Football Picks-Week Five.

Written Wednesday September 23rd at 1:30 PM

Records:

Keith 45-11

Sammy 41-15

Ant 41-15

Dan 39-17

Sean 38-18

9. Orion at 1. West Bloomfield:

This will be an interesting matchup between the Dragons and Lakers. Orion is 12-4 all-time against West Bloomfield. The Lakers are dynamic and experienced on both sides of the football. They will run a read option offense led by Michigan State bound receiver whom plays quarterback in Tristan Jackson. West Bloomfield hasn’t lost a game since Walled Lake Central when they lost 11-7 at home in the district finals. The Dragons remember the 39-0 loss on their homecoming last season to West Bloomfield but did not have some key players whom didn’t play in that game because of injuries. Jackson was dominant in that game last season. Orion played Chippewa Valley, a team that is very similar to the Lakers but the only difference is that West Bloomfield is more athletic. This could be a back and forth affair in this game.

SAMMY PICK: ORION 35, WEST BLOOMFIELD 31.

ANT PICK: ORION 42, WEST BLOOMFIELD 35.

KEITH PICK: WEST BLOOMFIELD 27, ORION 13.

DAN PICK: WEST BLOOMFIELD 28, ORION 27.

SEAN PICK: WEST BLOOMFIELD 35, ORION 21.

Oxford at 7. Clarkston:

The Wolves might have found their quarterback in Alex Kessman. Kessman is also the team’s kicker and punter. He had to come into the game against West Bloomfield after quarterback Anthony Reider broke his hand. Kessman had two touchdowns and a pick along with a 53 yard field goal against Stoney Creek in a 45-7 win. He was aided by two defensive touchdowns and running back Michael Fluegel whom had two touchdowns and had another 100 yard game last week. Fluegel has been filling in for Nolan Eriksen. Eriksen is expected back from an ankle injury either this week or next week and is expected to share carries with Fluegel. The Wildcats are on life support after failing to score a point for a second straight week and third time this season as they were shutout 36-0 by Orion falling to 1-3. Oxford’s Wyatt Harden went over 100 yards for the fourth straight game but it wasn’t enough. The Wildcats will have a tough chore to score if they don’t change something on offense because Clarkston’s defense is pretty good.

SAMMY PICK: CLARKSTON 35, OXFORD 0.

ANT PICK: CLARKSTON 42, OXFORD 0.

KEITH PICK: CLARKSTON 35, OXFORD 14.

DAN PICK: CLARKSTON 35, OXFORD 7.

SEAN PICK: CLARKSTON 42, OXFORD 0.

Bloomfield Hills at 8. Troy Athens:

The Blackhawks got their first win of the season on its new home field with a 21-14 victory over Troy on their homecoming behind the quarterback/running back combo of Elijah Sherman and Andrew Denk. Bloomfield Hills rushed for 218 yards against Troy. Sherman had 18 carries for 119 rushing yards while their other running back Derrick Lynch had 17 carries for 47 yards and a touchdown. The Blackhawks get to face the other Troy school in the Red Hawks on the road. Troy Athens has a very good rushing defense whom shut down Orion and Oxford in victories the previous two weeks. The Red Hawks fell to West Bloomfield 28-17 last week but they gave the Lakers everything they could handle. Looking at this matchup this doesn’t look good for Bloomfield Hills. The Red Hawks have size, a talented running back in Jake Vincent, a talented quarterback in Joey Stark and a defense that is solid. This could get ugly for the Blackhawks.

SAMMY PICK: TROY ATHENS 28, BLOOMFIELD HILLS 14.

ANT PICK: TROY ATHENS 42, BLOOMFIELD HILLS 3.

KEITH PICK: TROY ATHENS 42, BLOOMFIELD HILLS 13.

DAN PICK: TROY ATHENS 28, BLOOMFIELD HILLS 7.

SEAN PICK: TROY ATHENS 42, BLOOMFIELD HILLS 7.

Troy at Stoney Creek:

The Cougars are in danger of missing the playoffs for the second straight season with tough road games with Orion and West Bloomfield looming for coach Brad Zube. Stoney Creek lost 45-7 to Clarkston last week as they sit at 1-3. The 21-19 week two loss to the Wildcats is killing them because Oxford is struggling right now also siting at 1-3. The other Cougars loss was to Adams in week one 28-21 on the road. The Colts lost an opportunity to get a win last week as they lost 21-14 to Bloomfield Hills on the road despite quarterback Scott Middlebrun throwing for two touchdowns. This does not look good for Troy but if they play well they could pull off a huge upset.

SAMMY PICK: STONEY CREEK 20, TROY 14.

ANT PICK: STONEY CREEK 28, TROY 3.

KEITH PICK: STONEY CREEK 28, TROY 10.

DAN PICK: STONEY CREEK 17, TROY 13.

SEAN PICK: STONEY CREEK 35, TROY 10.

2. Southfield at 3. Harrison:

This is a huge matchup for both teams as the winner will have sole possession of first place in the White. Both teams come into this game with a 3-1 record and 3-0 in league. Southfield struggled with North Farmington only winning 20-7. Harrison won 40-13 at home over Seaholm. The Blue Jays have struggled a bit since the Adams win. The Hawks are rolling right now and is ready for two of their former teammates in Brendan Brown and Tyrone Lyte whom transferred from Harrison to Southfield in the summer time.

SAMMY PICK: SOUTHFIELD 31, HARRISON 24.

ANT PICK: SOUTHFIELD 26, HARRISON 24.

KEITH PICK: SOUTHFIELD 17, HARRISON 14.

DAN PICK: HARRISON 28, SOUTHFIELD 20.

SEAN PICK: SOUTHFIELD 20, HARRISON 14.

North Farmington at 4. Farmington:

The Falcons pulled off an unbelievable upset of Adams scoring with 22 seconds left in the game in a 19-15 win on the road led by Josh Turner’s five yard touchdown run. JaKarr Jackson’s 45 yard kickoff return and also Kyle Brunson. Farmington proved they are no joke in the White increased its playoff chances. The Falcons will face an inner city rival in North Farmington. The Raiders lost 20-6 last week to Southfield must rely on their defense if they want to pull off the big upset on Farmington’s homecoming.

SAMMY PICK: FARMINGTON 28, NORTH FARMINGTON 6.

ANT PICK:  FARMINGTON 42, NORTH FARMINGTON 6.

KEITH PICK: FARMINGTON 21, NORTH FARMINGTON 7.

DAN PICK: FARMINGTON 21, NORTH FARMINGTON 8.

SEAN PICK: FARMINGTON 33, NORTH FARMINGTON 7.

Oak Park at 6. Adams:

Highlanders coach Tony Patrino must have had lost sleep after losing to Farmington after losing the way they did last week. They allowed a touchdown with 22 seconds remaining in the game in a 19-15 loss to the Falcons. Adams hurt their playoff chances after this loss but they do have an opportunity to control its destiny if they can beat Oak Park on its homecoming. The Knights bounced back beating Rochester 33-0 still needing to win out if they want to make the playoffs. If Chauncey Lowman and Dylan Stackhouse play well in this matchup, it could put the Highlanders in a much deeper hole than they are right now.

SAMMY PICK: OAK PARK 28, ADAMS 27.

ANT PICK: ADAMS 28, OAK PARK 27.

KEITH PICK: ADAMS 20, OAK PARK 17.

DAN PICK: ADAMS 21, OAK PARK 20.

SEAN PICK: ADAMS 21, OAK PARK 19.

Rochester at Seaholm:

The Falcons have been struggling as of late losing seven straight games. Rochester just didn’t look good at all against Oak Park in a 33-0 home loss and they sit at 0-4 because of it. The Falcons are 1-12 in the last two seasons and has gotten outscored 257-34 in the process of the seven game losing streak and 453-95 during their 1-12 streak the last two years. The Maples whom is 3-3 in their last six games have lost two straight by a combined of 74-27 is the reason why they sit at 1-3. Seaholm is 6-0 all-time against the Falcons which to a betting man, the Maples should win this game. Seaholm must fix their defense led by Troy Hairston if they want to get into the playoff hunt.

SAMMY PICK: SEAHOLM 17, ROCHESTER 7.

ANT PICK: SEAHOLM 28, ROCHESTER 14.

KEITH PICK: SEAHOLM 24, ROCHESTER 14.

DAN PICK:  SEAHOLM 14, ROCHESTER 13.

SEAN PICK: SEAHOLM 35, ROCHESTER 7.

5. Groves at Hazel Park:

The Falcons keep rolling along not allowing a point to a Blue team, and only allowing eight points this season while maintain a 4-0 record. Groves destroyed Pontiac 49-0 last week at Wisner Stadium behind Collin Heard going for 102 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, Ernest Allen had seven carries for 54 yards and two touchdowns and to make matters worse two touchdown catches to Nick Moore from 40 and 69 yards. The Vikings meanwhile have played much better since getting their first win over Pontiac 38-0. Hazel Park was very competitive in a 27-18 loss to Berkley last week. The Vikings will be very competitive but the Falcons are in another orbit right now but Groves schedule will toughen up in the final four weeks of the season.

SAMMY PICK: GROVES 35, HAZEL PARK 18.

ANT PICK: GROVES 35, HAZEL PARK 7.

KEITH PICK: GROVES 42, HAZEL PARK 0.

DAN PICK:  GROVES 35, HAZEL PARK 14.

SEAN PICK: GROVES 42, HAZEL PARK 0.

Avondale at 10. Berkley:

The Yellow Jackets playoff hopes took a huge hit last week in a 28-26 loss to Lathrup which puts them at 2-2. Avondale is not healthy as they had to call up two players from their Junior Varsity team. The Yellow Jackets were down 28-7 but came back to make it a game with the Chargers. Avondale quarterback Tyler Grotz threw for 143 yards and two touchdowns in the comeback effort. The Yellow Jackets has lost two straight games at home to Berkley by a combined of four points (34-31 in 2013 and 21-20 last season both were on homecoming for Avondale) but this season’s game is at Hurley Field in Berkley. The Bears beat Hazel Park 27-18 last week behind Nolan Given and Ashen Wood. The Yellow Jackets are 6-5 all-time against Berkley, expect this game to be close.

SAMMY PICK: BERKLEY 34, AVONDALE 31.

ANT PICK: AVONDALE 28, BERKLEY 24.

KEITH PICK: BERKLEY 24, AVONDALE 21.

DAN PICK: AVONDALE 21, BERKLEY 14.

SEAN PICK: AVONDALE 26, BERKLEY 14.

Ferndale at Lathrup:

The Chargers have been a mystery team lately, when they are an underdog they find ways to win and when they are a favorite, they tend to lose. Lathrup found a way to score more than seven points in the previous two weeks. They did bounce back and upset Avondale 28-26 as they had to overcome a Yellow Jackets potential winning field goal attempt and had a fourth down stop. Chargers coach Jason Solomon found a quarterback in Bryce Veasley whom had two touchdown passes in the game. Lathrup got a rushing touchdown and its defense got a pick six as well. Ronald Gohagon had 20 carries for 168 yards and a touchdown last week against Royal Oak in a 31-7 loss for the Eagles. This could be an interesting matchup in Lathrup Village in the final season of Chargers football and Lathrup wants to get into the playoffs. It all starts with this game against Ferndale and we remember the last time they were a favorite, they lost to Royal Oak 21-7.

SAMMY PICK: LATHRUP 28, FERNDALE 14.

ANT PICK:  LATHRUP 24, FERNDALE 21.

KEITH PICK: LATHRUP 21, FERNDALE 14.

DAN PICK: FERNDALE 21, LATHRUP 14.

SEAN PICK: LATHRUP 21, FERNDALE 14.

Royal Oak at Pontiac:

Ravens coach Ray McMann is beginning to change the fortunes and culture at Royal Oak since they were 6-57 before since 2008. It does help when you have Brendan Beerer carrying the load for the Ravens. Beerer had 142 yards with three touchdowns on 12 carries against Ferndale in a 31-7 win. Royal Oak has the same amount of wins than they had from 2008-2012 (two wins.) If the Ravens can go into Wisner Stadium and win then they could be above 500 for the first time since 2007.  The Phoenix haven’t scored a point at all this season and it could be while if they don’t score a point. Maybe this could be a start for them to get something going for them this season.

SAMMY PICK: ROYAL OAK 31, PONTIAC 0.

ANT PICK: ROYAL OAK 24, PONTIAC 0.

KEITH PICK: ROYAL OAK 35, PONTIAC 0.

DAN PICK: ROYAL OAK 21, PONTIAC 20.

SEAN PICK: ROYAL OAK 42, PONTIAC 0.