Week Two Picks.

Written Monday August 28th at 5:45 PM

Welcome to the 2017 OAA Football Season, this season we will pick games that include OAA Teams. This year we have Anthony Taormina from History Now and Between Taorminas on Orion Neighborhood Television, Scott Burnstein from MIPrepZone and State Champs, Dan Stickradt from North Oakland Sports, Keith Dunlap a free-lance writer at the Detroit Free Press, and Sean Cotter Ford worker and Farmington loyalist.

SAMMY 8-11

ANT 12-7

SEAN 12-7

STICK 13-6

KEITH 15-4

BURNEY 10-9

5. Southfield Arts and Tech at 1. Clarkston

The Warriors in their first home game as one school won a hard fought 24-18 overtime game against the Wolves last season. Southfield Arts and Tech merged schools with Southfield and Lathrup in the start of last season also lost their first game but beat Clarkston in the second game. The Wolves have Mike Fleugel and have seem to find another emerging running back in Josh Cantu. Cantu had two touchdowns in Clarkston’s 42-7 win over Lapeer at Michigan Stadium last week. The Warriors had a heartbreaking triple overtime loss 56-54 to Davison after leading 26-12 late in the game. At Wayne State. The Wolves are opening up their new turf field so this will be an interesting matchup to keep an eye on this week.

SAMMY PICK: SOUTHFIELD ARTS AND TECH 35, CLARKSTON 28.

ANT PICK: CLARKSTON 42, SOUTHFIELD ARTS AND TECH 21.

SEAN PICK: CLARKSTON 35, SOUTHFIELD ARTS AND TECH 30.

STICK PICK: CLARKSTON 24, SOUTHFIELD ARTS AND TECH 21.

KEITH PICK: CLARKSTON 24, SOUTHFIELD ARTS AND TECH 21.

BURNEY PICK: CLARKSTON 27, SOUTHFIELD ARTS AND TECH 24.

Stoney Creek at 2. Groves

The Falcons many people thought would be a down after going 21-3 in the last two seasons however they didn’t look like a team that is going to be down this season. Groves behind their rushing attack beat Novi 42-21 last week at Falcons Stadium. This week they should be tested again this week with the Cougars. Stoney Creek whom had a rough year last season had to hang on to beat Utica Ford II 19-12 at Runkel Field behind a defense that caused three timely turnovers last week. The Cougars have an emerging player in Jericho Barr-Redmond. Groves is 0-2 all time against Stoney Creek. This one is a trap game for the Falcons.

SAMMY PICK: STONEY CREEK 24, GROVES 21.

ANT PICK: GROVES 42, STONEY CREEK 7.

SEAN PICK: GROVES 42, STONEY CREEK 13.

STICK PICK:  GROVES 21, STONEY CREEK 14.

KEITH PICK: GROVES 27, STONEY CREEK 13.

BURNEY PICK: GROVES 28, STONEY CREEK 18.

9. Bloomfield Hills at 3. West Bloomfield

The Lakers have owned the Blackhawks in the Battle of the Hills including a 31-14 win in the playoffs that ruined Bloomfield Hills undefeated season last year. West Bloomfield also beat the Blackhawks 61-26 in 2014 and 47-6 in 2015. Bloomfield Hills beat Seaholm 21-19 in Birmingham while the Lakers lost 19-14 to Walled Lake Western at Wayne State. The Blackhawks will be playing in the Swamp, this could be a very tough go for the Bloomfield Hills this week, I would be shocked if the Blackhawks upset the Lakers.

SAMMY PICK: WEST BLOOMFIELD 35, BLOOMFIELD HILLS 7.

ANT PICK: WEST BLOOMFIELD 49, BLOOMFIELD HILLS 7.

SEAN PICK: WEST BLOOMFIELD 42, BLOOMFIELD HILLS 14.

STICK PICK: WEST BLOOMFIELD 28, BLOOMFIELD HILLS 14.

KEITH PICK: WEST BLOOMFIELD 42, BLOOMFIELD HILLS 7.

BURNEY PICK: WEST BLOOMFIELD 33, BLOOMFIELD HILLS 23.

4. Oak Park at Rochester

The Knights hold a 2-0 edge all time against Rochester. The Oak Park defense was just exposed on third and fourth downs last week in their 24-7 loss to Utica Eisenhower at Wayne State. They had a few bad turnovers that cost them big time. The Falcons open up their new turf stadium this week. Rochester will look to rebound after getting destroyed 38-6 against their arch rival Adams last week. This one looks to be a mismatch on paper.

SAMMY PICK: OAK PARK 35, ROCHESTER 0.

ANT PICK: OAK PARK 49, ROCHESTER 7.

SEAN PICK: OAK PARK 40, ROCHESTER 6.

STICK PICK: OAK PARK 35, ROCHESTER 7.

KEITH PICK: OAK PARK 32, ROCHESTER 13.

BURNEY PICK: OAK PARK 34, ROCHESTER 14.

7. Adams at 6. Orion

This will be the first meeting since the 2014 season between these two arch rivals when the Highlanders took the Dragons out of the playoffs with a 30-26 win. Adams won a shocking easy 38-6 beat down last week over Rochester while Orion lost 20-17 to Chippewa Valley. The Dragons are 19-13 all-time against the Highlanders. Both teams have talent, this will be a fun game to watch.

SAMMY PICK: ORION 34, ADAMS 24.

ANT PICK: ORION 27, ADAMS 14.

SEAN PICK: ORION 21, ADAMS 17.

STICK PICK: ADAMS 21, ORION 14.

KEITH PICK: ORION 21, ADAMS 18.

BURNEY PICK: ADAMS 21, ORION 20.

8. Ferndale at Farmington

If last season’s 7-2 wasn’t a fluke for doubters of the Eagles then the 50-0 home victory last week over Madison Heights Lamphere might say otherwise. The Eagles should be tested against Farmington on the road. The Falcons were one of the teams to keep an eye on this season had a very bad loss to Berkley last week losing 28-23 at Hurley Field. Ferndale is 0-3 all-time against Farmington. If the Eagles want to win the Blue then they must win this game.

SAMMY PICK: FERNDALE 35, FARMINGTON 20.

ANT PICK: FERNDALE 28, FARMINGTON 7.

SEAN PICK: FARMINGTON 35, FERNDALE 32.

STICK PICK: FERNDALE 21, FARMINGTON 7.

KEITH PICK: FERNDALE 21, FARMINGTON 17.

BURNEY PICK: FERNDALE 24, FARMINGTON 20.

10. Harrison at Troy

It’s odd to see that there is one team at 1-0 and the other at 0-1 but it’s not the teams you think that are in that stretch. The Hawks were destroyed by East Grand Rapids 34-8 on the west side of the State while the Colts won 48-25 at Avondale last week. Harrison is 5-0 all-time against Troy. Looking at this matchup the talent looks to be a mismatch but that’s why they play the game.

SAMMY PICK: HARRISON 35, TROY 20.

ANT PICK: HARRISON 28, TROY 14.

SEAN PICK: HARRISON 35, TROY 14.

STICK PICK: TROY 28, HARRISON 27.

KEITH PICK: HARRISON 20, TROY 10.

BURNEY PICK: HARRISON 31, TROY 28.

Seaholm at Berkley

The Bears have a new era got a huge win last week over Farmington winning 28-23 at Hurley Field. Now they get a better opponent in Seaholm. The Maples almost overcame a 14-0 deficit but lost 21-19. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since Seaholm beat Berkley 31-15 in 2013. The Maples are 31-13-3 all-time against the Bears. It should be an interesting matchup.

SAMMY PICK: SEAHOLM 28, BERKLEY 14.

ANT PICK: SEAHOLM 35, BERKLEY 14.

SEAN PICK: SEAHOLM 26, BERKLEY 14.

STICK PICK: BERKLEY 21, SEAHOLM 14.

KEITH PICK: SEAHOLM 24, BERKLEY 21.

BURNEY PICK: BERKLEY 32, SEAHOLM 21.

Oxford at Troy Athens

The Wildcats hold a 2-1 edge on the Red Hawks since they entered the OAA in 2010 and a 4-2 edge overall. Oxford will look to get back on track after losing 30-17 to a very good Romeo team while Troy Athens will look to bounce back after losing 42-14 to Warren Mott. Both teams need this game bad.

SAMMY PICK: OXFORD 28, TROY ATHENS 14.

ANT PICK: OXFORD 49, TROY ATHENS 7.

SEAN PICK: OXFORD 28, TROY ATHENS 14.

STICK PICK: OXFORD 28, TROY ATHENS 21.

KEITH PICK: OXFORD 20, TROY ATHENS 14.

BURNEY PICK: OXFORD 29, TROY ATHENS 22.

North Farmington at Royal Oak

The Ravens took a huge step in the right direction beating St. Clair Shores Lakeview 21-0 getting their revenge on the Huskies last week. Royal Oak will look to get to 2-0 for the first time in school history with a game against North Farmington whom they are 2-1 against in their history. The Raiders were disappointing last week in their 47-7 loss to Greenville. Coach Bob Chiesa has to get his team to turn it around and quick especially defensibly. This could be an interesting matchup but for North Farmington they need to bounce back and quick.

SAMMY PICK: NORTH FARMINGTON 21, ROYAL OAK 14.

ANT PICK: NORTH FARMINGTON 17, ROYAL OAK 14.

SEAN PICK: ROYAL OAK 21, NORTH FARMINGTON 7.

STICK PICK: ROYAL OAK 21, NORTH FARMINGTON 14.

KEITH PICK: ROYAL OAK 28, NORTH FARMINGTON 7.

BURNEY PICK: ROYAL OAK 26, NORTH FARMINGTON 16.

Hazel Park at Avondale

This is a huge game for both teams to see where they are at early in the season. The Vikings made progress especially on the defensive side of the football after losing 32-20 to Warren Fitzgerald last week in the Battle of Nine Mile. The Yellow Jackets suffered a really bad home loss to Troy 48-25 last week. Avondale had a full offseason to put in Ed Couturier’s system. The offense looked solid but the defense has some issues, especially when the Yellow Jackets allowed 48 points. Avondale has owned Hazel Park winning the last seven meetings. The Yellow Jackets since 2012 has outscored the Vikings 208-20. This rivalry used to be high scoring but it’s been one sided lately.

SAMMY PICK: AVONDALE 42, HAZEL PARK 21.

ANT PICK: AVONDALE 24, HAZEL PARK 21.

SEAN PICK: AVONDALE 25, HAZEL PARK 20.

STICK PICK: HAZEL PARK 27, AVONDALE 21.

KEITH PICK: AVONDALE 35, HAZEL PARK 14.

BURNEY PICK: AVONDALE 25, HAZEL PARK 17.

Pontiac at Hamtramck

The Phoenix is coming off a tough 20-0 loss at the former Lathrup to Detroit Old Redford Academy and have lost 24 straight games. The Cosmos lost a 17-16 heartbreaker to Detroit Western. This will be the first meeting between these two schools.

SAMMY PICK: HAMTRAMCK 21, PONTIAC 6.

ANT PICK: HAMTRAMCK 24, PONTIAC 0.

SEAN PICK: HAMTRAMCK 32, PONTIAC 6.

STICK PICK: PONTIAC 7, HAMTRAMCK 6.

KEITH PICK: HAMTRAMACK 35, PONTIAC 0.

BURNEY PICK: PONTIAC 16, HAMTRAMCK 14.