Football Picks Week Two.

Written Wednesday September 23rd at 11:10 AM

Here are the games and picks set for Week Two.

We'll get Ian's picks ASAP.

SANDY DUNES: 7-4

LOCKE: 7-4

DUNLAP: 9-2

BURNEY: 10-1

STICK: 8-3

COTTER: 9-2

Southfield Arts and Tech at 1. West Bloomfield: The Lakers rolled last week by blowing out Oak Park 39-0. The Warriors lost 24-17 to Clarkston at home last week. The last time Southfield Arts and Tech went into the Swamp, they won a wild one behind the play of former West Bloomfield quarterback Anthony Romphf. The Warriors and especially Isiah Marshall could have a very long day against a Lakers defense that is as stout as anyone.

SANDY DUNES PICK: WEST BLOOMFIELD 56, SOUTHFIELD ARTS AND TECH 6.

LOCKE PICK:

DUNLAP PICK: WEST BLOOMFIELD 35, SOUTHFIELD ARTS AND TECH 10.

BURNEY PICK: WEST BLOOMFIELD 33, SOUTHFIELD ARTS AND TECH 23.

STICK PICK: WEST BLOOMFIELD 28, SOUTHFIELD ARTS AND TECH 20.

COTTER PICK: WEST BLOOMFIELD 31, SOUTHFIELD ARTS AND TECH 14.

 

2. Stoney Creek at 5. North Farmington: If there are any doubters that were still doubting the Cougars after making the playoffs and winning five games last season please look at what Stoney Creek did to Seaholm, a state semifinalist. They sent a message blowing out the Maples 37-13 in Birmingham last week. The Cougars may have found a replacement for Zach Dehna in Jon Fogel. Fogel had two rushing touchdowns along with Cameron Buford. Buford had two rushing touchdowns and a passing touchdown as well. The Raiders had to comeback from 27-20 to force overtime. They had to survive Adams 34-33 in overtime last week at Rochester after the Highlanders went for the win but they couldn’t get it. The key matchup should be the quarterbacks between Ryan Echout and Jacob Bousamara. Both of them are solid and talented. I’ll be curious how Bousamara will go up against a Gary Griffith type defense. Also I'm curious how Echout will go up against a very good and North Farmington defense. The coaching matchup is also interesting between Nick Merlo and Jon Herstein. It’s going to be a good matchup at Tom Holland Field.

SANDY DUNES PICK: STONEY CREEK 38, NORTH FARMINGTON 14.

LOCKE PICK:

DUNLAP PICK: STONEY CREEK 31, NORTH FARMINGTON 17.

BURNEY PICK: STONEY CREEK 34, NORTH FARMINGTON 32.

STICK PICK: STONEY CREEK 35, NORTH FARMINGTON 31.

COTTER PICK: STONEY CREEK 28, NORTH FARMINGTON 21.

 

4. Oxford at 3. Clarkston: This is going to be a very interesting matchup as both teams have nearly everyone back from Clarkston’s 33-28 victory at Oxford last season. The individual matchups are going to be very interesting starting with the quarterback duel between Mike DePillo and Brady Carpenter. The running back battle is also interesting between Ethan Clark and Trent Muir along with the coaching matchup between Kurt Richardson and Zach Line. The lines are going to be interesting even though the Wolves have an edge over the Wildcats in that department but that was pretty much a wash last season. This should be a close game between the two blue and yellow teams.

SANDY DUNES PICK: CLARKSTON 24, OXFORD 21.

LOCKE PICK:

DUNLAP PICK: CLARKSTON 24, OXFORD 10.

BURNEY PICK: CLARKSTON 28, OXFORD 26.

STICK PICK: CLARKSTON 28, OXFORD 21.

COTTER PICK: CLARKSTON 34, OXFORD 21.

 

Oak Park at 6. Lake Orion: The Knights had a very tough game with West Bloomfield but I didn’t expect them to get blown out 39-0 in Knight Valley last week. Oak Park did not have Rayshawn Benny whom could be back for this game or seven other starters as well. The Dragons did not play last week as they had two COVID-19 cases within the program. Lake Orion has questions at quarterback and on defense. The Knights depth could be an issue in this game and also the travel as well could be a factor.

SANDY DUNES PICK: LAKE ORION 31, OAK PARK 17.

LOCKE PICK:

DUNLAP PICK: OAK PARK 28, LAKE ORION 17.

BURNEY PICK: LAKE ORION 24, OAK PARK 20.

STICK PICK: LAKE ORION 21, OAK PARK 20.

COTTER PICK: LAKE ORION 21, OAK PARK 12.

 

9. Adams at 7. Groves: This shapes up to be a very interesting game between two different styles of play. I was impressed with the Highlanders as they went overtime with North Farmington even though they fell 34-33 at home. It looks like they have found an identity with a young group, could they be in the mix??? It’s possible. The Falcons were going to have a down year after a disappointing postseason blowout loss to Seaholm but maybe they could be back in the mix with the performance they had last week in Farmington. Groves found themselves a quarterback in Jack Woods and he had a huge game against Farmington in a 42-31 victory last week. Adams is looking better than experts thought. This should be a very close football game.

SANDY DUNES PICK: ADAMS 31, GROVES 28.

LOCKE PICK:

DUNLAP PICK: GROVES 27, ADAMS 24.

BURNEY PICK: GROVES 30, ADAMS 26.

STICK PICK: ADAMS 28, GROVES 21.

COTTER PICK: GROVES 28, ADAMS 24.

 

Troy Athens at 8. Ferndale: This will be the second all time meeting between the Eagles and the Red Hawks with the first being played in 1979 when Troy Athens beat Ferndale 21-20. I expect this game to be tight as both teams have experience but it could come down to who has the football last. It’s also an interesting coaching matchup as well between Eric Royal and Billy Keenest. This should be a very good game.

SANDY DUNES PICK: FERNDALE 24, TROY ATHENS 21.

LOCKE PICK:

DUNLAP PICK: TROY ATHENS 20, FERNDALE 17.

BURNEY PICK: TROY ATHENS 22, FERNDALE 20.

STICK PICK: TROY ATHENS 24, FERNDALE 21.

COTTER PICK: TROY ATHENS 34, FERNDALE 22.

 

Pontiac at 10. Berkley: The Bears are expected to be better in 2020. Program strength is up under Coach Sean Shields and they have a ton of depth at the varsity level. Berkley showed it by beating Lincoln Park 20-6 last week behind two touchdowns from Liam Sarris. The Phoenix lost 57-0 to Rochester at home last week. This looks to be a mismatch on paper and it could get ugly at Hurley Field.

SANDY DUNES PICK: BERKLEY 42, PONTIAC 6.

LOCKE PICK:

DUNLAP PICK: BERKLEY 31, PONTIAC 6.

BURNEY PICK: BERKLEY 35, PONTIAC 15.

STICK PICK: BERKLEY 21, PONTIAC 14.

COTTER PICK: BERKLEY 49, PONTIAC 6.

 

Rochester at Avondale (4 PM): This is a neighborhood rivalry between the Falcons and Yellow Jackets even though they haven’t played in a while. It will be the 31^st meeting all time between the two teams and the first meeting since 1986. Avondale is coming off a 22-14 overtime loss to Ferndale last week at Dick Bye Field. Rochester is coming off a 57-0 victory over Pontiac at Wisner Stadium. This is a game of two different styles which makes this game very interesting.

SANDY DUNES PICK: ROCHESTER 24, AVONDALE 21.

LOCKE PICK:

DUNLAP PICK: AVONDALE 24, ROCHESTER 23.

BURNEY PICK: AVONDALE 23, ROCHESTER 22.

STICK PICK: ROCHESTER 35, AVONDALE 28.

COTTER PICK: ROCHESTER 28, AVONDALE 6.

 

Royal Oak at Bloomfield Hills: The Blackhawks went down two divisions this offseason and they have seemed to benefit from being in the Blue along with going back to all black. Bloomfield Hills picked up an emotional 21-13 win over Troy Athens last week. The Blackhawks will take on a Royal Oak team that has really struggled with producing results. The Ravens turned the football over six times which resulted in a 20-17 loss to Troy last week. This game looks like a true Tanner Slazinski game where he could be in line to dominate.

SANDY DUNES PICK: BLOOMFIELD HILLS 21, ROYAL OAK 7.

LOCKE PICK:

DUNLAP PICK: BLOOMFIELD HILLS 28, ROYAL OAK 13.

BURNEY PICK: BLOOMFIELD HILLS 29, ROYAL OAK 28.

STICK PICK: BLOOMFIELD HILLS 20, ROYAL OAK 14.

COTTER PICK: BLOOMFIELD HILLS 35, ROYAL OAK 10.

 

Walled Lake Central at Troy: This should a very interesting game when looking at these two teams in this non-league matchup between the OAA and the Lakes Valley Conference. This is the first matchup since 2016 when Walled Lake Central beat Troy 13-10. The Vikings were blown out by South Lyon East 35-3 last week. The Colts came back from 17-9 to stun Royal Oak 20-17. Troy is very young but so is Walled Lake Central. This looks to be a very interesting matchup.

SANDY DUNES PICK: TROY 20, WALLED LAKE CENTRAL 10.

LOCKE PICK:

DUNLAP PICK: WALLED LAKE CENTRAL 21, TROY 17.

BURNEY PICK: TROY 36, WALLED LAKE CENTRAL 21.

STICK PICK: WALLED LAKE CENTRAL 27, TROY 21.

COTTER PICK: TROY 27, WALLED LAKE CENTRAL 3.

 

Farmington at Seaholm: This should be a very interesting game to keep an eye on in the Maple Forest. Both teams suffered tough home losses last week. Farmington fell to Groves 42-31 while Seaholm was humiliated by Stoney Creek 37-13. The Maples have more experience than the Falcons but Farmington is playing with nothing to lose. If Seaholm falls to 0-2, that’s not a good sign moving forward.

SANDY DUNES PICK: FARMINGTON 31, SEAHOLM 24.

LOCKE PICK:

DUNLAP PICK: SEAHOLM 20, FARMINGTON 13.

BURNEY PICK: SEAHOLM 27, FARMINGTON 25.

STICK PICK: FARMINGTON 24, SEAHOLM 21.

COTTER PICK: SEAHOLM 28, FARMINGTON 17.