Written Saturday September 28th at 3:00 PM
It has been a crazy week around the OAA this week. Here are some thoughts from a league perspective.
The Gold is basically locked up with Avondale winning 21-7 over Ferndale on Saturday afternoon. The Yellow Jackets have a stout defense but the offense has really picked things up which is a great sign for Coach Bob Meyer. Ferndale has a tough schedule with games against Pontiac Notre Dame Prep and Utica Ford II. Playoffs will be something to watch for Coach Eric Royal's team. Berkley has to play Avondale in week seven but that game is in Auburn Hills. It will be very interesting to see how the Bears respond after winning back the Battle of Woodward trophy with a 14-7 win over Royal Oak. Berkley is a much different team since week one when they lost 7-0 to Walled Lake Central and 20-0 to Troy Athens especially offensively. The Ravens are much improved defensively which is a good sign for Coach Colin Campbell's team. Royal Oak will be fine going forward. Pontiac is really struggling falling 19-6 to Bloomfield Hills. The Phoenix have been outscored 136-12 in the last four weeks, that's really rough for Coach Wendell Jefferson and Pontiac. It will be really interesting to see what happens with the Phoenix going forward.
The White is basically locked up with Groves winning 28-12 over Harper Woods on Friday night. The win locks up the Falcons second straight league crown. The Pioneers might have to worry about the postseason if they can't get their act together and soon. Harper Woods is without Nate Rocheleau which is a big reason why the offense has really struggled and the defense has not been the same since the Oxford game. The Pioneers need to get a ton of things addressed and soon or a trip to the postseason could be in jeopardy. Rochester has had a tough two weeks getting outscored 63-17 in the last two weeks. Stoney Creek earned a 17-0 win over Southfield Arts and Tech and has seemed to be turning the corner. The Warriors are really struggling right now getting outscored 142-14 in the last four weeks, that's not good at all.
The Blue is down to three teams at the moment. Seaholm had a hard fought 14-6 win over Farmington behind their stout defense and veer offense. The Maples have not lost a beat since but they have a tough stretch when they head to the Swamp in week eight and to Beverly Hills in week nine. North Farmington has bounced back from an 0-2 start with a hard fought 14-7 win over Troy Athens. The Raiders are finding ways to win games. Troy has had a rough two weeks but made a statement winning 31-6 over Oak Park. Troy plays Seaholm this week and North Farmington has Oak Park. This would tell a lot when it comes to the league race. Bloomfield Hills picked up their first win of the year winning 19-6 over Pontiac. Troy Athens is really struggling and it won't get any better when Clarkston visits next week. Oak Park hasn't been the same team since the 28-18 loss to Seaholm two weeks ago. Farmington needs to get their quarterback Julian Johnson back and soon which could help them big time.
The Red is a complete mess. Every team still has a shot at winning the division. Adams lost quarterback Ryland Watters to a foot injury and was on crutches in their 28-25 loss to Lake Orion. It is unknown if Watters will be back and what would the Highlanders look like without Watters. The Dragons got their quarterback TR Hill back along with Will Hoffman on the defensive side of the football. Lake Orion looks to be back on schedule heading into a big showdown in the Swamp. West Bloomfield is in must win mode after losing 35-20 to Clarkston. The Lakers are sitting at 2-3 which was unthinkable to start the season. West Bloomfield needs to get a win somewhere or the postseason could be in jeopardy. Oxford has won two straight with an impressive 28-10 win over Rochester. Luke Johnson and Jack Hendrix have been good as advertised for the Wildcats and have continued to get better every week. Like I said, I still believe all five teams in this division will be postseason teams.
Rankings Explanation.
This weeks rankings, I looked at each teams postseason points which is a reason where each team is right now and based it off playoff points. Groves is the top team with their record but the rest of the schedule concerns me. South Lyon is up and down while Royal Oak is struggling and Seaholm has been really good but they have West Bloomfield before that game in week eight. The Falcons have earned the top spot in the poll but the schedule lightens up which could be a big concern.
The Red is a complete mess as mentioned. Lake Orion got quarterback TR Hill back and got a big win over Adams. The Dragons have the two spot despite the loss to Oxford because of playoff points. Adams drops to three from the top spot despite major concerns about quarterback Ryland Watters. It will be very interesting to see how the Highlanders respond without Watters for the foreseeable future. Clarkston goes to four after the big win over West Bloomfield but playing Bloomfield Hills and Troy Athens in a span of three weeks with their combined record of 2-8 is very concerning but it's not the Wolves fault. The Utica Eisenhower and Lake Orion games weeks seven and nine will be really interesting games. Oxford stays at five because of the playoff points despite winning over Lake Orion. West Bloomfield is at seven despite the loss to Clarkston. Playoff points look really concerning for the Lakers right now. I went with the playoff points when looking at the Red teams because of the parity of the division.
Seaholm is at six despite winning 14-6 over Farmington and staying unbeaten while controlling the Blue at the moment. The Maples have Troy this week, West Bloomfield in week eight, and Groves in week nine with the two games at the end of the season on the road.
North Farmington is at eight after their 0-2 start. The Raiders have been really improving and they have Adams in week eight, they have Seaholm in week seven, and Troy in week nine. The schedule gets tough but it's favorable from an playoff points perspective for Coach Jon Herstein and his team.
Troy is in the rankings at nine after a statement win over Oak Park. Playing Lake Orion and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep helps the Colts with their records. They have Seaholm which would be big for Coach Chris Frasier's team if they can get that win this week. Troy has to play North Farmington in week nine which is very interesting. Overall the Colts are in a great spot for the postseason.
Avondale comes in at ten after a huge win over Ferndale likely getting the Gold crown. The Yellow Jackets started 0-2 but have turned things around. The toughest game for Avondale is Stoney Creek which is really interesting. Coach Bob Meyer has this team clicking on all cylinders right now.
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