Top Five Matchups For Week Two.
By Sammy Taormina
Stoney Creek at North Farmington: The Cougars have been making a ton of statements as of late even though it was not surprising to me. Stoney Creek blew out Seaholm in Birmingham 37-13 last week and have found an emerging player in Jon Foger. Foger has emerged basically replacing Zach Denha whom has graduated. He scored twice along with Cameron Buford who also had a passing touchdown in the game. The Raiders have been very successful lately but they have had a ton of close games including last week against Adams where they needed a goal line stand to hold off the Highlanders 34-33 on the road in overtime. This will be quarterback Jacob Bousamara’s biggest test since the Detroit University-Detroit Jesuit game and we know what happened there. It will be interesting to say the least.
Oxford at Clarkston: This is a rematch of a 33-28 Wolves victory last season at Oxford. Both teams have the majority of their players back for this year’s game. Ethan Clark became a household name in this game scoring twice last season. The Wildcats have a new coach in Zach Line whom has changed the culture in Oxford. The Wildcats had to find a game last week after Lake Orion couldn’t do their rivalry game because of two positive COVID-19 tests, they found Macomb L’Anse Creuse North where they blew out the Crusaders 34-0. Clarkston survived Southfield Arts and Tech 24-17 after trailing 17-7 last week. This will be a very interesting game to keep an eye on.
Troy Athens at Ferndale: The Eagles picked up a huge overtime win last week at Avondale stunning the Yellow Jackets 22-14. Ferndale will have a much challenging road with Troy Athens coming down to Ferndale to play the Eagles. Ferndale looks to be much improved since not making the playoffs last season. The Red Hawks lost a tough one to Bloomfield Hills 21-13 on the road. They had opportunities but couldn’t convert on two occasions last week. This matchup is very interesting, both of these teams don’t know each other that much so this shapes up to be a very interesting matchup of two different styles.
Avondale at Rochester: This is an interesting matchup between two neighborhood rivals. The Falcons come down to the Blue after having it rough in the Red and White in the past few years. Rochester beat Pontiac 57-0 last week at Wisner Stadium and have looked to be improved. The Yellow Jackets came off a 22-14 loss in overtime to Ferndale at home last week. If the game comes down to a hard nose game it favors the Falcons, if it becomes an athletic game it favors Avondale. This should be a very interesting game.
Oak Park at Lake Orion: This will be the Dragons first game of the season after Lake Orion was forced to cancel their game with Oxford due to two positive COVID-19 tests within the program last week. The Dragons have some questions heading into the season especially at quarterback and on defense. Oak Park was humiliated by West Bloomfield 39-0 last week but they were without Rayshawn Benny whom was hurt and missed that game. The Knights are better than what they showed last week. This shapes up to be a very interesting game