by orionontv | Aug 22, 2024 | Feature Writers, High School Sports
Written Wednesday August 21st at 2:20 PM
ONTV News Story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoMLYqQF3g8
Podcasts
Tyler Kieft
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5H0mhi6z1E
Scott Burnstein and Doug Corless
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKw-ZcIj474&t=82s
Civic Center TV Interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_K1oE4Eq3A
BLUE:
Preview Show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vkx9Mz1iw64
DIVISION RECAP/STORYLINES:
This is a crazy division with seven teams this season. All seven teams are more than capable of winning this division. Seaholm won the division last season but they lost a lot of proven talent to where there are questions. Troy might have the best quarterback in the division but they have questions at running back along with depth concerns. Bloomfield Hills had one win last season, what will the Blackhawks be this season. Troy Athens has a ton of questions despite them saying they have put everything together. Farmington comes from the White after a rough year last season. North Farmington has a chance get back to being themselves after a rough three years. Oak Park will look to have a bounce back year. This division should be really interesting.
Can Farmington put it together???
Can North Farmington bounce back after two disappointing seasons???
Will Troy Athens be a postseason team???
Can Troy benefit from playing a tough non conference schedule???
What’s next for Seaholm???
Can Oak Park get back to their old selves???
What to expect with Bloomfield Hills???
COMBINED SCHEDULES WITH LAST SEASON’S RECORDS WITH THIS SEASON’S SCHEDULES:
Farmington 46-40
Seaholm 45-45
Troy 44-42
Bloomfield Hills 37-47
North Farmington 37-51
Oak Park 36-49
Troy Athens 35-52
MANAGEABLE SCHEDULE: Farmington: The Falcons could be poised to make a return to the postseason after missing the postseason last season. The schedule looks very manageable in what will be anyone’s division to take despite playing teams that went 46-40 on their schedule last season. They have Oak Park, Holly, Troy Athens, Seaholm, and Lake Orion coming to Falcon Field in which those games will be covered by Farmington TV-10. They have a really tricky game going to Ron Holland Field which they didn’t play their arch rivals last season. “It hurt our kids and our community that we didn’t get to have the rivalry game last year with them, I think it’s huge for just the atmosphere for high school football when you know you have a rivalry game which has been big the last couple years that we’ve played it, our kids are looking forward to it, that’s a game we’ve always had circled on our calendar” Coach Jason Albrecht said about playing North Farmington. They have to go to Troy in week seven, and Dearborn (Dearborn Heights Crestwood) in week nine. Farmington could be a team that could make a ton of noise this season as mentioned and the schedule could help them out.
NIGHTMARE SCHEDULE: Troy Athens: The Red Hawks have not had the best of seasons as of late only making the postseason once since 2011 but the change to the Wing T has helped Coach Tom Cook and Troy Athens. The Red Hawks are playing teams that went 35-52 last season but they have a really tough stretch of games which includes Clarkston, Berkley, Oak Park, and North Farmington but they all come to John R Road. They have to go to Troy, Farmington, and Seaholm which will be really tough games. It’s going to be a really challenging road for Troy Athens this season. “If we want to end up to where we want to go we need to make sure we’re playing the toughest teams that we can find” said Cook on the schedule.
TEAM ON THE RISE: Oak Park: The Knights were very young which resulted in them struggling last season. There is no reason why they should be much improved this season especially playing teams that went 36-49 last season. Oak Park has Royal Oak, Seaholm, North Farmington, Bloomfield Hills and Lapeer coming to Knight Valley which seems very doable. They have to go to Farmington and Oxford while Troy and Troy Athens looks winnable. Overall the Knights have took their lumps, they could surprise some folks and be back in the conversation.
TEAM THAT’S IN TROUBLE: Troy: The Colts have gotten a ton of hype with several players going to play in college (Noah Oury, Jailen Peacock, and Lucas Tic) but they have a ton of questions coming into the season. The touchdown pass by Fraser on the last play of the game kept Troy out of the playoffs last season (fell 20-19.) Troy will have a tougher non-conference schedule and see teams that went 44-42 last season. They have Pontiac as their first non-conference game but they have to play against Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (Home) and Lake Orion (Road) which will be really tough games. The Colts have to go to Ron Holland to close the season and Oak Park and Farmington come to Troy. This is a team that can’t afford a bad loss, if they do then they could be seeing the same fate they had last season.
FARMINGTON FALCONS:
LAST SEASON’S RECORD: 2-7, 1-4 White. Didn’t make Postseason.
POINTS SCORED: 142 (15.7 ppg.) 35 White (7 ppg.)
POINTS AGAINST: 295 (32.7 ppg.) 179 White (35.8 ppg.)
KEY PLAYER: Trenton Dardon-Running Back/Linebacker.
STRENGTHS: Proven Experience
CONCERNS: Mental Mindset, Depth
GAME OF THE YEAR: August 29 vs Oak Park.
PROJECTED RECORD: 8-1. 6-0 Blue.
PLAYOFF TEAM: Yes.
The Falcons were really young last season which showed with their record and the points allowed on defense. They will look to make the postseason for the fifth time in seven years this season in a new division. “Last year was rough, we moved up a division after being really successful 22 season (went 6-4, lost 41-28 to Temperance Bedford in the first round,) we had quite a bit of returning guys at certain positions but we were really young at a lot of positions especially our offensive line and we had a new quarterback and obviously those are like I always feel like some of the most important, everything starts up front for us, playing two state champions doesn’t help when they are in your divisions and Groves and Rochester were two really strong teams” said coach Jason Albrecht. Farmington should be much improved for Albrecht being in the Blue and having a ton of proven experience coming back. “The big mindset for us this offseason and for me was getting our kids to understand is that people aren’t going to show up and bow down to you and we had a good year one year and we can’t have fallbacks like we did last year, I think our kids really took it to heart and put together a really strong offseason for us” Albrecht added. The Falcons have Julian Johnson coming back at quarterback. Johnson seen time last season and took a ton of lumps. Johnson should be in line to have much better season. “That’s huge having him back” Albrecht said of Johnson. The offensive and defensive lines is where everything starts for Farmington. They have a proven lineman in Brady Patricia coming back. “Brady has started on the offensive line since his sophomore season and has dabbled at times on the defensive line but he’s that guy that veteran on our o-line that we’re looking forward to having his guidance with some of the kids coming up from the JV as well” said Albrecht. They also have Vaughn Hoffmeyer, Justin Quin, and Evan Simms also on the offensive and defensive lines alongside Patricia. All three players were sophomores last season and Albright has been pleased with how they’ve developed this offseason. “I’m pleased with how they’ve grown physically and caught up to the speed of the game, last year they started for us quite a bit and look forward to what they’re going to bring for us this year.” Albright added. The back end of the defense should be solid with Joe Stevens, Jaylin Marshall, and Hershel McCormick-McGreeter in the defensive secondary. “He’s a kid that played on the JV last year, he’s not huge physically but he has great instinct and great ball skills” Albrecht mentioned about Marshall. McGreeter did everything on JV last season but he should make the most noise in the defensive secondary. Farmington has Trenton Dardon, Daniel Vukaj, and Carter Kulinski coming back at linebacker. Vukaj led the Falcons in tackles last season. He could also see some time at running back as well. Dardon could also see time at running back. He seen a ton of carries when Cam Pettaway got hurt last season and should be the workhorse in the backfield this season. “We expect him to be a workhorse for us, he’s probably one of those pound for pound one of the strongest kids in our program” Albrecht added about Dardon. Farmington has a newcomer in Antione Bailey who Albright is really excited to see make his mark on this program. “Antione Bailey is a kid who is smooth with the ball, great vision, was on the track team last year, he and Trenton will be splitting time in the backfield and playing all their spots on the offensive side” Albrecht said. Kulinski could see time at tight end coming back for Albrecht. They have program strength as well which always helps. “Our juniors now was one of our largest classes, our senior class has been primarily a smaller one, I do it every winter when we send out stuff to our middle schools saying if you’re planning on coming to Farmington, here’s the sign up so you can get information on summer workouts and all that stuff, right now we have more numbers than what I anticipated now again I joke with coaches and we say this all the time like kids sign up but they don’t show up, we’ve been a week in to the conditioning stuff that we do, I’m not seeing the numbers that I’ve signed up yet but we have a lot of kids that have been in the weight room like we’ve had more kids then we’ve had in the past, I think some of the kids in the school are starting to see that and are starting to gravitate to coming out because they see the commitment and the brotherhood that our kids have and they want to be a part of something bigger than themselves and something special that. I think it’s great that we’re getting numbers, I joke hopefully we have enough helmets because with programs the biggest issue is having enough of those anymore. Number wise people ask are we going to do a freshman team or you know I think a lot of schools have done a JV-A and a JV-B type so we may be looking at that possibly with if the numbers stay true to what they are and then kind of put together a handful of games for those JV-B type of kids because we have a lot of kids that I probably have two will be sophomores and a handful of juniors who haven’t played before that are wanting to come out this first time football players so that obviously they’re not going to be jumping in, ready to go automatically as a varsity player” Albrecht concluded. Farmington should be a team to watch this season, they should be a player.
BEST CASE: The Falcons stay healthy and develop confidence especially the underclassmen then it could be hello postseason.
WORSE CASE: Injuries mount and the Falcons struggle like what happened last season.
Farmington Podcast (Second Segment)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TujKDHv0lc&t=1217s
OAK PARK KNIGHTS:
LAST SEASON’S RECORD: 3-6, 2-2 Blue. Didn’t make Postseason.
POINTS SCORED: 148 (16.4 ppg.) 86 Blue (21.5 ppg.)
POINTS AGAINST: 264 (29.3 ppg.) 96 Blue (24 ppg)
KEY PLAYER: Quinton Blakeley-Running Back
STRENGTHS: Skill Players
CONCERNS: Quarterback, Both Lines
GAME OF THE YEAR: August 29 at Farmington.
PROJECTED RECORD: 6-3. 4-2 Blue.
PLAYOFF TEAM: Yes.
It has been a really difficult path for the Knights and for Coach Greg Carter as of late. Oak Park is 6-21 in the last three years. The offense has been the biggest issue for Carter, they have not scored over 200 points in the last three years. The Knights had made the postseason in nine straight seasons (2012-2020) but they haven’t been the same since their 26-20 loss to Warren De LaSalle in overtime in the Division Two State Semifinals in 2020. Oak Park should be much improved this season after being a really young team last season. This was a team that played a ton of freshmen and sophomores. They were also affected by some really tough departures to other schools. “We still have a young team but we do have enough game experience, they’ve worked extremely hard this offseason and we got enough guys who are leaders, we’re still young we’ve only got eight seniors” Carter said. The Knights will need to find a quarterback this season. Carter mentioned there were three guys that were competing for the job.”We’re excited, a lot of our quarterbacks have worked hard, they’ve been through different quarterback coaches, then they have to go through me” Carter said. Whoever the quarterback is will have some proven playmakers even though they will need to find some balance heading into this season. The Knights have Quinton Blakeley, Michael Reid, and Michael Jones coming back at running back. Blakeley is the speedster while Reid and Jones are power backs. The pass catchers are solid with Ron’Dre Austion and Alex Patterson coming back at wide receiver. Oak Park has a lot of these proven players that play the back end of the defense. Ivaan Burrow, Aaron Paymon, Reid and Jones at linebacker along with Austion and Patterson in the defensive secondary coming back. Blakeley also handles the kicking duties. They have Camari Barginner and William Reed on the offensive and defensive lines coming back. Program strength is a concern this season. The Knights have been the great mystery like they were last season. “We want to win our league and get to the state tournament this season” Carter concluded You never know what you’re going to get with Carter’s team.
BEST CASE: The Knights find a quarterback, the lines develop, and they stay healthy then Carter could be a postseason team for the first time since 2020.
WORSE CASE: Injuries mount and the lines struggle to develop then the Knights could miss the postseason for the fourth straight year.
TROY COLTS:
LAST SEASON’S RECORD: 5-4, 1-3 Blue. Didn’t make Postseason.
POINTS SCORED: 216 (24 ppg.) 68 Blue (17 ppg.)
POINTS AGAINST: 127 (14.1 ppg.) 107 Blue (26.7 ppg.)
KEY PLAYER: Noah Oury-Quarterback.
STRENGTHS: Quarterback, Proven Receivers, Defense
CONCERNS: Rushing Attack, Depth
GAME OF THE YEAR: September 13 at Lake Orion.
PROJECTED RECORD: 5-4. 3-3 Blue.
PLAYOFF TEAM: No.
The Colts had a chance to make the postseason for a fourth straight year but they allowed a last second touchdown on the final play of the game falling on the road to Fraser 20-19 thus costing themselves a trip to the postseason. “Last year obviously it came down to the last play and you know sometimes kids when you talk about the summer like like hey are you pushing yourself as hard as you can, you it could change one rep and they are sometimes like all right coach is just saying whatever but you know like we kind of put it end to their ears this year like listen it came down to literally one play and if that kid jumps a little higher, if we go a little faster as a pass rusher, we could have made the play, we could have made the playoffs so you know obviously winning season 5-4 was successful but you know that team had the goal of making the playoffs and it came down to that one play and props to Fraser for making the play and sometimes you know in life you have to deal with losses and that was something we had to deal with that night” said Coach Chris Frasier. Troy has been very good defensively and wasn’t bad offensively but when they went in the division it was really ugly for with the three losses last season. “With the seniors that is the hardest part of losing, I’m an old man now, I’ve had successes, I’ve had failures but you know I can deal with those things but you know looking into the eyes of a 17 year old who doesn’t understand why and you know like a 17 year old in the locker room who realizes that they played their last football game those are things that break your heart as an adult, those are things that you know life lessons that football teaches is that you know that your not going to always be successful so we tried to use that message to the seniors and the juniors and the kids that are coming in this year was like look into the eyes of this four year starter Nolan Block who you know have given his soul to the program, look at what he’s feeling right now and make sure that’s not going to be you this year” Frasier added. The Colts have a lot of proven talent who is poised to make a return to the postseason. They have a duel threat quarterback in Noah Oury coming back. Oury has a talented wide receiver in Jailen Peacock along with another talented wide receiver in Evan Baraic also coming back. Peacock is expected to also be a defensive back as well. “The biggest thing they bring is experience, they know what a varsity football game looks like, they know what two a days looks like, they know what winning feels like on the sideline, they know what losing feels like so those are things like that you can’t teach and you know every school around the OAA, the State of Michigan has those kids that have been around the block and they are the ones that you know kind of lead the younger generation of juniors that are coming up to Varsity, they’re are kind of the ones who write the ship, it can’t always be the coach harping on the kids, work harder, it means pushing yourself, it means more coming from the players then it does from me so those are the things that Noah, Lucas, and Jailen bring to the table is they’ve been on varsity for three years each and Jailen is a four year player so that’s the biggest thing, naturally they are talented, the biggest thing is you can’t teach is experience” Frasier said about Oury, Peacock, and Lucas Tic. The rushing attack is the question mark for the Colts as they lost Nolan Block to graduation last season. They will go with JP Marowitz coming back at running back this season. “Losing Nolan Block a four year starter, there’s nothing you can do to replace that, we also were lucky to get Drew Oliver from the soccer program last year, he was impactful the whole year it wasn’t just the loss of Nolan it was the loss of Nolan and Drew so we got JP who is a three year player, I literately told him like you’ve been in the program for three years, your going to get the first shot and if he’s proves if it’s his job then he’s not going to lose it” They also have Jordan Jakupi, John Spreitzer, and Tic coming back on the offensive and defensive lines. Troy has had a strong back end of the defense for years and will have it again this season. The Colts have Gabe Gesiner and Greg Tester coming back at linebacker along with Jackson Barrett, Peacock, Jayden Johnson, Jackson Barrett, and Cung Lian coming back in the defensive secondary for Frasier. “It gives us a chance to look at the younger guys, passing camps, Seven on Sevens, it’s been good for the younger kids to get some reps naturally when the older kids came back it was nice to have a safety blanket with the older kids there” Fraser said. The non-conference schedule has been the issue for Fraser despite the three postseason appearances the schedule really hasn’t tested Troy until they got to league play but this season the non-conference has toughen up with games against Lake Orion and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep both were playoff teams last season. The Colts on paper should be a postseason team with the schedule but there are a ton of questions with this roster heading into the season that Frasier needs to address. Troy lost Shayne Hines this offseason as he went to Waterford Kettering to be their athletic director. Program strength is a big concern as well to watch. “Troy is a big school and in the last couple of years we’ve been lucky to get some more kids interested in football from other sports so hopefully that’s something we want to continue is you know there are so many athletes in the building no matter where you are to go around and we hope we can get more and more of those kids that play baseball, that play basketball, that run track, more of those kids to come off with football because our football team is better when we have better kids, it is what it is, we hope we are promoting football not only in Troy, not only at Troy High but also at Troy Athens so we just want to keep football because it’s something that’s special for kids and something that can teach them all about life and about facing challenges along the way” Frasier concluded. The Colts could be a player to watch this season.
BEST CASE: Stay healthy, the depth develops especially up front, and they find a rushing attack to go along with their passing attack. If they do then its hello postseason.
WORSE CASE: The rushing attack doesn’t develop and they lose games they aren’t suppose too which puts their postseason dreams at risk.
Troy Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eebq7SbEVCc
NORTH FARMINGTON RAIDERS:
LAST SEASON’S RECORD: 4-5, 3-1 Blue. Didn’t make Postseason.
POINTS SCORED: 207 (23 ppg.) 75 Blue (18.7 ppg)
POINTS AGAINST: 245 (27.2 ppg.) 75 Blue (18.7 ppg.)
KEY PLAYER: Brendan Rice-Offensive/Defensive Lineman.
STRENGTHS: Skill Players, Both Lines
CONCERNS: Quarterback, Depth
GAME OF THE YEAR: September 13 vs Farmington.
PROJECTED RECORD: 6-3. 4-2 Blue.
PLAYOFF TEAM: Yes.
It has been a really odd and unusual three years for the Raiders. North Farmington is 9-18 in the last three years with no postseason appearances which is really un Coach Jon Herstein like. The defense has been the big problem for Herstein. They allowed 758 points (36 ppg) in that span. Herstein has had two really strong years when they went 16-4 in the 2020 and 2021 seasons which were postseason trips. “We’ve been through the pandemic and they’ve experienced a downturn in the number of kids, we had a little bit of that but our numbers are trending back in the right direction so that’s exciting” said Herstein. The Raiders have to replace several key players in key positions from last season. North Farmington has to replace a ton of proven skill players from last season. “We got a good group of juniors or seem to be seniors now that have played varsity football off and on for the last two seasons so we think really highly of them and are really excited to see what they’re able to do” Herstein added. The Raiders have Brendan Rice, Jeremiah Lambert, Shawn Davis, Micah Redic, Owen Varva, Josiah Eswick, Josh Tchozewski, Artero Wilson, Jamir Rentie, and Leland Pettiway coming back on both the offensive and defensive lines. Rice has gotten most of the attention this offseason. “He’s been doing really good, he’s trimmed up a little bit so that’s good still working on getting to the shape he wants to be and to play both ways and really be dominate on both the offense and defensive lines but I’m confident he’ll get there, he’s been a good leader for us, working hard in the weight room, super excited for him” Herstein said on Rice. Herstein was also excited to see how the other linemen would look alongside Rice this season. “We think that could be a really good part of our team, we got a number of kids that have been playing there for a number of years, we are also really excited about a couple of incoming kids and young kids” Herstein said of his proven linemen. He’s high on two young linemen that can make some noise in the future in Gabe Jankowski who could start in week one on the offensive line along with an incoming freshman in Elijah Moore who could play on both sides of the football. The back end of the defense looks to be solid with Dominic Washington, Nick Washington, Trey Thomas, Will Simmons, and Leland Hollingsworth coming back. The defensive secondary looks to be solid with Alex Trainor, Justin Cross, Andrew Coultier, Terrance James, Trainer Alexander, Duke Blanch, and Christian Scott coming back in the defensive secondary for Herstein. James will be the starting quarterback to add to his time in the defensive secondary while Blanch is expected to see time at running back alongside Simmons for the Raiders. “Terrance is an phenomenal athlete, can throw it really well but not necessarily a quarterback when you think about his potential in college, he’s more of an athlete, more of a receiver/defensive back but from an athletic standpoint and a football ability he’s really got it so we’re excited to see him get out there and command the offense, and throw the ball very well, has a strong arm and can also run it so see him make some pretty good plays out there” Herstein said of James. James has proven pass catchers in Jermon Johnson, Cross, Trey Brown, Lorence Woodley, Alexander, and Thomas coming back at wide receiver. Woodley also played basketball for legendary North Farmington coach Todd Negoshian last season. He will also see time on defense this season. Coultier handles all the kicking duties. Program strength looks to be on the upswing for Herstein this season after a few rough years with the pandemic. The middle school and youth levels look strong. Stone Trevino could be a player to watch in the future. He could play a ton on JV this season and has the makings to be that next great Raider quarterback. Herstein has a great relationship with Negoshian which helps both football and boys basketball. “It’s been good, we do all the training for those guys as the weight training and the conditioning, we welcome anybody within the school to come out and train, he gets all the players to come out, we wish we could get more of those guys to come out and play some football but you know how it is in this day and age with the kids that with the single sport athletes and things like that but we’re super excited for him and the team to make it to the State Finals, very proud of him, he works so hard as a basketball coach even though he’s an ambassador to the school, he cares tremendously about the Raiders, Toddy puts in a ton of extra work for the school, you couldn’t be more happy for them to have that game which they would have been able to win although and against one of the best teams if not in the Midwest but in the entire nation (Orchard Lake St. Marys,) they gave them all they can handle for a long time, it was a pretty tight game, they battled really hard, so we’re really proud of those guys and really happy for him and a shout out to his father (Tom Negoshian) who is being inducted into the BCAM (Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan) Hall of Fame this fall, so obviously the success they’ve had here at North Farmington in the basketball realm has been phenomenal and a pillar in the community” Herstein said of Negoshian. North Farmington should be competitive but they need the defense to be where they were back in the 2020 and 2021 seasons. If they get that then the Raiders could make some noise and could be a player in the Blue this season.
BEST CASE: James is the answer at quarterback, everyone stays healthy, and reach their potential then they will likely be in the postseason for the first time since 2021.
WORSE CASE: James is not the answer at quarterback, injuries mount, and they miss the postseason for the fourth straight year.
North Farmington Podcast (Second Segment)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfZ8PH3iC28&t=2433s
SEAHOLM MAPLES:
LAST SEASON’S RECORD: 9-2, 4-0 Blue. Lost 34-21 to Waterford Mott in Division Two District Finals.
POINTS SCORED: 392 (35.6 ppg.) 189 Blue (47.2 ppg.)
POINTS AGAINST: 201 (18.2 ppg.) 62 Blue (15.5 ppg.)
KEY PLAYER: Will Forsberg-Wide Receiver/Defensive Back
STRENGTHS: Rushing Attack, Proven Receivers
CONCERNS: Quarterback, Depth
GAME OF THE YEAR: August 29 vs Troy Athens.
PROJECTED RECORD: 2-7. 1-5 Blue.
PLAYOFF TEAM: No.
The Maples have had a ton of success making the postseason five of the last six years and going 17-5 in the last two years. Seaholm could be in line for a really long season when they went 1-8 in the 2021 season with a really young team. They lost a great 2024 class to graduation which featured beating arch rival Groves twice last season. “It was a senior heavy team they’ve been together since they were sophomores, a couple played as freshmen so they we’re young a few years ago and they had time to develop and they had a really good senior year, I’m disappointed how we went out in the district championship game (lost to Waterford Mott) but I thought that was a really good team that had a great year” said Coach Jim DeWald. DeWald mentioned going against and beating Groves twice had a huge impact on his kids and his team. “It is what it is you know we’re going to always try to play Groves in the last week, we always wanted then week nine, we got them in week nine this year and if you’re good and they’re good then your going to meet in the playoffs in the second or first round for two weeks in a row, it’s happened a couple of times and it is what it is, the first game, we won 21-14 and then the second game was a Big 12 shootout (56-49,) it’s amazing we got a shootout like that when all we do is run the ball (veer)” DeWald added. Seaholm will see Groves in week nine in Beverly Hills. “It’s as heated as you get, if you can get two really good teams in the same city, I think both do things well at what they do and we do what we do, we believe in our systems, we believe in fighting for our community and playing for the community and playing for the schools, it’s a heated, heated rival and you know last year we got the best of it for two games in a row but obviously we’ve been on the other side of the coin a lot as well, they’ll be pretty good, they lost the quarterback but they got Chris Little and they have the Gach kid (Avery Gach), he’s the real deal, that’s something we have to deal with going down the line, they do a good job offensively, defensively, they are a solid program and I love it, I love the rivalry, I love the heatedness of it, playing it at the end of the year nothing’s better, nothing speaks more about playing high school football than that game” said DeWald on playing Groves. The Maples has had young teams in the past but the veer should keep them in every game this season. “I think the style of offense we play keeps us in many games. It started when I was at Andover (Bloomfield Hills) when you don’t have Division One guys falling out of the sky you got to do what you can do, our community is behind it, everyone understands why we do it and they believe in it, our kids believe in it, our fans believe in it, our school believes in it so it is what it is, I think we’ve had in 13 years two kids sign letters of intent for Division One football so we’re not and when you got to go against some of these other schools that have a kid every year or they’ll have two kids as a Division One player like and we just don’t get it, I mean we got what we got and those who approaches those doors, we don’t recruit, we don’t, there’s no undue influence, whoever comes through those doors, we’ll coach them up and we’ll make them mentally and physically stronger and move on” DeWald said of the veer offense. Seaholm has Penn Roberts coming back at running back. “He’s a really good athlete, great kid, he’ll be a B Back for us, we had him play a little tight end because we had the Kinnie boys and you had Sean Emerson at B back so you know he was about third string last year so we put him at tight end so he’ll be our B back, he’s going to be a really good player for us” DeWald said about Roberts. He mentioned that Alex Smith will share some time at B back as well. The quarterback position will be really interesting. DeWald won’t know until the first week who his quarterback will be come week one against Troy Athens. “We have two kids, Patrick Hughes and Finn Rowland competing for that spot, one’s a senior and the other is a junior, who knows what’s going to happen, they’re having a great summer, look forward to seeing how that plays out” DeWald said about his quarterback situation. Whoever the quarterback is will have Nathan Walsh, Alexandro Ross, Kyle Moore, Evan Patterson, and Will Forsberg coming back at wide receiver. “We have Nathan Walsh there, he’s tall and lengthy, he’s also a safety for us, he played as a junior, he’s going to be a good player for us. We have Alexandro Ross who is our A back (slot running back/wide receiver,) Hondo is done a great job there, you have a guy like Kyle Moore who has been fighting to get to those positions so those are guys that you know play in space, block in space, we look forward to see what they can do besides that we have Matt Erne and Magnus Bradstrom are our only returning starters on the offensive side of the ball, we got a lot of holes to fill” DeWald said. Walsh, Patterson and Forsberg could also see time along with whoever loses the quarterback battle will be in the defensive secondary, Roberts and Roth are coming back at linebacker, while Wesley Billings handles the kicking duties. They have Max Kruger, Mo Elmallaha, Sean McGlinn, Ryan Glime, Erne, and Bradstrom coming back on the offensive and defensive lines. “In the offensive line, we’ve been pretty lucky last few years with a good offensive line, we’ll see how these guys pan out, right now they are playing well, they are working hard, getting stronger and I’m looking forward to it” DeWald said about his offensive line. The defense should be very interesting to watch this season “We have a lot of positions to fill, the corner back spot we’re fighting to see who plays” DeWald said about his defense. “We need to replace Kyle Robbins and Sean Emerson, they were quarterbacks of the defense, that’s going to be really hard to replace” DeWald mentioned. Program strength looks to be solid for DeWald although he wants to see more games played on Saturdays to give his sophomores a chance to play if they don’t play varsity. “Our numbers are up, our numbers are great, we still have to battle losing kids out of our middle school (Berkshire) which you know drives me bananas but our numbers are good, I think right now we are at 90 kids in the program, the highest it’s been in like ten years but program numbers are good, kids are great, they work their tail off and I couldn’t be more proud of them. We’ve been able to field three teams for the last couple of years and for a while we’ve been fielding only two teams and it’s massive when you can field three teams, you have three different starting quarterbacks, you have three starting B backs, you have six different starting offensive guards so you get kids more playing time so it helps us a ton, you can’t get better by sitting on the bench, you got to play, I think our lower level coaches do a really good job preparing those guys and making sure those kids get on the field so they stay in the program and they get to us on varsity and we can take advantage of some of the playing time and change it into you know a varsity player” DeWald added. This will be a completely different team this season with Seaholm but they had a new facility last season. “Awesome, it is awesome, you look around and we’re so lucky at our school we don’t have a track around the football field, so it’s already a cool stadium, it’s enclosed with one side you have the hill with the big scoreboard and on the other side you have this three story monstrous big old building that has our locker room, our coaches office, the batting cages, the track, the golf simulator, the film room, I mean everything you need the concessions are in there, the team room, it is phenomenal and it is so cool to be a part of, you just sit in that thing on the field and you look at that big building it’s like a small college. Aaron Frank our athletic director called it his baby, did a great job designing it, I think it’s awesome. Our game day experience you know he’s done a great job of getting music going during timeouts and different things like that, it’s such a cool environment, I can’t tell you how many people go to those games and go, even we have players come back like oh this is crazy, how come it’s not like this when we were there it’s fun, it’s a big party and it’s awesome to be a part of and God we are lucky at Seaholm” DeWald said about the new facility and Frank. The Maples could take some lumps after having two really strong years but don’t tell that to DeWald or his team, they are looking forward to the season. “It’s a cool place to be a part of, I can’t lie, I enjoy it every day, you know we worked out this morning and the kids got after it, we are excited for the season to get going. I think we have a bunch of kids who play really hard, I think we’ll try to play keep away with the ball like we always do and see where the game leads us in the fourth quarter, if we’re in the fourth quarter up a score, down a score, or tied, I like my chances” DeWald concluded. You never know with DeWald and his program or his coaching staff which has former Avondale coach Ed Couturier, James Clawson, former Troy and Stoney Creek defensive coordinator Gary Griffith, and new Boys Basketball Coach Spenser Adams, they’ll always think of something.
BEST CASE: Maples don’t miss a beat from last season. They find new stars and are in division contention with a postseason appearance likely.
WORSE CASE: Maples young players don’t develop which makes them take a step back and miss the postseason.
Seaholm Podcast (Second Segment)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jgW3HdMz1o
TROY ATHENS RED HAWKS:
LAST SEASON’S RECORD: 3-6, 0-4 Blue. Didn’t make Postseason.
POINTS SCORED: 185 (20.5 ppg.) 58 Blue (14.5 ppg.)
POINTS AGAINST: 223 (24.7 ppg.) 136 Blue (34 ppg.)
KEY PLAYER: Nathan Piggott-Tight End
STRENGTHS: Back end of the Defense
CONCERNS: Quarterback, Both Lines, Depth
GAME OF THE YEAR: September 13 vs Oak Park.
PROJECTED RECORD: 2-7. 1-5 Blue.
PLAYOFF TEAM: No.
The Red Hawks have been a program that has had some ups and downs as of late but it hasn’t given them a postseason appearance which not counting the COVID year was in 2011. Troy Athens is 31-74 since 2011 and they have not fared well going 13-14 in the last three years. “It was a year of growing, we had some change not just offensively but defensively being in the second year, we got the job a little bit late in the spring, we tried to make things comfortable for the kids and then last year it was kind of an overhaul offensively and defensively for what we wanted to run, so there was a lot of learning going on but a lot of growth took place so we’re excited to see where that leads us, hopefully this year” said Coach Tom Cook. The offense has been the problem for Cook and the Red Hawks despite changing to a Wing T offense last season but it hasn’t produced better numbers in the past. Troy Athens has only had one season since 2011 where they have scored over 200 points (298-2021.) “There are several coached on our coaching staff that have run it in the past, we were looking where we wanted to go as a program, we like to think that we got a bunch of tough kids that are hard nosed like to hit you know that combined, it is a misdirection offense, when we do run into teams that are bigger than us, there is a few things that you can do with when you’re outsized and one of them is you know you want to make people guess where the ball is so that was some of the thought process that gone into it, we’re looking to expand a little bit this year and hopefully add a few wrinkles that people might not expect” said Cook about the Wing T offense. Also they have lost three straight games to arch rival Troy which does not make the fan base none too pleased. “It’s a healthy rivalry, we need to focus on what we need to do in the game rather than trying to kind of compare ourselves or really put them at the forefront of our thoughts, we want to make sure with our team is at the forefront is how we prepare and what we’re doing for that week, hopefully that mindset will field success” Cook said about the rivalry with Troy. Cook has the majority of his team being two to three year players who have played a ton of football. “We’ve been kind of young at certain positions, we’re hoping this year we’ll see kind of some of the fruits of like of developing some of those young players over the last couple of years, we have a strong core of seniors” said Cook. Cook has to address the quarterback spot. He did mention Andrew Dunlap could start at quarterback. “Andrew, Anthony’s younger brother has looked impressive at times during the summer” Cook said about Dunlap but the battle at that spot hasn’t been decided yet. “We got kids competing and that’s the big thing we want we want kids to compete for the positions they get, right now that’s a pretty popular one that kids want to try and win over, we’ve had some kids that looked pretty good this summer in some of the workouts, some seven on sevens that we’ve been at and Andrew Dunlap is one of them” Cook said about his quarterbacks. Whoever the quarterback is should have a proven pass catchers in Miguel Diaz, Alex Beaubien, and Grayson Conrad at wide receiver along with Nathan Piggott at tight end coming back along with an energy player in Reiter Reiss. They have Anthony Dunlap coming back at running back. Whoever the quarterback is will have Marcello Koha, Jose Marino and Gabriel Jabborri coming back on the offensive and defensive lines. The defense should be really solid especially the back end. “We’re looking strong in our defensive secondary and our linebackers are very experienced” Cook mentioned about the back end of the defense. They have Cainan Hanbury, Corban Crum, Tom Gili, Conrad, and Dunlap at linebacker along with Elliot Booth, Steven Lazat, and Diaz in the defensive secondary coming back. “We’re strong up front, hopefully we’ll start seeing some of the fruits of being young over the past few years at certain positions” Cook mentioned. Depth has been really concerning to watch for Troy Athens this season. “That’s something we talked about as well, running back will be a really deep position for us, we’re hoping that some of the line positions we can find a little bit more depth there on offense, tight end is a position that we seem to have, we have several kids who could play for us and with those positions covered, that we really like our growth in this offense” Cook said about the depth on offense. Program strength is another concern to watch. “We are working to try to get our system into the middle school level as well, Larson Middle School is our biggest feeder coming into Athens High School and what’s nice is you know to a limited degree like you know they got kids exposed to what we’re running like at the high school level, they had some good success with it last year, they had a pretty good team. Our incoming freshmen it’s fantastic, we’re expecting big numbers again from that group and this year they’ll have a little bit of experience running some of the stuff that we run as they come in so that’s really one of the focuses we’ve had in the past couple of years is to try and streamline the learning for kids at a young age coming up to high school so as they come in it’s not a culture shock, this will be the first year I can say that to a limited degree that they have been running like similar stuff to us at the middle school level so I’m excited to see how that generates success at our freshmen level. We have a strong Troy Cowboy program (youth football) that’s for anyone in Troy that’s going to either high school (Troy or Troy Athens) so growing up in my hometown we had one high school, it was a smaller area, we had one high school so every kid in the area you knew where they were going to end up so Troy Cowboys they do a great job, I met with one of the coaches at our youth camp, he was there with his grandson so we had a nice talk, they have kids going to both schools but they do a great job getting them ready for middle school football” Cook said about program strength. Troy Athens got a new logo and is getting new field turf this offseason. “I love the new hawk, I love the fact in the past there were so many different athletic programs in our school have used different hawks and Todd Heugh, former soccer coach here at Athens High School and current athletic director, one of his biggest pushes was to make it kind of make a uniform hawk and get a logo that represented Athens High School and I love the fact that we have one now, the field is being redone and it’s looking great, it’s been tough not having it for summer training but it still hasn’t been released to us, it’s an exciting time here at Athens not just for the football program but for all of our athletics with a new look and a new logo, it breathes a little bit of new life into some of our programs, it’s been an exciting change” Cook said about the changes. There are question marks for Cook and with a new principal in Vernon Burden who has seen a ton of successful football at Southfield Arts and Tech and Lake Orion. “He’s been fantastic, he’s been incredibly supportive, I’m not taking away any of the other principals who’ve been here, they’ve been fantastic as well but you didn’t see them at practice as often, you didn’t see them in the hallway and talking football with football players, he’s incredibly supportive, he’s a big source for growing the program with his experience and relationship with the kids and he knows what a great experience it is being a part of a football program can be for a young person, he’s been fantastic, I can’t say enough about Mr. Burden” Cook said about Burden. The pressure has to be on with the Red Hawks if they want to make the postseason. “Continue with growth, our schedule is tougher but we’re going to play better football, that’s one of the goals for our kids it’s going to come down to what they want to do to make that happen, I know this group of juniors and sophomores actually coached at Larson Middle School not too long ago, it’s a good group of kids that are dedicated and driven, that’s a goal of theirs. I have a feeling that these kids are going to work toward that goal and see some success in getting there by the end of the year” Cook concluded. Troy Athens could be a team that makes some noise this season.
BEST CASE: Red Hawks have a monster year from Piggott on both sides of the football and find that quarterback/wide receiver combination that could put Troy Athens into postseason contention.
WORSE CASE: Red Hawks have another disappointing season and questions mount.
Troy Athens Podcast (First Segment)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aSQVvOwPNc&t=3101s
BLOOMFIELD HILLS BLACKHAWKS:
LAST SEASON’S RECORD: 1-8, 0-5 White. Didn’t make Postseason.
POINTS SCORED: 123 (13.6 ppg.) 39 White (7.8 ppg.)
POINTS AGAINST: 336 (37.3 ppg.) 161 White (32.2 ppg.)
KEY PLAYER: Mason Hitchcock-Wide Receiver/Linebacker.
STRENGTHS: Wide Receivers, Defensive Secondary
CONCERNS: Both Lines, Defense, Quarterback
GAME OF THE YEAR: September 6 vs Dearborn Divine Child.
PROJECTED RECORD: 1-8. 0-6 Blue.
PLAYOFF TEAM: No.
The Blackhawks have not been themselves as of late. They are 4-14 in their last 18 games. The offense has been the biggest problem for Coach Dan Loria’s team especially in the last two years. They scored 123 points which 50 came against North Farmington in the last game of the season. Bloomfield Hills has not scored over 160 points in three of the last four years and the points against has gone up as well. The Blackhawks have allowed a combined 641 points in two years which is not good. These need to change if Bloomfield Hills wants to be competitive this season. The Blackhawks will have a new quarterback as Kieran Crossley has graduated along with Jace Reed, Gavin Cote, among others who have graduated. Whoever the quarterback is will have wide receivers Jonah Zekman, Peyton Parsons, Anthony Pearce, and Mason Hitchcock coming back for Loria. DaRon Mason could be a player to keep an eye on for the Blackhawks. The rushing attack is a question mark for Loria. They have Evan Becker coming back but Christopher Edwards could be another possible option for Loria to address the rushing attack. The defense is a question mark as well especially up front and at linebacker. Zekman, Pearce, Edwards, and Parsons could see time in the defensive secondary along with Reggie Hinton. Hitchcock could see some time at linebacker along with Caden Whitmire, and Sam Doer at linebacker coming back. Bloomfield Hills has question marks on the offensive and defensive lines despite having Jack Shaffer, Nolan Metts, and Grant Main coming back. Program strength has been a question mark for Bloomfield Hills despite their junior varsity team was very good last season but it doesn’t always translate to the varsity level. They have a strong middle school feeder (South Hills and North Hills just opened up and is on the old Bloomfield Hills Lahser campus) and youth level programs. If the Blackhawks want to make some noise, they need their young guys to step up on both sides of the football.
BEST CASE: The Blackhawks could surprise everyone in the media by developing stars and being a player in the division.
WORSE CASE: The Blackhawks struggle to find balance and miss the postseason for the third straight year.
