Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart to Face California Opponent

Michigan high school football is on the road to make history this fall.

Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart Academy is set to become the first known Michigan high school football program to face a high school from California when the Fighting Irish take on the St. Bernard’s Crusaders of Eureka, California.

The historic interstate matchup arranged directly between Sacred Heart Academy and St. Bernard’s Academy, with both schools embracing the opportunity to create a unique interstate showcase. Scheduled for week 4, September 18th and is expected to be played at Trine University in Angola, Indiana, pending final venue approval.

While Michigan schools have long competed against opponents from neighboring states, this game represents a new milestone for Michigan prep sports. No known Michigan high school football program has previously faced a California high school. The opportunity stems from a major rule change adopted by the MHSAA in 2023. The MHSAA replaced its longtime 300-mile travel restriction with a broader regional scheduling policy, allowing member schools to play opponents from any state or country, provided the game is held in Michigan or a contiguous state or province: Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin or Ontario.

Since the rule change, Michigan schools have begun exploring more unique interstate matchups. In 2023, Detroit Cass Tech traveled to Youngstown State to take on St. Joseph Regional of Montvale, New Jersey. In 2024, DeWitt hosted Hurricane High School from West Virginia. Sacred Heart’s meeting with St. Bernard’s now pushes those scheduling boundaries even farther.

The game also marks another chapter in the Fighting Irish’s recent resurgence. After transitioning to 8-player football in 2018, Sacred Heart returned to the 11-player ranks last season, making 2026 its second season back. The program has a proud football tradition, highlighted by capturing the 2010 Division 8 State Championship.

The Fighting Irish have been led since 2022 by head coach Joshua Wheaton, who took over the program after spending a decade as an assistant coach at Mt. Pleasant High School. Under Wheaton, Sacred Heart Academy has continued building toward competing against top-tier competition, culminating in one of the most unique games on the 2026 high school football calendar.

St. Bernard’s Academy enters the 2026 season after a 10-2 campaign and a trip to the CIF North Coast Section Division 6 semifinals. Located in Eureka along California’s northern coast about 45 minutes south of Redwood National and State Parks. The Crusaders will make the cross-country trip to face Sacred Heart in what promises to be a landmark event for both programs several weeks into the regular season.

Should the game be played as scheduled, it will mark another step in the evolution of interstate scheduling for Michigan prep sports.