2019 Football Uniform Grades.

Written Saturday July 13th at 2:50 PM

This blog will be updated.

If we hear from the teams have new uniforms or after Media Day or if someone comments to me their new uniform designs.

Anyway enjoy from the Uniform Grader of the OAA.

Red

Clarkston: (Provider-Under Armor) The Wolves uniforms I really don't like when it comes to Under Armor. The home blue uniforms has been there since 2016. The design has the CLARKSTON name crested in a white outline with yellow numbering on the front and the shoulders. The road uniforms are the exact same as the home uniforms except that blue replaces the white outline and there is yellow numbering with yellow numbering on the shoulders. The numbers are on the elbows on both sets. The Wolves wear blue pants and wore yellow against West Bloomfield. I just don’t like this uniform design, it’s too plain. GRADE D.

Adams: (Provider-Russell Athletic) The Highlanders have three uniforms that are made by Russell Athletic. On the home brown uniforms they have the ADAMS name crested in yellow lettering and numbering on the front. The uniform has the Highlanders kilt on the elbows. The road white uniforms have the same design as the brown uniforms with the Highlanders kilt on the elbows but instead of the yellow lettering and numbering it is brown with a yellow outline. The alternate uniforms are grey with the same concept as the home and road uniforms. It's very similar to a military style uniforms. The grey uniforms have their own set of pants while the other two uniforms the team wears white pants with the name HIGHLANDERS on the sides with a yellow stripe on both of them. The gold helmet is a good look with the A and the swords next to them. I like this look. GRADE B+

Oxford: (Provider-Under Armor) The Wildcats kept their uniform design plain and simple with Under Armor. The Yellow pants are truly Oxford along with the dark blue helmet with the O on both sides. The dark blue uniforms have the name WILDCATS and numbering in yellow. The road white uniforms are the same with OXFORD on it but with blue lettering and numbering with a yellow outline. The Wildcats have a third uniform which is all yellow with the name WILDCATS crested with blue lettering and numbering. Oxford likes to keep things plain and simple which is fine with me. GRADE B.

Lake Orion: (Provider-Nike) The Dragons went back to their old uniforms in the past last season. The road white uniforms were from the 2012 season when Lake Orion went to the Division One State semifinals. The road white uniforms has green and white numbering on the elbows. The front of the jerseys say DRAGONS in green lettering and white numbering. The home green uniforms was from the 2013 season with the same design as the road white uniforms but opposite with white elbows and green numbering. The front has the name DRAGONS in white lettering and numbering. They have a green and white pants with the opposite lines on the sides of the pants. The green helmet with the lines and LO’s on the sides make for a great look. As long as Lake Orion doesn’t change this look then they get an A in my book. GRADE A.

Southfield Arts and Tech: (Provider-Home and Alternates Adidas, Road-Nike) The Warriors have four different uniform combinations that was provided by Adidas in red, blue, and black to go with matching pants. However Southfield Arts and Tech is going with Nike on their white uniforms with blue elbows. This is a huge improvement along with their dark blue helmet with the S and A&T logo on the left side of the helmet along with red stripes on the center. I’m not a big fan of the red, blue, and black uniforms with the font size in italics along with the name WARRIORS in small font with the numbering as well in small font. The new white jerseys that Nike provided them. The new Nikes give me an A on them but with the Adidas uniforms it's still a D but anything to get them out of Adidas is a great start. GRADE C.

West Bloomfield: (Provider-Nike) The Lakers will have new uniforms this season. I talked to West Bloomfield assistant Zach Hilbers about the uniform. He said that the jerseys will look exactly like Michigan State with the font. The pants will still be white which is fine with me. They also have a military jersey which they should wear more often along with a black uniform that looks sharp. The only down side I see with the Lakers look is that the helmets need work, I like the Alabama helmet design just paint them green and it will look great. Good clean look for the Swamp. GRADE A-

Bloomfield Hills: (Provider-Nike) The Blackhawks have an interesting uniform combination but they made some changes that didn't make me pleased. They changed their helmet from black to white. The design had the Blackhawks logo on both sides. They used to wear black uniforms at home until they went to purple in 2016 which was interesting. The home purple jerseys have white elbows with purple numbers with the name BLACKHAWKS in white lettering and numbers on the front, along with purple pants. The road white uniforms have black elbows with purple numbering. It the name HILLS on them with purple lettering on the front with the white pants. I like the uniforms but not the helmet. GRADE B.

White

Oak Park: (Provider-Nike) The Knights have five different uniform combinations. They changed helmets last season and went to a black helmet with the OP logo on the sides. The home red uniforms has the numbers on the shoulders along with the white elbows. The KNIGHTS name is crested along with the lettering and numbering in white. The road white jerseys have red elbows with the numbers on the shoulders. The name OAK PARK is crested along with the lettering and numbering in red. Oak Park has an all-black alternate uniform with red numbering on the shoulders white naming and red numbering. The alternate white uniform has black numbering and the name OAK PARK with red outline and black numbering on the front. As long as they keep the opposite elbows on the uniforms I have no problem with the uniforms. GRADE A-

Groves: (Provider-Nike) The Falcons will have a new field this season but I hope they don’t change the uniforms. The green, yellow, and black combination that Groves wears is one of the best looks in the OAA (green uniform with yellow numbering and lettering with the GROVES name crested with black pants.) The road white uniforms have the GROVES name crested with green numbering and lettering. The uniforms also has green elbows elbows. They have a white set of pants they wear on the road. The green helmets has the Falcons logo on them. Groves also has a third jersey which is all black. The uniform combinations are great with this team. GRADE A.

Stoney Creek: (Provider-Under Armor) The Cougars got new uniforms last season and they looked great fully in Under Armor. Stoney Creek put the players last names on the back of both uniforms. The home navy blues have gold and white trim to go with gold or navy blue pants. The white stripes are on the front with the name COUGARS and numbering are in gold along with the gold outline on the sides. The road whites have gold stripes on the front of the uniform with the STONEY CREEK name on the front in gold and navy blue numbering with the blue outline on the sides along with white pants. It’s a great look, I like where the uniforms are heading but coach Nick Merlo needs to change the helmet. If they can go back to the Cougars look and not the SC on one side and the number on the other side then it will be great. GRADE A-

Rochester: (Provider-Under Armor) The Falcons fixed their uniform design last season with Under Armor. The blue uniforms have the FALCONS name on front with white numbering and a white stripe on the shoulders. The road white uniforms are the same with ROCHESTER name with blue lettering with a blue stripe on the shoulders. The pants are white on both uniforms. In the offseason, the Falcons went back to Blue helmets which is great. I think the uniforms and pants are good. Give me bonus points on Rochester. GRADE A.

Troy: (Provider-Home Russell Athletic, Road Adidas) The Colts have different uniforms but what bothers me is that Troy has two companies that provides their uniforms. The home black uniforms I like as they have the names on the back of the jerseys with some red on the uniforms to go along with the black pants. The road uniforms are terrible with the Adidas logo on the front with the Troy Colts logo on the shoulders to go with white pants. The helmet makes me cringe. They have the players number on one side of the helmet with the TC logo on the other side. The helmet was right two years ago with the Colts logo on both sides with the red stripe. The home blacks look great but the helmet and whites are just terrible. GRADE D.

Troy Athens: (Provider-Adidas) The Red Hawks went to a new uniform design last season with an all red look to go with the gold helmets. The gold helmet will go through another change with the Red Hawk logo going away and being replaced with the A logo on both sides with a red stripe. Troy Athens went to an Adidas uniform in 2018 with the name ATHENS and the number in gold lettering and numbering. They have wings on the elbows on both uniforms along with the players last names. The road white uniform with white pants has the same except the lettering and numbering is in red with the gold outline. The uniform looks good but I’m not too fond of Adidas. GRADE C.

Seaholm: (Provider-Nike) The Maples uniforms look good with one exception, the helmet. Seaholm has a great uniform design with the uniforms to go along with the players last names on the back. The home maroon with the white stripes and the road white with the maroon stripes looks very good. The helmet needs some work as mentioned especially with the S on both sides of the helmet, wonder if they could add a Maple leaf on them. Also they need to paint the helmet maroon, it would be much better. White is a good secondary color and it's the color of their pants with the name MAPLES on them even though they also have a maroon pair as well. I like the uniforms but the helmet needs a new paint job. GRADE B+.

Blue

North Farmington: (Provider-Nike) The Raiders underwent a complete uniform redesign last season under then coach Bob Chiesa. The brown jerseys has NORTH crested with white numbering with a yellow outline while the road white uniforms have NORTH FARMINGTON crested with brown numbering and a yellow outline. Both jerseys have numbers on the shoulders and a yellow V-Neck. The pants are different with the name RAIDERS on both the brown and white pants. I like the design and pants but the helmet has to change in my opinion. If I had to say anything to new coach Jon Herstein about the uniform set, I would ask him to please get rid of those white helmets. It looks awful especially with the brown set. I would ask him to go with a yellow or brown look with the North Farmington Raider logo with the crone top then it’s a great uniform. The pants and uniform looks great but the white helmet has to go. GRADE A-

Farmington: (Provider-Nike) The Falcons changed their uniforms last season ditching the Penn State look for a new look. The grey was the biggest change to the uniforms which was prominent on both jerseys. It’s an interesting design with the dark blue uniforms having the FARMINGTON name on the front with white and grey stripes on the shoulders. The road white uniforms have the same design but with grey and dark blue on the shoulders. The pants are white and the helmet has the Falcon design on them. It’s an interesting look, just doesn’t add up. GRADE B-

Avondale: (Provider-Adidas) The Yellow Jackets have three uniforms provided by Adidas. They have a choice of white, purple, or yellow pants for game days along with a purple helmet that needs some improvement. The home purple uniforms has AVONDALE in yellow along with yellow numbering on the front and yellow and white on the elbows. On the road white jerseys it’s the same design except the lettering and numbering are in purple with purple and yellow on the elbows. In the yellow jerseys the design is the same with the lettering and numbering is in purple with purple and white on the elbows. I’m not a big fan of the Adidas uniform sticking out on the center or it would had been a good uniform. GRADE B.

Berkley: (Provider-Nike) The Bears released new uniforms from Nike last spring. They posted them on their Twitter page @BerkleyBearsFB. They are a lot better than last season’s look especially the road uniforms. The home uniforms have changed as well as they are now maroon instead of blue with the players numbers on the front. Berkley has the numbers on the elbows along with a white V-Neck. The new road white uniforms have the same design as the new home maroon uniforms however they have dark blue numbers on the front and on the shoulders. The Bears have two new set of game pants, one is maroon while the other is white. The helmet has me bothered but in talking to coach Sean Shields at Media Day he told me that they are going to change the helmet next season which has me encouraged. I want them to go back to blue helmets instead of the white for next season. A on the uniform and pants but D on the helmet. GRADE B.

Ferndale: (Provider-Russell Athletic) The Eagles have an interesting uniform combination on all three uniforms. They have a brown set that has white elbows, numbers on the shoulders, and yellow trim with the lettering in yellow with brown pants. Ferndale has an alternate set of uniforms they wore at home and on the road at Oak Park in the playoffs last season. The alternates are yellow with the FERNDALE name and numbering in brown along with the numbering on the elbows. The road uniforms are all white with brown trim and lettering along with brown numbers on the shoulders. Russell Athletic did a great job with the Eagles uniforms. They changed the helmet from yellow to dark brown with a new Ferndale logo.Yellow or dark brown looks very good, this is a great uniform combination. No changes needed. GRADE A.

Royal Oak: (Provider-Home and Alt Russell Athletic, Road Adidas) The Ravens have three uniform designs but with two companies. Royal Oak has two jerseys provided by Russell Athletic. They have a home black jersey with the name RAVENS in white and the numbers in blue. Also they have a white to blue combination on the elbows along with the numbers on the shoulders. They wear black pants at home. The third uniform is blue with the RAVENS name with grey on the sides. They wear white pants which they wear for special games. The road white jerseys along with white pants are very similar to Troy Athens’s uniforms with the name ROYAL OAK and numbers in blue lettering with the raven wings on the elbows and are provided by Adidas. The helmet, I'm not a big fan of with a big Raven on one side and the players numbers on the other side. It doesn’t add up with me. GRADE C.

Pontiac: (Provider-Home Russell Athletic, Road Nike) The Phoenix have an interesting uniform with two different companies. The home purple has the name PONTIAC in italics with a black outline with a white square on the side of the shoulders. The road white jerseys has the PONTIAC name in purple lettering and numbering along with a purple stripe on the shoulders which are provided by Nike. The Phoenix got new purple helmets courtesy of the Detroit Lions "Touchdown In Your Town Program" with the Pontiac Phoenix logo. It’s a good design. GRADE A.