 Livingston County high school football schedule
Category: General Sports
