Written Sunday August 17th at 8:00 AM
Here is the TOP 10 AROUND THE OAA Rankings to start the season. The rankings will be updated weekly as like the coaches and the associated press poll in College Football and other local area rankings. These are my explanations on why each team is ranked where they are to start the season.
The rankings are different to the projections. The previews for each division will come some time between this week and next weekend so watch for those.
Picks and also this will be added onto our new website. https://aroundtheoaa.weebly.com/ and the blog.
1. Adams: The Highlanders have Ryland Watters coming back allowing Nolan Farris to move back to wide receiver. Both lines and running back questions concern me but experienced skill players coming back plus beating Clarkston by a combined 69-10 last season has Adams in the top spot but it's a new season and with a lot of questions, a lot to prove for the Highlanders and Coach Tony Patritto.
2. Harper Woods: The Pioneers are loaded on offense with Nate Rocheleau, Dakota Guerrant, among others. The defense has been looking very good as well. The lines are somewhat concerning especially the interior line. Harper Woods struggles when they head on M-24 north past Silver Bell Road but they don't go to Lake Orion or Oxford but they do head to Clarkston where they won there two years ago. The Pioneers looks prime to have a really strong season.
3. Clarkston: The Wolves are loaded with talent on both sides of the ball. The offense should score in bunches with the Boman twins and Alex Waszczenko among others but the defense especially against running quarterbacks looks very iffy. The defense in general has serious concerns especially on the line. Clarkston should be in the conversation to have a deep postseason run not just the Red but the defense needs to be shored up.
4. Stoney Creek: The Cougars program strength is the reason they are ranked. Stoney Creek has a really good junior class that has grown together along with a strong sophomore class which went a combined 15-1 last season. The senior class is very talented as well. Quarterback is a question mark among other positions but they should have things figured out before their first game against Warren Cousino. Coach Rick Powell has this program heading in the right direction.
5. Oxford: The Wildcats have a new coach but the same scheme. Jack Hendrix returns at quarterback which helps along with Seth Tabert at wide receiver/defensive back but Oxford has multiple questions on both lines along with a brutal schedule. Having Hendrix back is a big deal but if everyone else can gel, the Wildcats will be fine.
6. West Bloomfield: The Lakers are looking for a bounce back after finishing with an under 500 record last season. West Bloomfield has Jamal Shakespear coming back and he could be moved anywhere but if he has to play quarterback that could spell trouble. Jaxson Carver is someone I'm watching carefully at quarterback. Lack of depth on the lines is very concerning. There are a ton of questions surrounding the Lakers.
7. Lake Orion: The Dragons always have lofty expectations and I've done this with Lake Orion before in the past and they went on and made a ton of noise (2019.) There are a ton of questions surrounding Lake Orion when it comes to quarterback and defensively but the mental sickie is my biggest concern despite being a different Lake Orion team mentally however the concerns are there. This might be too low to put the Dragons but the concerns with mental sickie on both sides of the football outweigh the strengths. This should be a workman like football team with not a ton of questions like Oxford and West Bloomfield have but it's more mentally than most with Lake Orion.
8. Rochester: The Falcons have had some struggles over the years but I feel this could be one of Rochester's best teams when it comes to proven experience. Rochester has an up and coming star in Matt Dyki at quarterback along with a proven line on both sides along with proven skill players led by Devin Grabke. The Falcons are a sleeper in the White. They are driven and motivated is why they are here.
9. North Farmington: The Raiders are riding high after winning the Blue last season. North Farmington should be in the mix again when it comes to the Blue this season. The reason for the Raiders being this low in the rankings is because of Terrance James. When talking to Coach Jon Herstein, there was a lot of talk that James would move out of quarterback to wide receiver. I don't know if Stone Trevino or Elijah Cobb are ready along with several other question marks.
10. Oak Park: The Knights have not been a postseason team lately but this could be the year Oak Park makes some noise. They have a lot of experience coming back but there are some questions on the lines besides William Reed that need to be addressed. The Knights could make some serious noise this season.
Rankings Explanation: When looking at the rankings how they were based, I based my rankings on who has what coming back and specific players and teams that could make some noise this season.
When looking at the top spot, Harper Woods has the most upside with the talent coming back. It was close between the Pioneers and Adams but the Highlanders with Ryland Watters coming back makes Adams better despite line concerns so that's why the Highlanders have the top spot over Harper Woods but the Pioneers are more than capable to getting the top spot.
When it comes to Clarkston, they have the offense to score a ton of points. It's about how the Boman twins takes them as Coach Doug Corless said on the podcast. The defense is a serious concern despite optimism from Coach Justin Pintar and the players but there are too many warning signs with the Wolves defense but they are at three mostly because of their offense.
Stoney Creek has the athletes to make some noise which is why they are ranked fourth to start the season along with program strength especially from their sophomore and junior classes. I thought about putting the Cougars at three and moving Clarkston to four but because of the Wolves offensive returners coming back, I thought safely to place Clarkston at three and Stoney Creek at four to start the season.
Five through seven was very tough to figure out, I thought early on that Oxford, West Bloomfield, and Lake Orion were about even when it comes to talent. Lake Orion has the better team than Oxford and West Bloomfield but the Wildcats and Lakers have some star power to watch out for while the Dragons are more like a workman like team. The Wildcats have their quarterback in Jack Hendrix coming back but it's almost similar to 2019 when I ranked Oxford ahead of Lake Orion to start that season but the Dragons ended up having the better season. West Bloomfield has Jamal Shakespear coming back but they have some questions as does Oxford. I thought of putting Lake Orion at five to start the season but there are some concerns which is why they are at seven even though this is a different Lake Orion team than last season mentally. I got major criticism from History Now host Anthony Taormina about at the Dragons that they should be ranked higher but keeping them at seven is more under the radar approach seems appropriate The Lakers are six mostly because of Shakespear despite questions up front. The Wildcats are five mostly because of Hendrix but like West Bloomfield they too have some questions where the Dragons don't have a ton of questions but there are more concerns surrounding them.
I look at eight through ten was hard when it came to rankings. Rochester has a lot of excitment surrounding them and they have a lot of proven experience and motivation coming back which is why the Falcons are at eight. North Farmington has some questions at quarterback which is why they are at nine. Everything depends on Terrance James and where Coach John Herstein puts him which is why they are ranked where they are at to start the season. Oak Park rounds out the top ten mostly because of their experience despite questions up front and also their depth.
I left a few teams out of the rankings because of some questions heading into the season. Ferndale lost a lot of talent and has a new coach in Donovan Jackson. I didn't think the Eagles were ready to be ranked yet, now that could change soon enough if they get off to a good start. Seaholm was not ranked because of what Coach Jim DeWald said on the podcast, he had to replace a lot on both sides of the football which is why they aren't ranked. Groves lost a lot of talent from last season and there is a lot of question marks surrounding the Falcons which is why they aren't ranked to start the season. Troy Athens has a lot of experience coming back but the defense is my biggest concern for the Red Hawks which is why they aren't ranked to start the season. Farmington is not ranked because of their quarterback situation. Avondale isn't ranked to start the season because of their schedule despite having a new coach in Jim Carlisle taking over the program.
I get a lot of criticism when I do the rankings, remember that Anthony and I are brothers but we are NOT the same person or do we think alike. We have different opinions like everyone else whether in the media or beyond, these are not based on the projected division rankings. These are my rankings and mine alone to start the season.
Civic Center TV Interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDCOEkZGzfY
OAA Now Football Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpjDfF-Rjpo&t=1539s
ONTV News-Media Day
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