Playoff Thoughts.

Written Sunday October 23rd at 10:00 PM

Well with the playoff matchups announced here are my thoughts on how the district parings went out and my thoughts about them.

Division Two.

Region 3, District 2.

FERNDALE at Detroit Martin Luther King
OAK PARK vs Detroit University-Detroit Jesuit @ Hazel Park

Thoughts:

FERNDALE at Detroit Martin Luther King. The Eagles has had a strong season at 7-2 and are in the playoffs for the first time since 2008 but there was consideration hadn't been for their playoff points (Ferndale (72) and East Lansing (69) have the same enrollment at 1132 students) then they would had been in Division Three but they are in Division Two. Ferndale will have a very difficult match-up with the Crusaders of Detroit Martin Luther King and their star wide receiver Amory Thomas. Thomas caught three touchdown passes in a 41-20 loss to Detroit Cass Tech in the Detroit Public School League Championship Game. This is the same Detroit Martin Luther King team that destroyed Southfield Arts and Tech 39-0 at Wayne State. This will be a difficult matchup for the Eagles, besides the talent that the Crusaders have but also playing on a Friday afternoon at 4 PM is not an easy feeling.

OAK PARK vs. Detroit University-Detroit Jesuit at Hazel Park. The Knights lost out on a chance to host a home game last week when they lost 28-14 to Southfield Arts and Tech. Oak Park will go to Hazel Park to play Detroit University-Detroit Jesuit. The Cubs feature an all state punt returner in Scotty Nelson and Basketball standout Elijah Collins. Detroit University-Detroit Jesuit has a big wins over Warren De La Salle, St Joseph, and Detroit Mumford and hung tough with Orchard Lake St. Marys and Detroit Country Day. Personally I like this matchup for the Knights, the schedule they have played will prepare them for this matchup.

Region 4, District 1.

BERKLEY at GROVES
Birmingham Brother Rice at Warren Cousino

Thoughts:

BERKLEY at GROVES. The Falcons and Bears know each other from season's past even though this season Groves and Berkley did not meet. The former Blue rivals have split the last four meetings with the Falcons winning 47-14. Groves is 8-5-1 all time against Berkley. We don't know the mental mindset of the Falcons after they were destroyed 38-3 by Saline last week. The Bears had to score a late touchdown with four seconds left to beat Royal Oak 21-14 just to make the playoff field. This matchup looks to be a mismatch on paper but don't think it too much. The winner will likely clash with Birmingham Brother Rice if they get past Warren Cousino next weekend.

Division One.


Region 2, District 1.

Grand Blanc at Davison
Lapeer at CLARKSTON

Thoughts:

Lapeer at CLARKSTON. This is a rematch of a 28-7 game won by Clarkston over Lapeer in Week One this season at Michigan Stadium. In the history of the Lapeer Lightning, Lapeer has lost to only four games in their history, two of those were to Clarkston. The Wolves have had the Lightning's number and could very well do so again. Lapeer needs to make some adjustments on how to handle the Wolves because if not then it could be three straight losses to Clarkston for the Lightning. The winner of this matchup could see Davison and their Mr. Football candidate in running back Tariq Reid.

Region 2, District 2.

ORION at Romeo
Waterford Mott at ADAMS

Thoughts:

ORION at Romeo. This one could be a good old fashion WWE street fight at Dan Barnabo Field that could be won on the trenches. The Bulldogs have a very talented quarterback and running back duo in Austen Malczewski and Nathan Goralski. That duo has been huge for Romeo all season, which included wins over Warren Mott and Chippewa Valley. The Dragons have been struggling offensively in the last two weeks only scoring 16 points, that must change if Orion wants to make some noise in the playoffs. This will be the first time the Dragons have played on grass this season. The last time these two teams met was in the 2013 playoffs at Orion where Romeo won 24-21 and the Dragons until now haven't made the playoffs. Orion is 14-9 all time against Romeo including playoff wins in 2005, 2007 and 2008 oddly enough two of those three games were at Dan Barnabo Field. This one will be an interesting one to keep an eye on.

Waterford Mott at ADAMS. The Corsairs had a tough chore to make the playoffs at 5-4 but they got here and going up against one of their former OAA members. There are still some ramifications when it comes to Waterford Mott coach Chris Fahr. Fahr is suspended for this game for what happened this summer with the illegal gatherings. He served a two game regular season suspension and now must serve a two game playoff suspension as punishment from the MHSAA. The Corsairs exploded last week against Howell scoring 63 points in a 63-35 blowout of the Highlanders. Waterford Mott will face a different set of Highlanders in Adams. The Highlanders are in the playoffs for the first time since 2013. The Corsairs are led by former Orion running back Keith Fields, quarterback David McCullum, and former Farmington wide receiver Daylin Baldwin. The Highlanders run a veer offense and are 6-0 against the Corsairs in their history. Wonder if Kyle Wood could add on to the misery of Waterford Mott or will the Corsairs go into Adams and upset them.

Region 4, District 2.

WEST BLOOMFIELD at BLOOMFIELD HILLS
SOUTHFIELD ARTS AND TECH at Warren Mott

Thoughts:

WEST BLOOMFIELD at BLOOMFIELD HILLS. Think last season the Lakers had the overall number one seed in the MHSAA playoffs for Division One and now they were the last team in to make the playoffs. West Bloomfield had to fight and claw their way to make the playoffs this season with a 5-4 record. They will play a Blackhawks team that is riding high so far sitting at undefeated. Bloomfield Hills beat Orion 21-0 last week and will look to ride that confidence into their game with West Bloomfield. The Lakers have owned this series against their arch rivals going 2-0 overall and outscoring the Blackhawks 108-30. This looks to be a mismatch on paper but hey we said that about Bloomfield Hills when they played Orion and look what happened there. West Bloomfield though is a much different animal.

SOUTHFIELD ARTS AND TECH at Warren Mott. The Warriors are in the playoffs for the first time as a school and they hope to get their starting quarterback Sam Johnson III back this week against the Marauders of Warren Mott. This will be the first meeting between these two teams. Warren Mott will feature quarterback Mike Pond and a veer option offense. The Marauders have not been the same team since the Romeo game. They have been outscored 69-14 in that stretch. Warren Mott did win 40-14 over Grosse Pointe South last week but Southfield Arts and Tech is a different animal, expect them to use their athleticism but this will be the first time the Warriors have played on grass this season so that could be an advantage to the Marauders. This one will be interesting in Warren this week.