Gold Division Preview.

Written Monday August 14th at 6:00 PM

This is the 2023 Football Preview. This will be updated with various podcasts and information from Media Day along with our special podcast with Civic Center TV's Tyler Kieft and MIPrepZone's Scott Burnstein. 

ONTV News Media Day-Report

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpC83I_1MZg

Podcast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPxPxsHa_l0

Gold Division Preview Show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEcIAQnPt-E

 

AROUND THE OAA TOP 10

 

1. West Bloomfield

2. Southfield Arts and Tech

3. Lake Orion

4. Harper Woods

5. Clarkston

6. Adams

7. Groves

8. Seaholm

9. Ferndale

10. Avondale

 

DIVISION RECAP/STORYLINES:

 

MANAGEABLE SCHEDULE: Avondale: The Yellow Jackets have a new coach with a ton of proven experience. The schedule looks manageable for new coach Bob Meyer. Avondale has two tough road games at Seaholm and Berkley but they have Oak Park, Brandon, and Ferndale coming to Dick Bye Field. Also both Warren schools are flipped this season with Warren Cousino coming to Auburn Hills and a trip to Warren Fitzgerald, both are winnable games. The schedule looks to be another possible postseason appearance is on the horizon.

 

NIGHTMARE SCHEDULE: Ferndale: The Eagles were the last team in the postseason for Division Two because they played a very tough schedule. They played a very tough schedule and will do so again this season. Ferndale has Holly, Avondale, Berkley, and Oak Park on the road. They have Groves at home which should help. To their defense, the postseason looks very manageable if they can win at least four of these games against these proven teams.

 

TEAM THAT’S ON THE RISE: Pontiac: The Phoenix made a ton of strides despite not winning a game last season. Pontiac has a new coach in Wendall Jefferson. They are 5-91 since 2011 and have a 42 game losing streak which is the longest in the State. Pontiac has several proven players coming back. If they can put together some wins then the Phoenix are a program that is heading in the right direction.

 

TEAM THAT’S IN TROUBLE: Royal Oak: It was a very disastrous season for Royal Oak last season. Coach Collin Campbell will be their third coach in three years. Campbell’s junior varsity team was solid last season but success doesn’t always translate on the varsity level. Program stability is a big concern for the Ravens and if Campbell can’t contribute this to success on the field then it could be trouble.

 

 

AVONDALE YELLOW JACKETS:

 

LAST SEASON RECORD: 6-4 (6-3), 3-1 Gold. Lost 49-6 to Birmingham Brother Rice in First Round.

POINTS SCORED: 311 (31.1 ppg)

POINTS AGAINST: 225 (22.5 ppg)

KEY PLAYER: Cameron Washington-Offensive/Defensive Lineman.

STRENGTH: Quarterback, Proven Wide Receivers, Proven Linemen.

WEAKNESS: Defensive Secondary, Rushing Attack, Depth.

GAME OF THE YEAR: September 1 vs Brandon

PROJECTED RECORD: 6-3, 4-0 Gold

 

STORYLINES AND PLAYERS TO WATCH:

 

The Yellow Jackets have had a ton of success in the regular season but not so much in the postseason when they had to run into Catholic League power Birmingham Brother Rice. They are 31-26 in the last seven years. There is a ton of optimism surrounding Avondale this season. They have a new coach in Bob Meyer who takes over the program. He comes to Auburn Hills from Livonia Clarenceville. Meyer was 25-23 in his four years with the Trojans but 25-14 in his final three years with the program. He was at Walled Lake Central prior to that. Meyer has been well known for the Wing T and the veer when he was at Livonia Clarenceville and Walled Lake Central. It should be very interesting to see what the Yellow Jackets do with a new coach and a new system in place.

 

Avondale has been well known for producing athletes. "We are working on learning on how to compete and finish and bring it and we have expectations for the season so we're going to back that up" Meyer said. They have Tyler Herzog at quarterback coming back. He had a big year last season for Avondale. "Tyler has been great, he's been learning how to not only throw the ball which he was really good at that as we all know but he's an athlete, he can run too, so he's a duel threat athlete so we're excited" Meyer added. Herzog will have proven pass catchers in Justin Sykes, Eric Christoff, and Cooper Voeffray coming back. Christoff transferred back to Avondale after he was at Warren DeLaSalle last season. Meyer has been laser focused on adding the rushing attack to Avondale. "My background has been the veer and Wing T back to my Walled Lake days (coached at Walled Lake Central) so we're going to be a Wing T football team, you're going to see buck sweep play after play after play" Meyer added.. He has John Paolo Elias and Alijah Grigsby at running back coming back. The Yellow Jackets should be solid up front. They have Dhruv Thakur, Charlie Killian, Aaron Upshaw, and Cameron Washington on the offensive and defensive lines coming back. The defense was up and down which the stats showed last season. They have Alfonso Merritt, Christoff, Marion Baxtressor, Max Checkley, and Sykes coming back in the defensive secondary. David Edmonds could be a player to watch in the defensive secondary as well. The Yellow Jackets have Matthew Lloyd, Earl Arrington, Joey Wall, and Myles Moore at linebacker coming back. Hunter Petras handles the kicking duties. Avondale has a ton of proven quality returners coming back.

 

The Yellow Jackets should be very good this season and a postseason team. Program strength looks solid for Meyer. They have a very interesting schedule which helps them despite being in Division Three for the postseason. Avondale has Warren Cousino, Brandon, Oak Park, and Ferndale coming to Dick Bye field. They have Berkley, Royal Oak, Seaholm, Pontiac, and Warren Fitzgerald on the road. The Yellow Jackets are more than capable of being a postseason team but getting past the first round, or Walled Lake Western, or Birmingham Brother Rice will be the biggest test of them all.

 

FERNDALE EAGLES:

 

LAST SEASON RECORD: 5-5 (5-4), 4-0 Gold. Lost 46-6 to Seaholm in First Round.

POINTS SCORED: 243 (24.3 ppg)

POINTS AGAINST: 236 (23.6 ppg)

KEY PLAYER: Lavar Cronton-Offensive/Defensive Lineman.

STRENGTH: Defensive Secondary, Linebackers.

WEAKNESS: Quarterback, Rushing Attack, Depth.

GAME OF THE YEAR: September 16 at Avondale

PROJECTED RECORD: 5-4, 3-1 Gold

 

STORYLINES AND PLAYERS TO WATCH:

 

The Eagles had a bounce back season despite being the last team to make the field in Division Two for the postseason. Ferndale had been 9-16 the last three years and 22-8 prior to that but there were some signs that Coach Eric Royal’s program seemed to be breaking out of their funk and were back to the team that went 22-8 in the past. “Um last year was a combination of just of some of our younger players maturing um not only as upper classmen get into you know their sophomore/junior seasons um but also just a combination of us figuring out how to get back to what we used to do, we got back into our weight room program which was very helpful for us in the past when we were winning a lot of games, uh COVID kind of you know stopped us from really getting after it in the offseason like we wanted to but um last year we got back very close to what we were before and this year and this year we are really taking it to the next level so I think last year was a combination of us just growing and growing through some of those younger growing pains that we had a lot of freshman and sophomore playing early in the early of their careers and now we’re back to having a senior and junior led team on our roster” Royal said on the podcast.

 

Ferndale made some big changes this offseason in hiring of former Croswell-Lexington head coach Mike LeGrow as Royal’s offensive coordinator and new defensive coordinator Michael Sheridan also came over from Croswell-Lexington. They went 23-7 in the last three years and 17-5 in the last two years. “We've made some big coaching changes as well. I've turned over the play calling duties that I've done for the last nine years to my new offensive coordinator Mike LeGrow who was the head coach at Crosswell-Lexington the last past three years. His teams were ranked as high as number two in Division Four last year. He's been a great addition to my staff, we've gelled very well, we have a lot of the same similar ideas on offense and also program wise. I'm very excited to implement his new offense and how we're going to run it, it's not going to be that power run game that you've seen in the past, we'll still be very strong but we're going to open it up a little bit more and feed the tempo a lot and he brought his defensive coordinator Mike Sheridan as well. I'm also in a new role as well as stepping back from the X's and O's and we're going to really collaborate on that and I'm going to more manage the program and make sure that operations are running right and the team is functioning like before but with those two new coaching additions I'm extremely excited about the season and what are team is going to look like. We have a lot of smart football minds on our staff right now and I'm just biting my fingernails ready to get to August” Royal said on the podcast when talking about his two new coordinators. The Eagles has Cullen Hock who had to sit out after transferring from Bloomfield Hills. “He’s a really talented quarterback. He could potentially be one of the better quarterbacks that I’ve had in my tenure at Ferndale. He is a true quarterback, very excited to have him on our team especially for the next two years” Royal said about Hock. They have Dakari Smith at wide receiver but he could move to running back. “We’re still in the process of figuring out where he is going to start the game at but plans are to get the ball to his hands as much as we can in open space and let him you know operate” Royal said of Smith. Ferndale has Jaden Mills, Leander Neal, and Antonio Jones coming back at wide receiver. The Eagles defense had their struggles last season but they could be better this season with the proven experience and Sheridan taking over as defensive coordinator. They have Lavar Cronton, Arthur Attaway, Randy Royal, DeMarco Walker, and Darion Johnson on the offensive and defensive lines coming back. The back end of the defense should be their strength for Ferndale. "I'm really excited about our linebacking core and as well as our defensive backfield, it's very optmistic coming into the season where non of your wide receivers play defensive back and none of your defensive backs play wide receiver and our strong side linebacker are all one way players. We've been able to do that on seven on seven which gets a lot of reps and a lot of time to teach these kids different techniques and schemes so we are very excited of our back end of our secondary" Royal mentioned. The Eagles have Jacoby Young, Gabe Walker, and Bryce Ferguson at linebacker and Gary Maxwell, Keshawn Wallace, and Darnell Lee in the defensive secondary coming back.

 

The Eagles have been starting to show flashes of the 22-8 years and not the 9-16 years which is a great sign at Ferndale. Program strength is a little bit of a concern but with Royal getting kids from both Ferndale and Ferndale University, it shouldn't be an issue. "Honestly the last two years we were very young, I've only graduated 10 seniors, um my 2025 kids is 25 deep right now" Royal added. They should be should in the postseason conversation in Division Two because the MHSAA uses Ferndale and Ferndale University’s combined enrollment for those who ask why the Eagles are in Division Two for the postseason. The schedule is very challenging with Holly, Avondale, Berkley, and Oak Park on the road. They have Groves, St. Clair Shores Lake Shore, Pontiac, Royal Oak, and Macomb L’Anse Creuse coming to Ferndale. If things go right they could be back in the hunt for a postseason berth.

 

Ferndale Podcast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjDCww1ceas&t=1720s

 

 

BERKLEY BEARS:

 

LAST SEASON RECORD: 2-7, 2-2 Gold. Didn’t Make Postseason.

POINTS SCORED: 102 (11.2 ppg)

POINTS AGAINST: 320 (35.5 ppg)

KEY PLAYER: Josh Passon-Offensive/Defensive Lineman.

STRENGTH: Defensive Secondary.

WEAKNESS: Rushing Attack, Depth, Mental Mindset.

GAME OF THE YEAR: August 24 vs Walled Lake Central

PROJECTED RECORD: 4-5, 2-2 Gold

 

STORYLINES AND PLAYERS TO WATCH:

 

It was a very shocking year for the Bears really struggle last season after being 12-6 in the last two years with two postseason appearances. Berkley has some questions to address especially mentally. “Unfortunately we didn’t mesh well last year, we brought in a new OC and the kids just weren’t picking up the playbook um you know unfortunately we had some guys that you know had some offers and decided that they didn’t need to come up to the weight room and it just we hit the reset button this year and try to get to you know the mentality that we built on and the less of the me and more of the we mentality so we had a lot of me mentality last year and it just kind of killed us” Coach Sean Shields said on the podcast. Berkley made some changes with the mental mindset for his program this offseason which should help a lot.

 

Berkley needs to stabilize a ton of things if they want to forget about their disastrous year last season. “Um yeah, we’ve got ourselves a strength and conditioning coach (Jack O’Blarian) and instead of me being the guy up there everyday we got a guy that’s been committed to that he’s been doing, getting great turnout going up there. Our defensive coordinator Mike Wooden has been up there every day, um just getting kids excited about working out and you know getting back to winning and everything else. It’s we’re young this year but the mentality around the program is we’re going to be beat people by outworking them and it’s really been shown by Coach O’Blairan and Coach Larry pushing guys to get into the weight room and be at workouts” Shields added. They have Sunny Kadlitz coming back at quarterback. He was not the starter last season for Shields so it will be very interesting. “Sunny has been getting all the number one reps, the kid’s got a great arm. He can move around a little bit, we’re just trying to get his eyes to match his arm out on the field and once those link then I think we’ve got a kid that’s kind of special right now. Even though he’s gotten some offers and that goes to the culture change but he’s at everything, he’s working, he’s got guys out on the field without the coaching staff putting stuff together you know he gets boys up early to throw and run routes, I’m really excited to see him take over that leadership role” Shields said of Kadlitz. They have Jacob Gleason and Zach Otto coming back at running back. Kadlitz should have proven pass catchers in Fadil Traore, Brendan Bushey, Ashten Bellamy, and Amadou Ndiaye coming back. They have John Passon, Amare Bell, Maddox Magahas, Collin Richardson, Ethan Pollard, Anthony Anderson, and Noah Kollar coming back on the offensive and defensive lines. The Bears have Parker Hayfield and Caleb Collins at linebacker while Alex Papadelious comes back in the defensive secondary.

 

Program strength is a major concern for Shields especially with the upper classes thanks in large part to COVID. “We’re going to have to pull up five or six sophomores this year being the senior class being that COVID year freshman class and the numbers hurting so bad so we’re going have to ask a lot of young guys to step up and try to make some plays. The senior class is really small, the junior class is a little bit bigger which you know hurts because of those two COVID years but the underclassmen goes even with the five or six sophomores we’re pulling up and the incoming freshmen class we’re looking at close to a 40 man JV roster so things are starting to kick things back up for us and you know last year I tried to run a freshman team but unfortunately for us in that situation there’s not a lot of schools that we play that have freshmen programs so basically I asked the incoming freshmen to play a JV schedule and since you learned a lesson on that one and trying to let the boys just play JV have a little bit of sophomore help” Shields mentioned. The Bears have a ton of questions but it starts and ends with the mental mindset. Berkley has Walled Lake Central, Avondale, St. Clair Shores Lakeview, Seaholm, and Ferndale coming to Hurley Field. They have Troy, Troy Athens, Pontiac, and Royal Oak on the road. “It’s a matter of building everything back up um you know trying to get kids to come out and keep them with us and hopefully we got this big Bond coming up in August, hopefully it passes and we can update our facilities and everything else and try to keep kids coming to Berkley and keep them around the program” Shields concluded. If the mental mindset is there, then the Bears could be a team to watch this season.

 

Berkley Podcast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjDCww1ceas&t=1720s

 

 

ROYAL OAK RAVENS:

 

LAST SEASON RECORD: 1-8, 1-3 Gold. Didn’t Make Postseason.

POINTS SCORED: 83 (9.2 ppg)

POINTS AGAINST: 320 (35.5 ppg)

KEY PLAYER: Aiden Tesch-Offensive/Defensive lineman.

STRENGTH: Linebackers, Rushing Attack.

WEAKNESS: Quarterback, Proven Linemen, Defensive Secondary, Depth, Mental Mindset.

GAME OF THE YEAR: September 9 vs Troy

PROJECTED RECORD: 2-7, 1-3 Gold

 

STORYLINES AND PLAYERS TO WATCH:

 

Royal Oak is a team that has been in a crossroads. They have their third coach in three years as Colin Campbell takes over the program after an internal investigation into the program. Campbell was the junior varsity coach and the interim coach in the Ravens final three games where they were outscored 125-0. Campbell’s junior varsity program was solid but it doesn’t always translate to varsity. Royal Oak is 29-105 since 2008. Campbell was named the new coach during the Ravens Boys Basketball game against arch rival Berkley in January.

 

The Ravens will have to replace three very talented players that graduated in Mekhi Jenkins, Hudson Siddle, and Ellie Finch. "We're replacing a ton of talent, there is no denying it, it's part of it. We got kids we've coached before on our JV level a couple of years ago that are hard workers" Campbell said. They might need to change everything on both sides of the football and the stats really tell the story when talking about Royal Oak. They scored 83 points and allowed 320 points which was tied for second worst in the OAA behind Pontiac last season. The offseason has been solid for the Ravens for Campbell. "It's been really good, kids are coming out working really hard, consistent group, hard working group hard workers" Campbell added. The Ravens will have a new quarterback with either Mike Herman or Colton De Shea taking over while the other could see time elsewhere. Herman took some snaps at quarterback last season. The rushing attack should be solid with Steven Johnson and Anthony Garcia likely sharing carries at running back. Whoever the new quarterback is will have proven pass catchers in Juilen Barnes and Owen Louwers at wide receiver along with tight end Sam Pogie coming back. The offensive and defensive lines are question marks for Campbell despite having Aiden Tesch and Sam Klonke coming back. They have Elijah Lyons and Steven Johnson at linebacker coming back. The defensive secondary is a concern for Campbell despite having Herman coming back in the defensive secondary. Owen Sopher should handle the kicking duties. It will be very interesting to see how this team gels this season.

 

The Ravens have to address a ton of issues inside and outside the program. The mental mindset needs to change with the program. The junior varsity was solid under Campbell last year but one offseason won’t change everything overnight. Program strength is a big concern for Royal Oak. "It's a deep league, it's a tough league we're going to come out very week, we're going to be physical, we're going to be tough, and we're going to be ready to go" Campbell concluded. The schedule is very interesting with three non league games being rematches from last season. They have Holly, Troy, and Madison Heights Lamphere where they were blown out by a combined 132-0. The Ravens have Holly, Taylor, Troy, Avondale, Berkley, and Madison Heights Lamphere coming to Royal Oak. They have Pontiac, Ferndale, and Troy Athens on the road. This is a program that needs confidence and wins against anyone except Pontiac.

 

 

PONTIAC PHOENIX:

 

LAST SEASON RECORD: 0-9, 0-4 Gold. Didn’t Make Postseason.

POINTS SCORED: 104 (11.5 ppg)

POINTS AGAINST: 436 (48.4 ppg)

KEY PLAYER: Kayne Donaldson-Quarterback.

STRENGTH: Quarterback.

WEAKNESS: Proven Linemen, Stability, Depth.

GAME OF THE YEAR: September 1 vs Detroit Lincoln King Academy

PROJECTED RECORD: 2-7, 0-4 Gold

 

STORYLINES AND PLAYERS TO WATCH:

 

It has been very challenging for the Phoenix since then coach Brad Zube  (Stoney Creek and Brandon) left the program in 2011. Pontiac hasn't had stability. They have a new coach in Wendell Jefferson taking over the program. "I don't know if I ever had a situation that this is the job that I always wanted" Jefferson said at the podium at Media Day. Jefferson knows the Pontiac area very well and has done very well in the professional levels. He will have a very difficult task ahead of him trying to build a program that is 5-91 since 2011 and has the State’s longest losing streak (42 games.) There are a ton of challenges facing this program this season but they have been starting to make progress this offseason. "They've learned to work, now we got to get into the consistent playing, make sure they learn everything they need to learn. There is a lot of stuff that they need to learn" Jefferson added.

 

Pontiac should have some proven talent coming back this season with all the evaluating from Jefferson and his coaching staff. "We have an 11 man staff, they are all dedicated and work hard. I had to start with that because these kids need all the attention that they deserve. We start with the basics, teaching them what it takes to win and that's the work ethic that they need the consistency of that work ethic and the attitude they have with it. They've improved and they are actually doing pretty good" said Jefferson. They have a proven leader in Kayne Donaldson at quarterback coming back."Kayne has been doing great, we're happy to have him and we have two more years with him. One of the things it takes to win offensively is to have a quarterback and we have one so I'm very happy with that. I would like to get more linemen, people to block for him but I think we're ahead of the game when it comes to the quarterback position" Jefferson added. Pontiac has Dallas and Amarye Coleman at running back along with Davion Primm who could be an impact player on both sides of the football. Primm had five touchdowns and over 500 total yards in their loss to Stockbridge a few years ago. The Phoenix have Debon Johnson and Fa'Marzay Jeffery at wide receiver coming back. The defense should be very interesting to see. Pontiac has Mario Rocha at linebacker coming back. They have Bryce Brown, Marquis McCray, Jaylen Moore, and Uwakonye Onyebuchi leading the offensive and defensive lines and both White brothers in the defensive secondary coming back. The Phoenix have some talent but both lines still need some work and numbers according to Jefferson.

 

The Phoenix have been building despite the struggles. Program strength is a big concern along with morale. Pontiac has some opportunities to win some games and snap the State's longest losing streak. They have at least two winnable games against Detroit Lincoln King Academy and Garden City. Garden City was a postseason team last season but they lost their top running back. Pontiac has Troy Athens, Berkley, and Royal Oak coming to their new field at Pontiac. They have Madison Heights Bishop Foley, Avondale, Ferndale, and North Farmington on the road. It could be another tough year for the Phoenix but for them it’s all about trusting the process.