McCaskill back at Troy Athens.

Written Saturday November 12th at 1:35 PM


It looks like Taylor McCaskill is coming back to Troy Athens after all.

McCaskill according to a Tweet from Prep Hoops Michigan says that he has went back to Troy Athens. He was previously at Detroit Edison but decided to comeback to Troy.

McCaskill will likely have to sit out a semester according to MHSAA guidelines. It is unknown if he has to sit out the entire 2016-2017 basketball season.

McCaskill when he comes back will lead a team that will be experienced heading into the season. Troy Athens will also have Jacob Bradley back for coach Dave Scott.

The Red Hawks will compete in the very difficult White division with the likes of Troy, Hazel Park, Oak Park, Pontiac, and Avondale. They do host the district that included Warren De LaSalle, Royal Oak, Warren Cousino, Warren Mott, and Sterling Heights.

Troy Athens opens up the season on December 6^th when they host former Bloomfield Hills coach Dwayne Graves and the Clawson Trojans.

Thoughts:

McCaskill will be an impact player for the Red Hawks but looking at the division I don’t think Troy Athens is as good as Hazel Park, Oak Park, or Troy in the division. The Red Hawks had a tough season in the Red and is now in the White.

The Red Hawks should be a better team this upcoming season but it will be interesting how McCaskill bonds with his teammates after leaving them to go to Detroit Edision. It will be interesting how the chemistry will be. It will be interesting if he can bond with Bradley once when he gets back to playing.

Troy Athens will be a much better team come March.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest on this developing story.

Week Twelve Recap.

Written Friday November 11th at 10:00 PM

Scores:

Romeo 41, CLARKSTON 7.

Utica Eisenhower 42, SOUTHFIELD ARTS AND TECH 7.

GROVES 44, Grosse Pointe South 10.

Standings:

Red:

Clarkston 5-1, 9-3

Southfield Arts and Tech: 5-1, 8-4

Orion: 4-2, 5-5

West Bloomfield: 4-2, 6-5

Oxford 2-4, 4-5

Stoney Creek 1-5, 2-7

Troy Athens 0-6, 2-7

White:

Groves 6-0, 11-1

Oak Park 5-1, 7-4

Adams 4-2, 6-4

Harrison 3-3, 5-4

Seaholm 2-4, 3-6

Farmington 1-5, 1-8

North Farmington 0-6, 0-9

Blue:

Bloomfield Hills 6-0, 9-1

Ferndale 4-2, 7-3

Rochester 4-2, 5-4

Berkley 4-2, 6-4

Troy 3-3, 3-6

Avondale 2-4, 3-6

Hazel Park 2-4, 2-7

Royal Oak 2-4, 2-7

Pontiac 0-6, 0-9

BIG WIN: Groves. The Falcons just dominated the Blue Devils in the Regional Final on Friday night in Beverly Hills. Groves blew out Grosse Pointe South 44-10 and is moving on to the State Semifinals for the first time in a long while. The Falcons used a balanced attack offensively and a strong defense to lead them to a Regional crown. Groves will meet either Temperance Bedford or Detroit Martin Luther King next week in the State Semifinals. The Crusaders have already played three OAA teams in Southfield Arts and Tech, Ferndale, and Oak Park. All three of them were wins.

WHAT HAPPENED: Clarkston. I did not see this one coming when looking at the Wolves, 41-7 loss to Romeo at home. It is their first loss at home since 2012 when they fell to Rockford in the Regional Final that season. I was shocked that Clarkston didn’t go with the blue-blue combination and instead opted to wear blue-white, which bothered me because I'm used to see them either wear blue or yellow pants but that’s beside the point. I don’t know what happened to the Wolves but you got to give the Bulldogs defense credit especially shutting down JT King and Michael Fluegel. Romeo used a bend but don’t break defense, something that has carried them all playoffs. Clarkston returns Fluegel and should be a contender again next season.

TOUGH LOSS: Southfield Arts and Tech. The Warriors ran into an unstoppable force in the Eagles of Utica Eisenhower. Southfield Arts and Tech showed their youth and was outmatched in this game as they were blown out 42-7 at Swinehart Field. The Warriors had three turnovers, one of them was for a touchdown for the Eagles. Utica Eisenhower was balanced all night and played one of their best games of the season. Southfield Arts and Tech will be loaded again next season and this team will be back.

OAA Picks Week Twelve.

Written Tuesday November 8th at 1:40 PM

SAMMY 97-47

ANT 102-42

KEITH 104-40

SEAN 105-39

DAN 99-45

BURNEY 105-39

Games are Friday at 7 PM unless special.

Grosse Pointe South at Groves:

The Falcons in the playoffs have been on a tear especially defensively since losing to Saline on the final weekend of the regular season. Groves shut out Birmingham Brother Rice 24-0 last week in the district final earning their first win over the Warriors since 1963. The Falcons will welcome the Blue Devils to Beverly Hills. Grosse Pointe South beat their arch neighborhood rival Grosse Pointe North 24-14 last week behind their quarterback Logan Miko and wide receiver Michael Bracker. I see more of the same for Groves as they will move onto the next round and likely see Detroit Martin Luther King in the State Semifinals.

SAMMY PICK: GROVES 24, GROSSE POINTE SOUTH 0.

ANT PICK: GROVES 27, GROSSE POINTE SOUTH 0.

KEITH PICK: GROVES 17, GROSSE POINTE SOUTH 7.

DAN PICK: GROVES 35, GROSSE POINTE SOUTH 14.

SEAN PICK: GROVES 28, GROSSE POINTE SOUTH 0.

BURNEY PICK: GROVES 24, GROSSE POINTE SOUTH 21.

Southfield Arts and Tech at Utica Eisenhower:

The Warriors have been rolling on their way to the Regional Final behind their backup quarterback John Darby whom has taken over the quarterback spot from Sam Johnson III and have won six straight games since losing to Orion. Southfield Arts and Tech destroyed West Bloomfield 41-6 at home last week. Now the Warriors will have to go into Macomb County and to Swinehart Field to take on the Eagles. Utica Eisenhower features a triple option attack led by quarterback Max Wittwer and running back Jack Provencher. Both of them were huge in last week’s 42-7 shocking beat down of Macomb Dakota. Wittwer is a duel threat quarterback while Provencher is a very talented running back. This may be the best team that Southfield Arts and Tech sees all year in the Eagles and that’s not even Detroit Martin Luther King in which they were destroyed 39-0 by them.

SAMMY PICK: UTICA EISENHOWER 31, SOUTHFIELD ARTS AND TECH 21.

ANT PICK: UTICA EISENHOWER 42, SOUTHFIELD ARTS AND TECH 14.

KEITH PICK: UTICA EISENHOWER 35, SOUTHFIELD ARTS AND TECH 14.

DAN PICK: UTICA EISENHOWER 28, SOUTHFIELD ARTS AND TECH 14.

SEAN PICK: UTICA EISENHOWER 35, SOUTHFIELD ARTS AND TECH 7.

BURNEY PICK: SOUTHFIELD ARTS AND TECH 28, UTICA EISENHOWER 23.

Romeo at Clarkston:

The Wolves were very impressive when they went into Genesee County and took down undefeated Davison 31-14 last week. Clarkston will host the defending Division One State Champs in Romeo. The Wolves have been rolling winning six straight games since losing to Oak Park. The Bulldogs looked good in their first two playoff matchups against Orion and Waterford Mott with both of those matchups being at Dan Barnabo Field. Romeo hasn’t traveled into Oakland County in a while. Clarkston last lost a home game was in 2012 to Rockford in the Regional Final. I don’t see the Bulldogs beating the Wolves in this matchup with the winner either meeting Grandville or Novi Detroit Catholic Central in the State Semifinals.

SAMMY PICK: CLARKSTON 35, ROMEO 21.

ANT PICK: CLARKSTON 42, ROMEO 7.

KEITH PICK: CLARKSTON 24, ROMEO 17.

DAN PICK: CLARKSTON 21, ROMEO 14.

SEAN PICK: CLARKSTON 31, ROMEO 14.

BURNEY PICK: CLARKSTON 27, ROMEO 17.