DEARBORN — It was business as usual for Dearborn Public School teams in 2009 as Edsel Ford, Dearborn, and Fordson all finished with winning records.

The Pioneers fell just short of the playoffs after a tough 25-7 loss to Highland Park last weekend and a 5-4 season, but both the Thunderbirds and Tractors have playoff games at home to look forward to on Friday as the march to Ford Field in Detroit gets underway.

Undefeated Fordson opens playoffs at home

The Tractors rolled to their second straight undefeated regular season, finishing 9-0, but they face a test in the first round against Detroit Cass Tech at home on Friday at 7 p.m.

Cass Tech comes into the game with a 5-3 record but they boast several Division-I caliber college prospects including highly rated cornerback Dior Mathis.

Mathis will probably cover fellow college prospect Baquer Sayed, a receiver, in what could be the most exciting matchup of the night.

But Fordson head coach Fouad Zaban knows that it will take a team effort to win.

“I still think our strength is our depth,” he said. “We are not as deep as most big programs but we are definitely deeper than normal for Fordson.”

The Tractors beat Ann Arbor Pioneer 24-21 last week in a close game that could prepare them well for the Division I playoffs.

“Being battle tested is good for the simple reason that it teaches your kids how to dig deep and not give in,” he said. “I feel our last game taught us how to overcome some obstacles.”

Fordson has a different team from the squad that made it to the State Semi-Final last year before falling to Lake Orion, but the returning players continue to use the loss as motivation.

“Absolutely it has been a driving force, but that doesn’t mean that has been the only thing we have thought about,” Zaban said. “We really had to try and put that behind us and move on. But we definitely have that in the back of our minds.

“Plus the majority of these kids did not get to play in last year so they have their own legacy to achieve.”

Edsel Ford faces Inkster, nation’s top quarterback

It seems as if no matter what Edsel Ford does, the publicity almost always goes to their opponent.

Head coach Mark Tyler is tired of answering questions about teams like Dearborn, Fordson, and now Inkster, and for good reason, because his Thunderbirds finished the year 8-1 and deserve high praise for what was one of their best seasons ever.

Edsel Ford wins behind a powerful running attack led by Kevin King at running back and a strong offensive line featuring tough blockers like Yousef Bawayeh at center. Quarterback time will be split between the year’s original starter, Nolan Siemaz, and Hassan Ayoub, who filled in for Siemaz while he was hurt and impressed Tyler.

On defense, the linebackers led the way and will be charged with stopping Devin Gardner, Inkster’s 6-foot-4 quarterback who happens to be the top-rated QB in the country by Rivals.com and an excellent runner as well as thrower.

“Our linebackers are going to have to be able to contain Gardner when he tucks the ball and goes on his running way, so those guys are going to be very important to us,” Tyler said.

The running game will be the key for Edsel Ford on offense to succeed against the 5-3 Vikings.

“At this time of the year, it’s good to have a solid running game and we have that,” Tyler said. “We’re going to try and establish our offense.”

Tyler is hoping that the experience of making it to the playoffs last year, where they lost to Wyandotte in the first round, will help lead to bigger things.

“This is our group of seniors’ third playoff go-round,” he said. “They fully understand what it takes and that it’s all about giving 100% to play at a high level in the playoffs. But they also understand they have to remain fundamentally sound at the same time.”

Dearborn looks to next year after missing playoffs

Meanwhile across town, the Dearborn Pioneers are dealing with an early end to their season after missing the playoffs.

Head coach Dave Mifsud talked about why the team couldn’t get over the hump.

“Overall, we feel this team underachieved, although they showed some character and fought to the end. For some reason this team did not have ‘it’ – that intangible that separates you from everyone else.

“We think that we were very close to having a terrific team – but just never got there.”

Departing seniors of note mentioned by Mifsud include Nabih Saad, Nores Fradi, Ali Jawad, Zach Spearman and Austin Martinez. Fradi, a linebacker, plans to play for Central Michigan after verbally agreeing to their scholarship offer.

Dearborn will return six starters on offense and four starters on defense next year. Mifsud hopes they can take the program back to championship heights.

“I think we will be pretty solid,” he said, mentioning the defense as a strength. “We have a good core of JV players moving up too, so I have optimism for next year’s team.”