Porter steps down at Troy.

Written Thursday June 15th at 10:20 AM

The Colts will have a new girls basketball coach this winter.

According to Stephen Bell from Bank Hoops and another very accurate source, the Troy Girls Varsity Basketball job was open which means that Coach Julius Porter had stepped down at Troy. 

Porter was 24-27 in his three years at Troy. He led the Colts to the State Quarterfinals in 2021-2022 with a 13-12 record. He gave them their first district crown in a long while along with their first regional crown.

Prior to coming to Troy, Porter was an assistant coach at Clarkston for the boys basketball program under legendary coach Dan Fife.

Whoever the new coach will be has a pretty good lineup with a ton of proven young talent in Reagan Zeiter, Carly Higginbottom, Olivia Sprangler, and Diamond Prince coming back.

They will be in the Blue with Southfield Arts and Tech, Berkley, Adams, Troy Athens, and Farmington this winter.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest on this developing story.

 

Here is the tweet confirming this.

https://twitter.com/BankHoops/status/1669340261376225281

Here is another tweet confirming this.

https://twitter.com/messages/44511998-1512566000306331648/media/1669378976811188233

Softball State Semifinal Preview.

Written Wednesday June 14th at 8:50 PM

The Dragons are riding with a ton of confidence heading into their first ever State Semifinal in softball.

It will be a very tough opponent they will see on Thursday evening as they will play Hartland at Michigan State.

The winner will see either Grand Blanc or Brownstown Woodhaven on Saturday.

The Eagles come into this game as the defending Kensington Lakes Activities Association Champions and has shut out their last two opponents in Farmington Hills Mercy and Grosse Pointe North by a combined 6-0. They also beat South Lyon as well.

Lake Orion is coming off a 7-0 win over Utica Ford II on Wednesday evening. The Dragons also have wins over Clarkston, Oxford, and Macomb Dakota.

Both teams have very good pitchers with the Eagles having Kylie Swierkois and the Dragons have Rylee Limberger.

This game should come down to offense between two very proven teams. Hartland is ranked fifth in the state while Lake Orion was an honorable mention.

Thursday evening should be a very interesting matchup to say the least.

Girls Soccer State Final Preview.

Written Wednesday June 14th at 8:35 PM

The Cougars are riding with a ton of confidence this postseason. Stoney Creek is in their first State Final since 2016. The Cougars have a great chance to win another State Crown on Saturday afternoon when they play Hudsonville at Michigan State.

Stoney Creek is ranked third in the stare. The Cougars are coming off a 2-0 win over Saline at home on Wednesday evening behind two goals from Ava Avripas and Lauren Palmer.

Hudsonville is ranked fourth in the state. The Eagles are coming off a 2-0 win over previously unbeaten and second ranked Northville in Grand Ledge.

Stoney Creek has wins over top ranked Rochester, 12th ranked Utica Eisenhower, and 15th ranked Saline. Hudsonville has wins over second ranked Northville, 7th ranked Portage Central this postseason.

It should be a very interesting matchup to watch on Saturday afternoon at Michigan State.

North Farmington has their new Girls Basketball Coach.

Written Monday June 12th at 2:30 PM

North Farmington has their new girls basketball coach.

The Raiders will name Michael Allan as their new girls basketball coach confirmed by a very accurate source. He replaces Jeff Simpson whom has been with North Farmington for 29 years with the program. Simpson will retire from teaching at North Farmington next year.

Allan was an assistant at Waterford Kettering under then and current West Bloomfield Coach Darrin McAllister. He was the Junior Varsity Coach at Lapeer this past season. The Lightning went 11-10 under Allan last season. 

Allan is known for bringing toughness, grit, and desire. It will be something that he will preach with his new program this season.

North Farmington went 22-0 which was their first undefeated season in school history but the Raiders fell to Farmington Hills Mercy in the district finals last season. The Raiders lost several very talented players but they have Asiyah Jihad and Hannah Hart coming back. Program strength was a big concern under Simpson and the problems surrounding it look to be ongoing for Allan.

North Farmington will be in the White with Groves, Royal Oak, Seaholm, Bloomfield Hills, and Harper Woods this winter. The districts have not been released yet.

It will be a very interesting transition period to watch at North Farmington.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest on this developing story.

Girls Soccer Semifinal and Softball Quarterfinal Previews.

Written Saturday June 10th at 8:00 PM

As we head into the final week of the 2022-2023 school year here is a preview heading into the final week for girls soccer and softball.

Girls Soccer

Saline at STONEY CREEK-6 PM Wednesday.

The Cougars have went through a lot especially in the postseason where they upset Rochester in the district finals winning probably one of the toughest districts in the state and got a hard fought win over New Baltimore Anchor Bay in the regional finals. Stoney Creek has a home game in the State Semifinals against a very good Saline program. The Hornets have been very good all season. It should be very interesting on Wednesday evening in Rochester.

 

Softball

LAKE ORION vs Utica Ford II- 4:30 PM Tuesday at Troy Athens

The Dragons are riding with a ton of confidence after beating top ranked Macomb Dakota in the regional final at Oxford. Lake Orion has a chance to get to Michigan State if they can get by a very good Utica Ford II program. The Falcons beat Bloomfield Hills and Warren Regina in the regional but this might be their toughest test yet with the Dragons. It should be a very interesting matchup between two proven programs.

Baseball Regional Final Preview.

Written Wednesday June 7th at 7:20 PM

Here is the regional final preview for baseball.

Region 7 @ St. Clair Community College in Port Huron

The regional finals are Saturday with the winners will play each other in the State Quarterfinals on the same day. 

LAKE ORION vs Macomb Dakota

The Dragons pulled off their third win over a State ranked team in the postseason. They will have a rematch with the Cougars. Both teams won road games to get to this regional final. Macomb Dakota beat Sterling Heights Stevenson 4-2 while Lake Orion beat Lakeland 9-4. The Cougars and Dragons have met before this season. Macomb Dakota beat Lake Orion 8-1 and 4-3 on the final day of the regular season. It should be a very interesting rematch between these two teams on Saturday morning.

 

TROY ATHENS vs Grand Blanc

The Red Hawks are coming in with house money after they pulled off a shocking upset of Adams 4-3 on Wednesday afternoon in Auburn Hills. Troy Athens will take on a Grand Blanc squad that has a ton of confidence. The Bobcats beat arch rival Davison 9-3 to get to this game. Grand Blanc is the better team on paper but that’s why they play the game.

Adams has their new Boys Basketball Coach.

Written Tuesday June 6th at 9:50 PM

Updated Tuesday June 6th at 9:55 PM

Adams will have a new boys basketball coach next winter.

The Highlanders named Isaiah Novak as their new Boys Varsity Basketball Coach. Novak takes over for Jaret Thomas whom stepped down and is now coaching at Avondale.

"Adams is happy to welcome Isaiah Novak as the next head coach of the Boys Basketball program. He brings 13 years of experience at the high school and JUCO (junior college) level. He is an educator and coach who believes if you do things right, good things will happen" Adams Athletics said on Twitter.

"I'm extremely blessed for this opportunity to work with such an amazing Rochester Hills community. We will work hard to win the right way and make our community proud, if you do things right, good things will happen" Novak said in a tweet.

Novak coached at Madison Heights Lamphere for two years from 2021-2023. He went 20-23 in his two years with the program. The Rams went 11-12 and had a stretch where they went 3-8 but went 8-4 to close out the season. Madison Heights Lamphere fell to Birmingham Detroit Country Day 65-42 in the first round last season.

Prior to being at Madison Heights Lamphere, Novak does have a Catholic League background. He is a 2005 alumni at Madison Heights Bishop Foley. He coached at Madison Heights Bishop Foley from 2014-2016 to a 21-24 record. Novak was at Birmingham Brother Rice as the program’s junior varsity coach under Coach Rick Palmer.

Novak takes over a program that saw a ton of success. Adams won their second straight district crown and their first regional crown in school history. They fell to Grand Blanc in the Division One State Quarterfinals last season.

Novak will have a very difficult task ahead of him. He will have a program that is in one of the toughest divisions in the State in the Red with West Bloomfield, Groves, Ferndale, Clarkston, Oak Park, and North Farmington.

Adams has two very talented proven guards in Peter Karsaisis and William Gee coming back and also program strength is very strong. The question is can Novak build on the success that Thomas left???

Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest on this developing story.

 

Here is the tweet confirming the hire.

 https://twitter.com/athletics_adams/status/1666258972720996354

Novak tweet.

https://twitter.com/coach_novak11/status/1666260569547059201