ONTV Feature Writer: Sammy TarominaDid the Oxford Wildcats take a risk???
In games or athletics there are risks in the Wildcats case hiring legendary Oxford alum Zach Line to take over your football program brings risks.Line takes over for legendary coach Bud Rowley who spent 43 years at Oxford. He won 264 games for the Wildcats in his career including a State Championship in 1992. Line played for Rowley in which his senior season in 2008 he averaged over 172 rushing yards a game. Line is also in the School’s Hall Of Fame.
No one will ever criticize his accomplishments at Oxford, Southern Methodist University, and the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints.The risk is that Line does not have any coaching experience. Oxford is a very tough job especially with the schedule and division they are in. The community is as passionate as anywhere for football. He has to try to convince them that he is the right choice. There are still Rowley supporters hoping that he would stay at Oxford but there were those who wanted change within the football program.
Line will have to handle not just the varsity program but also the middle school, sub-varsities, and youth football programs to get his footprint on the program. It will not be an easy sell. I don’t call this a rebuild at Oxford despite finishing 1-8 and missing the playoffs last season but it will take time for Line to put his program in place. I look at a perfect example being three coaches that Line will see this season in West Bloomfield’s Ron Bellamy, Oak Park’s Greg Carter, and Lake Orion’s John Blackstock. It took Carter one season to turn the Knights into a contender, two seasons for Blackstock at Lake Orion, and Bellamy three seasons.
The Wildcats have the talent but it will be interesting to see if Line goes to more of a pro-style offense that he has seen with the Mustangs, Vikings, and Saints. The pro-style offense does have a ton of “Pound the Rock” stuff with the power offense.
Oxford does return a ton of play making ability led by quarterback Brady Carpenter. They have a really tough schedule in 2020 which greets Line. Oxford will see all nine teams on their schedule that made the playoffs last season. They are in the Red which is one of the toughest leagues in the State which features the likes of West Bloomfield, Southfield Arts and Tech, Oak Park, Clarkston, and arch rival Lake Orion. The crossovers are also brutal with Stoney Creek and North Farmington and that’s not mentioning their non-league opening up against Romeo and closing out the season against Sterling Heights Stevenson.
Line will have a ton of challenges for sure but was a risk for Oxford Athletic Director Joe Ackerman to go with Line instead of another former Wildcats player and current Troy Athens coach Billy Keenest and longtime assistant Mike Brown???
We shall see what happens.
About Me
Saginaw BayI have highest function of autism (Asperger Syndrome.) I’m a huge Dallas Stars fan. I like to play and watch football, especially when the Dragons play on Friday nights. I am a 2006 alum and used to play football for the Dragons. I ran track, I ran the 100, 200, 400 meter dashes along with shot-put and discus. During my time in Orion I was a manager for Junior Varsity Boys Basketball team. I’m the volleyball, girls basketball, and football announcer for the team and do the book on the road for girls basketball. I do the clock for volleyball in the fall along with girls basketball in the winter and announce some boys basketball games as well. In the spring I coach shot-put at Scripps Middle School, in my fifth season coaching. I run the shot-put for high school meets. I played Special Olympics Basketball, I’ve won three gold medals for them. I host “Between Taorminas” which is on ONTV along with a podcast called “OAA Now”. In other various things outside of Lake Orion, I love to jet ski over Saginaw Bay. Saginaw Bay is basically my life. I’m a trained weather spotter for the National Weather Service for Oakland and Huron counties.View my complete profile