Boys Soccer Districts are Out-2021.

Written Saturday August 21st at 12:00 PM

Here are the districts released for soccer. Insight will be later during the season. It will be written by History Now host Anthony Taormina.

Region 3, District 9 at West Bloomfield

 

GROVES

SEAHOLM

BLOOMFIELD HILLS

FARMINGTON

NORTH FARMINGTON

SOUTHFIELD ARTS AND TECH

WEST BLOOMFIELD

Livonia Stevenson

 

FAVORITE: North Farmington

NEXT: Livonia Stevenson

DARKHORSE: Groves, Seaholm

 

 

 

Region 3, District 12 at Lake Orion

 

CLARKSTON

LAKE ORION

OXFORD

Davison

Flushing

Grand Blanc

Lapeer

 

FAVORITE: Grand Blanc

NEXT: Clarkston

DARKHORSE: Lake Orion, Oxford

 

 

 

Region 4, District 13 at Sterling Heights Stevenson

 

ROCHESTER

ADAMS

STONEY CREEK

Utica

Utica Eisenhower

Romeo

Sterling Heights Stevenson

Utica Ford II

 

FAVORITE: Adams

NEXT: Stoney Creek

DARKHORSE: Rochester, Utica Eisenhower

 

 

Region 4, District 14 at Troy

 

BERKLEY

OAK PARK

ROYAL OAK

TROY

TROY ATHENS

Warren Mott

Detroit University-Detroit Jesuit

 

FAVORITE: Troy Athens

NEXT: Berkley

DARKHORSE: Troy

 

 

Region 6, District 24 at Brandon

 

PONTIAC

Fenton

Goodrich

Holly

Lake Fenton

Linden

Brandon

 

FAVORITE: Brandon

NEXT: Pontiac

DARKHORSE: Goodrich

 

 

Region 7, District 25 at Ferndale

 

AVONDALE

FERNDALE

Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood

Madison Heights Lamphere

Birmingham Brother Rice

Orchard Lake St. Marys

Warren Fitzgerald

 

FAVORITE: Orchard Lake St. Marys

NEXT: Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood

DARKHORSE: Ferndale

Harper Woods has their new Boys Basketball Coach.

Written Thursday August 19th at 9:40 PM

The Pioneers have their new boys basketball coach.

Harper Woods named Tajuan Porter to coach the program. He takes over for Brandon Jenkins whom stepped down in June.

Porter played College Basketball at Oregon and played his high school basketball at Detroit Renaissance. He came back to Michigan after his playing career was done.

Harper Woods has a ton of experience for Porter in Julian Young, DeAndre Williams, Marquise Kelly, Isiah Lewis, Quincy Dickinson, and Rozell Matthews coming back.

Porter is the younger brother of former Farmington boys coach Terrance Porter.

The Pioneers are in the Gold with Pontiac, Avondale, Royal Oak, and Ferndale University. They are at Eastpointe for their district with Harper Woods Chandler Park Academy, Detroit Denby Tech, Detroit Osborn, Eastpointe, and St. Clair Shores South Lake.

Thoughts

It's an interesting hire to say the least. Porter is going to have a real challenge ahead of him at Harper Woods. The Pioneers are going to be in a new league but he has experience which helps. He has played college basketball, he knows the terrain. Program strength is a huge issue for Harper Woods. If they can field three teams then program strength will be addressed.

It will be very interesting to see what happens with Harper Woods.

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

Harper Woods Boys Basketball Page.

https://www.mhsaa.com/schools/harperwoods/boys/varsity/basketball

Ferndale has their new Girls Basketball Coach.

Written Thursday August 19th at 9:30 PM

Ferndale has their new girls basketball coach and it's a pretty good one to say the least.

The Eagles named Al Kattola as their new coach. He takes over a program that is in need of a reboot after not fielding a team last season.

Kattola is no stranger to coaching high school basketball and rebuilding projects. He coached boys basketball at Oak Park and has been very successful in coaching the program.

Kattola will have a very difficult path at Ferndale as mentioned the Eagles did not field a girls basketball program last season. He needs to find players and develop program strength. If he can do this then he can turn the program around.

The Eagles will need to rely on Kattola's experience if they want to be successful. Ferndale will be in the Blue with Harper Woods, Farmington, Avondale, Oak Park, Seaholm, and Ferndale University. They are at Birmingham Detroit Country for their district with Ferndale University, Detroit Old Redford, and Detroit Jalen Rose Academy.

Thoughts

It's a really good hire for Ferndale Athletic Director Shaun Butler to go with Kattola. He brings experience which matters. I'm curious to see how he adjusts to the girls game from the boys game. Kattola is going to need to build a program which he can do real quickly. 

It will be interesting to see what happens with the Eagles this season.

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

Ferndale Girls Basketball page MHSAA

https://www.mhsaa.com/schools/ferndale/girls/varsity/basketball

Clarkston, Lake Orion, and Oxford Split Up in Basketball Districts.

Written Tuesday August 17th at 9:30 PM

When the MHSAA released the basketball districts last month no one would ever believe that Clarkston, Lake Orion, and Oxford would be separated into different districts. 

It didn’t seem possible.

Clarkston, Lake Orion, and Oxford are not that far from each other. They usually play each other every season and when they meet in the postseason two or at least all three are put in the same district.

That won't be the case this season.

When the MHSAA released the district, they put Lake Orion, Oxford, and Clarkston in three different districts. It’s the first time since 2006 that the Dragons and Wildcats aren’t in the same district and first time since 2012 that the Dragons and Wolves are not in the same district.

Clarkston got the easiest draw based on their location. They are going south and east in District Six. The Wolves are at Waterford Kettering in the girls and Waterford Mott in the boys. Clarkston is in a district with Pontiac, Avondale, Waterford Kettering, and Waterford Mott.

Lake Orion is going east based on their location. They are in District Five. The Dragons are at home for the girls and is at Romeo for the boys. Lake Orion is in a district with Romeo, Utica Eisenhower, Rochester, Adams, and Stoney Creek.

Oxford got the toughest draw based on their location. They are heading north and west for their district in District Four. Both of their teams are at Davison for their district. The Wildcats are in a district that has Grand Blanc, Davison, Lapeer, and Flint Kearsley.

The Wildcats are not in the same regional as the Dragons or the Wolves.

Oxford should be up at arms because of their proximity. Clarkston is much closer to Grand Blanc and Davison than Oxford is but it was the Wildcats that got sent north and west and not Clarkston.

People are going to say that is not a big deal. It happens all the time especially with Farmington and North Farmington going into separate districts or that Troy and Troy Athens are in separate districts or the Rochester schools, usually Adams goes west because of proximity, it happens.

However with the proximity in northern Oakland County not seeing the big schools together in a district is very interesting and also different.

It has been a long while since Lake Orion, Oxford, and Clarkston are not in the same district. They play each other in middle school, youth sports, and in high school and are usually in the same district together.

It will be a big test to see how these three schools do in their separate districts. Clarkston has the much more favorable path than Lake Orion and Oxford in both boys and girls basketball. Oxford has the toughest district in both boys and girls basketball. I think the MHSAA is doing something different which I have no problem with them doing. It creates more intrigue to see these three schools go different paths for the postseason.

March 2022 will certainly be an interesting month to keep a close eye on for sure. 

 

Girls Basketball Districts

https://www.mhsaa.com/Sports/Girls-Basketball/2022-Districts

Boys Basketball Districts

https://www.mhsaa.com/Sports/Boys-Basketball/2022-Districts