Friday, August 3, 2018

2018 Football Uniform designs.

Written Friday August 3rd at 3:15 PM

Here is my take from the football uniforms and grades from OAA Media Day at Rochester.

ADAMS: The Highlanders have three jerseys from Russell Athletics along with the gold helmets. Traditionally Adams helmet has an A with a sword underneath the A but last season the Highlanders to celebrate their 50th anniversary went with the script Adams on the helmet which I though was a horrible decision to do that. Adams has a Highlander kilt design on the elbows on all three jerseys which is very interesting. On their home brown jerseys they have a gold V-Neck with the front that has the name ADAMS and the number in gold trim on the front. Adams under coach Tony Patrino usually wear white pants with a gold outline on the side with the name HIGHLANDERS. On the road whites the jerseys are same exact design as the home uniforms with the Highlander kilt on the elbows with the name ADAMS and lettering and numbers are in brown with gold for the outline. On the alternate jerseys it’s an all gray with the same design but the lettering and numbers are larger than on the home and road jerseys. I really feel these should be the Highlanders home uniforms, not the brown jerseys. Until they change the design on the helmet, an A is not in the cards right now. GRADE B.

AVONDALE: The Yellow Jackets have three different uniform combinations to go along with their purple helmet that has the bee on the sides. The provider of the uniforms is Adidas which is something that I don’t like but the design I do like. On the home purple jerseys it has the name AVONDALE on them with the number in yellow and the numbers on the shoulders. On their alternate jerseys which are yellow, it’s the same design with purple and white and on the road white it’s purple numbering and gold outline on the shoulders. The Adidas logo sticks out which is not good. Get rid of that Adidas logo and you have a good uniform. GRADE B.

ATHENS: The Red Hawks went back to their traditional gold helmet with the Red Hawks logo on them. They went the all red look for home games and the all-white look for road games. On the helmet, I don’t understand the name on top of the helmet with the red outline but that’s for another day. They put the last names of the players on the back of them which is a big plus. What I don’t like about their uniforms is the provider, Adidas. Another thing I didn’t like was the hawk wings on the elbows. I kind of wish they would put the number of the players on the elbows. The design and clean look is good but just don’t like whom provided the uniforms. GRADE C.

BERKLEY: The Bears have an interesting uniform design given to them by Nike. The helmets were dark blue with the Bears logo on them until Missouri State copyrighted the Bears logo and they went with a white helmet with the B logo on the sides. The home dark blue uniforms has the BEARS name and numbers. The numbers are italicized on the front of the jerseys with a white stripe on the elbows and numbers on the shoulders. The all white look is awful, you can’t see the numbers because they are in white with only the outline the name BERKLEY in dark blue. The home uniforms at Hurley Field looks good but the road ones need work. GRADE C.

BLOOMFIELD HILLS: The Blackhawks changed their uniform look last season when they went to Nike from Russell Athletic in 2015. Bloomfield Hills went with the black helmet with a Blackhawks design on them on both sides. They went from the black to the purple for their home uniforms last season. It has the name BLACKHAWKS on it with white lettering. What is interesting is that they have white on the elbows with purple numbering and white outlines to go along with purple pants. The road white uniforms say HILLS on them with purple lettering. They have black on the shoulders with the purple numbering on them with white pants. It’s an interesting and good uniform design but it’s interesting though that purple although not a bad color was the color they went with. GRADE B.

CLARKSTON: The Wolves went to two different uniform providers with their design to go along with the classic Michigan helmet look. The home dark blue jerseys are provided by Under Armor which has the CLARKSTON name in small font and in white with the gold numbering with white outlines on the front of the jerseys. The numbers are on the shoulders with the same design to go along with the blue pants. The road uniforms are provided by Nike, to which the jersey says CLARKSTON with the blue numbers and gold outlines. They have numbers also on the elbows as well but the numbers are very odd in an unusual way with white pants. It’s interesting that a school like Clarkston needing two different jersey providers doesn’t always go well with me. GRADE C+

FARMINGTON: The Falcons are going with a whole new look this season. Farmington is getting rid of their traditional Penn State look and going with a new design from Nike. The Falcons added gray to their new jerseys with the Falcons logo on the back of both of them. On the new road jerseys they have a gray stripe on the middle with two dark blue stripes in between on the shoulders. On the front there is the name FARMINGTON in small font with the number in gray and dark blue outlining. On the new home jerseys the stripe in the middle is white with gray on the sides of the shoulders along with the name FARMINGTON and the number on the crest of the home dark blue jerseys. I’m going to miss the traditional Penn State look but it’s an interesting uniform design but the white helmet could be a problem. GRADE B-

FERNDALE: The Eagles have three uniform combinations to choose from with their Russell Athletic providers and they look very good combined with their gold helmets. Ferndale has their traditional home brown uniforms with gold numbers outlined in white with white elbows and gold outline. They have the EAGLES name crested in small font with the players numbers. The road white uniforms have a brown outline on the elbows with brown and gold numbers on the shoulders. The crest has the number and a small FERNDALE on them. The all gold uniforms also look good as well. I like Ferndale’s crop of uniforms especially if they go with the all brown, all white, or all gold. Makes a great uniform. GRADE A.

GROVES: This maybe the best look in football for me in my opinion. The green Falcons helmet with the gold Falcons logo looks good. I love the green, gold, and black design of the Falcons that Nike made. The home green is perfect with the black elbows and the font with the name GROVES and numbering is gold with black pants. The road white uniforms are also great but with no gold. It has the green elbows with the numbers on the shoulders. The name GROVES and numbers are also green to go along with white pants. I love this look, please don’t change this up. GRADE A.

HAZEL PARK: The Vikings uniforms are very unique especially with the maroon helmet. Hazel Park’s road uniforms are all white with the name HAZEL PARK in small font along with maroon and gray trim. The home uniforms are maroon with gray and white trim with the numbers on the elbows. The team went to Addix this season so that will be interesting. It will be the final season for the Vikings in the OAA so it will be interesting to see what happens. GRADE D.

HARRISON: The Hawks enter their final season with the traditional uniforms. They have the same yellow helmet with the traditional H football with the white and green striping on top and the yellow pants with the green and white stripes. What bothers me a bit is that Nike gave Harrison the same jerseys but different font sizes with the name on front of the jerseys. Some of the uniforms are big while the others are small in lettering. The home green uniforms have the name HAWKS on them with the white and yellow outline numbering. They have the two gold stripe and one big white stripe on the shoulders with the numbers on the elbows. The road white uniforms have the same design but with two green stripes and one gold stripe with the numbers on the elbows. The name HARRISON is on the front with the numbers in green and gold outline. Never go against the classics. GRADE A-

LAKE ORION: The Dragons have not been the same uniform wise since they went with Nike in 2012 when they had the traditional Russell Athletic uniforms. This season, Lake Orion is going back to a uniform design that has benefited them in the past the opposite elbow uniforms. On the home green jerseys to which they wore from 2013-2014, it will say DRAGONS with the numbers on the front of the jerseys. The elbows will be the opposite color which is white. On the road white uniforms it is the 2012 design with the green elbows that sent the team to the State Semifinals that season, the front will say DRAGONS and have the players numbers in the front. The nameplates will also be in the back of the jerseys as well. The Dragons uniforms are very unique but the opposite elbow look gives me a passing grade for Lake Orion. GRADE A.

NORTH FARMINGTON: The Raiders went with new uniforms this offseason after having an outdated design since 2007, which was awesome and what helped was yours truly had some input on coach Bob Chiesa football team’s new look. The new brown uniforms look awesome with the name NORTH on the chest with a yellow V-Neck and white numbering. North Farmington added yellow stripes on the elbows and white numbering on the shoulders. The home pants are brown with yellow stripes on the sides with the name RAIDERS on them. The road white uniforms look awesome as well with the name NORTH FARMINGTON crested on the chest with the numbering in brown with a yellow outline. What I really love is that Chiesa went with the Harrison look with the two brown stripes and one big yellow stripe on the shoulders. The road white pants are very good as well with brown stripes with the name RAIDERS on them. The helmet concerns me a bit that it’s white still, if Chiesa goes yellow helmets then this is awesome but progress is being made thus far. GRADE A.

OAK PARK: The Knights have three jerseys that they have. Their home red uniforms look very good with the white elbows and numbers on the shoulders with KNIGHTS on the chest with white numbering. The road white has the same look but with the red elbows and red numbering on the shoulders with the name OAK PARK on them in red. The third alt jerseys are all black with the name OAK PARK on the chest with red numbering on the shoulders. The home and road uniforms look very good as always and with the OP multi colored helmet it makes a very good combination even the pants with the red, white, or black. GRADE A-

OXFORD: The Wildcats went to straight Under Armor after going with Russell Athletic for a little while. Oxford wears dark blue helmets with the O on one side of the helmet and the traditional yellow pants. The home dark blue jerseys have the name WILDCATS and the number on the front with the numbers in yellow with white outlining. They have the numbers on the shoulders as well. The road uniforms are very similar with the name OXFORD with the blue numbering and yellow outlines on the shoulders. It’s an interesting design to say the least. GRADE B-

PONTIAC: The Phoenix got new uniforms last season and they look sharp. Pontiac had two different companies make their uniforms to along with the gray helmet with the Phoenix logo on them. Their home purple uniforms they went with the Russell Athletic look with the name PONTIAC and the number in italics. They have a black line that goes through the top of the jerseys with a white square on the side of shoulders. I like this design, thought it looks very good with the purple pants as well. The road white jerseys are made by Nike with the name PONTIAC with the lettering in purple. The numbers are also on the elbows and there is a purple stripe on the shoulders. It’s an interesting uniform combination to say the least for coach Charles Talley and his team. GRADE C.

ROCHESTER: Whomever is the Falcons uniform designer has doom written all over it. Rochester went to an all white look with the helmet, jersey, and pants. They had the same look but with the blue jerseys last season with the FALCONS name in small font with the number in white with a white stripe on the shoulders. The road white has the name ROCHESTER on them. The white helmets were horrible, they need to go back to the blue helmets right now AQAP. GRADE C-

ROYAL OAK: The Ravens have three different looks to their uniforms with black helmets. The helmets were interesting as they had the Ravens logo on one side with the players number on the other side of them for coach Ray McMann Their home black uniforms were awesome, especially with the white to blue elbows with the numbers on the shoulders. The name RAVENS is on the chest with the numbers. They have a third uniform which is used for a special occasion. They would wear blue uniforms with white pants which is okay with me. The down for me is their road uniforms which is a complete 180. The company that provided them were Adidas with a very similar design to Troy Athens uniforms. The name ROYAL OAK and numbers are on the front and the Adidas logo shows on top with the Ravens wings on the elbows. The home jerseys are awesome, the third jerseys are decent, but the road jerseys are just awful. GRADE C.

SEAHOLM: I love the Maples look by Nike. I’m not a big fan of the pants though with the name MAPLES name on the side of them. The jersey I like, the home Maple jerseys have the White elbows and white stripe with the names on the back of the jerseys. The road jerseys are the opposite with the Maple elbows and stripe on them with the name plates on the back of the jerseys. The chest has SEAHOLM and the number on both of them in Maple. I like the jerseys but not the pants or the helmet. They need to go back to the marron helmet and quickly. GRADE B-

SOUTHFIELD ARTS AND TECH: The Warriors uniform design is interesting with a red, white, and blue set of uniforms. Southfield Arts and Tech uses the uniform designs to their own choosing. The blue helmet with the S A&T logo on the left side of the helmet does bother me a bit, looking a bit like the Pittsburgh Steelers. What I don’t like is that big Adidas logo sticking out on top of the name plate. It doesn’t even need to be there. The name of the uniforms has WARRIORS sticking out with the numbers and the small font numbers on the elbows on all three uniforms. The design is fine but wish they would increase the font size and get rid of Adidas. It’s an awful look for them. GRADE: C.

STONEY CREEK: I am in love with Stoney Creek’s new football uniforms that Under Armor provided for them. The new uniforms the team showed at their Moms Clinic remind me of a great basketball uniform when Michigan State wore back in the mid 2000’s. On both the uniforms the players last names are on the back. I like the white on the crest with the name COUGARS and gold numbering along with gold on the side of the uniform on the home dark navy uniforms with the gold V-Neck. The road white has the same design but with the name STONEY CREEK on the uniforms and blue on the sides. They will have three different pants with the navy blue, white, and gold looks. The helmet I think needs a makeover, if coach Nick Merlo can get rid of the SC logo with the numbers on the sides and bring back the Cougars logo on them with a blue line on top then this uniform is awesome. Whomever did this look, I would say awesome job and ARMOR UP. GRADE A.

TROY: The Colts are well known for their black helmet with black pants which is the main color of Troy. They have two different set of uniforms with two different companies which is always a no-no in my book. What makes this worse is that the Colts went with Adidas for their road uniforms. They have the Colts logo on the shoulders and have just added a set of white pants to go with the white uniforms. The black helmet is just awful with the TC on one side of the uniform and the players number on the other side with a gray stripe on it. The home black uniforms are from Russell Athletic. They have the players last names on the back and a bit of gray, white, and red trim with the name TROY on the front with the numbers in white lettering to go with the traditional black pants. The home look is an A, the road look is an F. GRADE D.

WEST BLOOMFIELD: The Lakers uniform is interesting but what bothers me is the helmet. The helmet should go back to green in my opinion but keep the design with the line and numbers on the side. West Bloomfield has four different uniform combinations to go with. I think Nike has done a great job with the Lakers uniforms to go along with the white pants that has green stripes on the side. The home green uniform has the name LAKERS with the number in white along with the numbers on the elbows with a white stripe around it. The road jerseys are the opposite with green stripes and numbers on the elbows. The classic alternate look is the military uniforms to which they wear to dedicate to the military, I like that look a lot. Last season, the team went to a black uniform for its final home game of the season which was interesting. The look looks great but if they can change from a white to green helmet then this would be a great uniform combination. GRADE B.

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I have highest function of autism (Asperger Syndrome.) I'm a huge Dallas Stars fan. I like to play and watch football, especially when the Dragons play on Friday nights. I am a 2006 alum and used to play football for the Dragons. I ran track, I ran the 100, 200, 400 meter dashes along with shot-put and discus. During my time in Orion I was a manager for Junior Varsity Boys Basketball team. I'm the volleyball, girls basketball, and football announcer for the team and do the book on the road for girls basketball. I do the clock for volleyball in the fall along with girls basketball in the winter and announce some boys basketball games as well. In the spring I coach shot-put at Scripps Middle School, in my fifth season coaching. I run the shot-put for high school meets. I played Special Olympics Basketball, I've won three gold medals for them. I host "Between Taorminas" which is on ONTV along with a podcast called "OAA Now". In other various things outside of Lake Orion, I love to jet ski over Saginaw Bay. Saginaw Bay is basically my life. I'm a trained weather spotter for the National Weather Service for Oakland and Huron counties.