This past week proved just how hard it can sometimes be to build a high school football program.
There were a few programs that thought they might have been on the verge of taking "the next step," only to be brought back to reality a little bit.
Kosmo thought for sure West Bloomfield was poised for an upset of Lake Orion on Thursday, but the state runner-up Dragons showed that West Bloomfield still isn't up to their level yet, pummelling the Lakers, 49-23.
West Bloomfield can still make the playoffs, but it still has a ways to go to compete with the likes of Lake Orion and Clarkston.
Another program with a little ways to go is Stoney Creek, which is now 0-2 after the Cougars got crushed at home by Rochester Adams, 49-8.
Stoney Creek unexpectedly went 5-4 last year and returned a good amount of kids from that team, but hasn't quite gotten it going yet.
Another program that has been rising in recent years, Lakeland, is off to a rough start.
The Eagles have made the state playoffs three years in a row, but are now 0-2 following a blowout home loss to Canton on Thursday.
Just goes to show it's not only hard to build a successful program, but also to maintain that success.