Baseball/Softball/Girls Soccer Thoughts after Quarterfinal and Semifinal Day.

Written Tuesday June 14th at 8:02 PM
Updated Tuesday June 14th at 9:00 PM

You know looking at the Baseball Quarterfinal, I wasn't surprised that Rochester fell 6-0 by Hartland. The Eagles are a very good team for starters and is senior heavy while the Falcons only had one senior and was playing with house money in this tournament after beating Stoney Creek, Utica Eisenhower, and Adams. Rochester finished the season at 24-18 and does return a ton of talent for next season, so it wouldn't surprise me that the Falcons could be right back where they are at next season.

Looking at Softball Quarterfinal, the Dragons offense did show up and rattled Andrea Elmore whom normally is solid but they knew Farmington Hills Mercy had a solid hitting team and was going to get to Sierra Gonzales and they did. The Marlins were relentless especially early and often scoring eight runs in the first three innings, four in the first inning for a 4-0 deficit just before Orion would come to bat. The Dragons did have their chances to get back in the game but left the bases loaded in the second inning. The dagger was a three run inside the park home run by Anna Dixon which made the score 11-3 at the time. Farmington Hills Mercy would win 11-7 over Orion. The Dragons season ended at 35-6 but return a ton of talent next season which should make them one of the favorites along with Clarkston to make another deep run into the playoffs.

The Stoney Creek Cougars will be the only OAA squad heading to the State Finals for Girls Soccer after beating Novi 2-1 in a shootout at home. It's huge that the Cougars are back here especially with the tournament schedule that they have played to get here. Stoney Creek has now beaten Utica Ford, Utica Eisenhower, Macomb Dakota, Troy Athens, and Novi, all teams ranked or mentioned in the State Rankings this season. Stoney Creek will now play Canton in the Division One State Finals on Friday at Michigan State at 4 PM.

One Domino Has Fallen. Will Fahr and his Staff be Next???

Written Tuesday June 14th at 12:05 AM

One domino has fallen thanks to the Waterford Mott Football scandal.

Nick Linesman, the freshman football coach for the Corsairs is out at Waterford Mott. Linesman was let go on Friday by the Waterford School District. He served six seasons as freshman coach.

Linesman has been the front and center of a investigation by the MHSAA surrounding the Waterford Mott football program because he was involved in allegations of undue influence.

Linesman admitted that he sent fliers with Corsairs football coach Chris Fahr's blessing to both Mason and Pierce Middle Schools, both of them feed players to Waterford Mott but also Waterford Kettering as well. The fliers were against the MHSAA undue influence rule which prohibits fliers to students whom are heading to Waterford Kettering this fall. He did send messages influencing students, now at Avondale to come to Waterford Mott through his Facebook account.

Linesman feels he is being targeted and being left out to dry because of this scandal. He said that the plan was 50-50 with Fahr's blessing.

Fahr is also involved in this investigation due to illegal gathering and also undue influence with future recruits.

It is unknown though how the MHSAA will handle the Fahr punishment. The Waterford School District has left the investigation in the hands of the MHSAA.

It is clear that a gathering took place at Waterford Mott last month thanks to pictures and a video from Detroit Free Press sportswriter Mick McCabe. The MHSAA prohibits having camps and or mandatory gatherings until the Sunday after Memorial Day.

Given the severity of the punishment and involvement from Fahr and his staff many coaches, sports writers, and administrators expect him and his staff to be banned from coaching for four years.

Stay tuned to further updates on this story through OAA Now and Inside the OAA Blog.

Thoughts and District Projections.

Written Sunday June 12th at 11:30 PM

Yes, it’s the final week of the MHSAA season for the 2015-2016 school year and most school districts the last week of school. We’ll see how it goes folks. Once the districts come out we will have complete analysis on how the MHSAA went with the districts for Volleyball and also Boys and Girls Basketball.

Boys Soccer Districts Released.

The MHSAA on Friday released the 2016 Boys Soccer district pairings to see where each team will be at so here are the OAA teams and districts where they will be at, the hosts haven’t been decided yet and most of these are eight team districts with a couple of them are seven team districts.

Division One.

Region 3, District 9.

OAK PARK

Hamtramck

Detroit Cass Tech

Detroit Western

Detroit University-Detroit Jesuit

Grosse Pointe North

Grosse Pointe South

Dearborn Fordson

Region 3, District 10.

TROY ATHENS

Utica Ford

Utica

Warren Cousino

Warren Mott

Sterling Heights Stevenson

Sterling Heights

Region 4, District 13.

BERKLEY

SOUTHFIELD

GROVES

SEAHOLM

BLOOMFIELD HILLS

ROYAL OAK

TROY

Birmingham Brother Rice

Region 4, District 14.

WEST BLOOMFIELD

NORTH FARMINGTON

Lakeland

Milford

Hartland

Walled Lake Northern

Walled Lake Western

Walled Lake Central

Region 4, District 15.

CLARKSTON

ORION

OXFORD

ROCHESTER

ADAMS

STONEY CREEK

Waterford Kettering

Waterford Mott

Division Two.

Region 6, District 24.

FARMINGTON

Dearborn Divine Child

Garden City

Detroit Renaissance

Redford Thurston

Redford Union

South Lyon

South Lyon East

Region 7, District 25.

HARRISON

HAZEL PARK

Detroit Country Day

Warren Fitzgerald

Orchard Lake St. Marys

Cranbrook-Kingswood

Madison Heights Lamphere

Region 7, District 27.

AVONDALE

PONTIAC

Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.

Armada

Yale

Goodrich

Brandon

North Branch

Division 3.

Region 11, District 41.

FERNDALE

Clawson

Detroit Jalen Rose Academy

Detroit University Prep.

Dearborn Advanced Technology

Hamtramck Frontier International

Livonia Claranceville

Harper Woods

Projected Volleyball and Basketball Districts.

Not much change based on enrollment, so I don’t see much changing when the districts come out, now I could be wrong. There are some districts that need changing in the worst way possible but here are my projections on how the districts should look like.

Class A.

District 1-A

SOUTHFIELD

OAK PARK

BERKLEY

ROYAL OAK

Detroit Renaissance

District 1-B

ROCHESTER

STONEY CREEK

Utica

Utica Eisenhower

Utica Ford

Romeo

District 1-C

ORION

CLARKSTON

OXFORD

ADAMS

Waterford Kettering

Waterford Mott

District 1-D

TROY

TROY ATHENS

PONTIAC

AVONDALE

BLOOMFIELD HILLS

District 1-E

GROVES

SEAHOLM

WEST BLOOMFIELD

NORTH FARMINGTON

Orchard Lake St. Marys

Marian/Brother Rice

District 1-F

FARMINGTON

HARRISON

Mercy

Livonia Churchill

Livonia Stevenson

Livonia Franklin

Class B.

District 1-G

FERNDALE

HAZEL PARK

Detroit Central Collegiate Prep.

Warren Fitzgerald

Detroit Collegiate Prep.
Detroit Mumford

State Quarterfinal/Semifinal Preview.

Written Saturday June 11th at 11:00 PM
Updated Monday June 13th at 12:30 AM


The quarterfinals are here and here being the matchups for the two remaining OAA Teams that remain in Baseball and Softball and one team in Girls Soccer for the Final week of the High School Sports season for 2015-2016 season.

Both Baseball and Softball games will be played on Tuesday at Wayne State.

Softball:

Orion (35-5) vs Farmington Hills Mercy (40-2). 2 PM

The Marlins whom is ranked number two in the State have gotten all the hype, focus, and attention that has surrounded them all season, some of it deserved from shows like State Champs. Farmington Hills Mercy won the Catholic League for a second straight season and have been primed to get back to East Lansing since losing to Caledonia last season in the State Semifinals. The Marlins have a very good team surrounding them led by Brighton Native, and Mobile (South Alabama) bound Senior Abby Krzywiecki. Krzywiecki is likely going to be the Miss Softball in the State of Michigan, averaging a .565 batting average with 20 home runs, and 90 runs batted in this season. Farmington Hills Mercy also has a very talented starting pitcher in Andrea Elmore whom is 28-1 this season, having an earned run average under one run per game. The Marlins also have solid players as well in Anna Dixon, Cari Padula (going to Kalamazoo-Western Michigan next season) whom were both a combined four for six against Walled Lake Northern in their 11-1 rout of the Knights in the Regional Final and also Farmington Hills Mercy has Nicole Belans whom played well against Walled Lake Northern as well along with all-Stater Sophie Van Acker. 

The Dragons meanwhile just won their first regional final since 2004 and is ranked sixth in the State really hasn’t got much attention nor the respect they deserve from shows like State Champs but they bring a balanced attack to the party. Orion features their own power hitter in Shelby Misiak and young hitters such as Kassidy Carson, Carley McGhee, Erin Schroeder, Mackenzie Roy, Mackenzie Case, Tessa Nuss, Susie Bielecki, Jamie Bell, Bethany Gardner, and Peyton Shadaia. The Dragons do have a Senior pitcher in Sierra Gonzales whom is a big game pitcher herself and Lexi Aguilar is not bad herself. Orion has gone through some very good teams in Clarkston, Oxford, Groves and Romeo to get here.

This will be the first meeting of the season between Orion and Farmington Hills Mercy.

PROJECTION: Farmington Hills Mercy is very good, very talented, very athletic, and deserve the attention they have gotten from State Champs and the rest of the media. Yes, Abby Krzywiecki is likely going to win Miss Softball for the State but according to my source the Marlins can be had, it depends on any given day. Orion has not gotten no State love lately besides the local media and could make history if they pull this one off. The experts say that the Dragons don’t match up well with the Marlins but looking at the matchup here, both of these teams I would say are about even, both have played tough schedules, won league crowns, and won tournaments. The only difference is the Marlins have playoff experience on their side and have well known players who been here while Orion has not. This could be an offensive shootout or a defensive slug-fest pending if the Dragons offense shows up. I’m tempted to take the upset here, I think Orion has what it takes to get to Elmore and keep Krzywiecki and the rest of the Marlins off balance but they must be on the offensive pedestal because Farmington Hills Mercy has the talent to get to Gonzales.

Baseball:

Rochester (24-17) vs Hartland (32-5). 4 PM

The Eagles started the season at 1-3 but have rebounded nicely by being ranked in the State most of the year (currently 10^th in the State) with its senior heavy lineup, not to mention they are the defending State Champions. Hartland has two very good left handed pitchers and one of them is a stud in Nathan Lohmeier whom will be heading to Bowling Green next season. Lohmeier was huge in the Eagles regional final win over Novi Detroit Catholic Central by tossing a two hitter. Hartland is also loaded as well led by Hunter DeLanoy, Jack Slavin, Alexander Vydjak, Max Hendricks, and John Baker. The Eagles took out Howell in the district to get here and destroyed Livonia Stevenson 11-0 in the regional semifinal as well. 

The Falcons are a team that no one expected to be here and is playing with house money, by going 13-1 in its last 14 games. Rochester was a middle of the pack team in the Red this season has only one senior on their roster have made an impact in the tournament. The Falcons picked up two extra inning wins over Stoney Creek and Utica Eisenhower and beat Troy 2-0 in the regional semifinal but they upset Adams in a wild regional final 12-9, that featured five lead changes to get to this round and win its first regional since 1998. Rochester will have its hands full if they want to pull off a major upset.

This will be the first meeting of the season between Hartland and Rochester this season.

PROJECTION: The luck of the Falcons will run out here, I think that Lohmeier and the senior heavy Eagles will be too much for Rochester in this matchup. Hartland though can be had but the Falcons have to play perfect if they want to pull off the upset but I don’t know if I see it happening.

Girls Soccer-State Semifinals:

Novi at Stoney Creek- Tuesday 7 PM

The Cougars have gone through a lot to get to the State Semifinals, getting by a few State ranked teams in the process in Utica Ford, Macomb Dakota, Utica Eisenhower, and Troy Athens. Now Stoney Creek has a home game against third ranked Novi. The Wildcats beat Grand Blanc in the semifinals to get here along with Northville in the district playoffs. This will be an interesting game to watch between these two teams to get to the State Finals.

PROJECTION: Home field is huge, it didn't work out for Adams last season as they traveled down the road to Stoney Creek and lost. Now it's the Cougars turn on its home field but Novi is tough and very good in their own right, they are the only team to beat Grand Blanc twice this season. I think Stoney Creek will pull it off over the Wildcats and get to the State Finals on Saturday.

Weekend Preview.

Written Thursday June 9th at 8:00 PM

Here is this weekend's upcoming action surrounding the OAA with Baseball, Soccer, and Softball regional and Girls Lacrosse Finals.


Region 7 at Bloomfield Hills.

Baseball

Groves vs Adams- 10 AM

Rochester vs Troy- 30 minutes after 1^st game

Regional Final- 30 minutes after 2^nd game

This is an all OAA Regional here at Bloomfield Hills. The Falcons are riding high with their shocking upset of Birmingham Brother Rice in the district final last week. The Highlanders won at Oxford, overcoming a tough Clarkston squad. The Falcons had to beat Utica Eisenhower in extra innings at Stoney Creek. The Colts took out their arch rival Troy Athens out of the playoffs to give them their first district crown since 2008.

I think this regional will be interesting but seeing the battle of the Falcons probably could be the best bet here but it wouldn’t surprise me if Adams win over Groves. Whomever wins this regional will have a tough shot when they could deal with Hartland in the Quarterfinals.

PROJECTED REGIONAL FINAL: Groves vs Rochester

PROJECTED CHAMPION: Groves

Softball

Groves vs Orion- 10 AM

Troy Athens vs Romeo- 30 minutes after 1^st game

Regional Final- 30 minutes after 2^nd game

When looking at this regional, the Dragons have played a much brutal district (Clarkston, Oxford) than the rest of these teams here. Orion ranked sixth in the State has a balance of pitching and hitting that got them here. Their opponent Groves is playing with house money. The Falcons a few weeks ago named an interim coach four weeks ago and won their district over Seaholm. In the other game you have Romeo whom is young but still very talented. The Bulldogs have two very good hitters and will be a tough out. Romeo better be careful of Troy Athens. The Red Hawks have played a tough schedule despite being in the White, Troy Athens though is a dangerous team.

I look at this regional being a Dragon/Bulldog rematch from 2013 in which Romeo won over Orion at Hartland but end of the day, the Dragons have a little too much balance. The winner will likely deal with Farmington Hills Mercy in the Quarterfinals. I believe there is one team here that can match up very well with the Marlins here.

PROJECTED REGIONAL FINAL: Orion vs Romeo

PROJECTED CHAMPION: Orion

Girls Soccer

Stoney Creek at Troy Athens: 7 PM Friday.

When looking at this regional final, it is clear that the Cougars have had the toughest road of the two OAA teams in the State Tournament. With Grand Blanc out of the tournament thanks to Novi and the Wildcats await the winner of this one, the path to the State crown is wide open with the winner going to the Final Four. The Red Hawks have had a nice path to the regional final having a not so bad district and had to beat Grosse Pointe North in a Court Ordered game 1-0 in the regional semifinal. Stoney Creek meanwhile has had to play three state ranked teams in the state tournament in Utica Ford (8^th), unbeaten Utica Eisenhower (2^nd), and Macomb Dakota (6^th.) When I look at this matchup, these two teams are no stranger to each other, both teams have experience but in the end, got to go with the road team here and that is the Cougars.

PROJECTED REGIONAL CHAMPION: Stoney Creek

Girls Lacrosse

Birmingham vs Rockford: 2 PM Saturday at Brighton.

The Rams are a dynasty in Girls Lacrosse while the Bulldogs are no slouches either. Rockford with their fair share of talent and experience. Birmingham got here by beating Ann Arbor Pioneer in the semifinals. The Rams destroyed Hartland to get here. I don’t know how the Bulldogs can pull this off but it would be a monster upset if Birmingham can upset Rockford.

PROJECTED STATE CHAMPION: Rockford

Shocker at Southfield.

Written Thursday June 2nd at 11:30 PM

Well many experts around the media would had thought that Michelle Marshall would had been a shoe in to take over the new Southfield Arts and Technology Girls Basketball team. She has a State Championship and was the dean of the OAA when it comes to coaches.

Well that may not be the case.

According to three accurate sources the Warriors have named former Southfield coach Jamie Glinz the new Girls Basketball coach for the new school. The reasons why he was named over Marshall was very interesting.

Glinz has developed players while he was at Southfield. Also having a freshman team could had been another reason why Glinz was chosen over Marshall.

Lathrup last season did not have a freshman team.

It was a shocker that Marshall wasn't named the new head coach but the new Southfield High School went a different direction with Glinz leading the charge.

It is unknown what Marshall will do this upcoming winter.

The Warriors will be a talented team led by all around sophomore forward Alexis Johnson. Johnson led the Blue Jays in scoring with 11.7 points per game and six rebounds per game. Also Southfield will have D'Layna Holliman return for her junior season. Holliman was second in scoring for the Blue Jays averaging nine and a half points per game and sophomore guard Rizaria Franklin is also back leading Southfield with 13 three pointers made and 106 total points last season.

The Chargers lost a lot of talent from a team that won the Red but lost in the Regional Final to Detroit Martin Luther King last season. Southfield does return all state guard Deja Church whom averaged 20 points per game last season but there are questions though referring to her status at Southfield. It is unknown if Church will be a Warrior or go elsewhere. If Marshall was the coach she would had likely stayed but it's unknown where Church stands with Glinz in charge.

Southfield will be challenged though this upcoming season because the former Blue Jays players were so used to playing games in the Blue but now they have to move up to play in the Red. The former Chargers besides Church did not play much last season thus bringing to life a new challenge. The Warriors will have to deal with the likes of Stoney Creek, Clarkston, North Farmington, and Adams. All of those teams will present different challenges to Southfield this upcoming season.

It will be an interesting season on Nine Mile and Lahser Road this winter for the ladies.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for this developing story.

Avery named Southfield Arts and Technology Boys Basketball Coach.

Written Wednesday June 1st at 10:21 AM

In a move that was expected the new Southfield Arts and Technology named Mike Avery the new head Boys Basketball coach of the Warriors.

Avery coached at Southfield High School for one season and was at Southfield-Lathrup for a while. This was pretty much an easy decision by the Southfield Athletic Department to make Avery the coach.

The Warriors will have Michael Flowers this season as well. Last season as a Blue Jay he had 50 points in a game in December. Southfield will also play in the Red with Clarkston, North Farmington, and Adams. Not to mention West Bloomfield and Bloomfield Hills come up from the White this season.

Thoughts:

Like I said this move didn't surprise me at all. I knew all along Avery would be the coach of the Warriors. Now he can focus on Summer Basketball in a few weeks.

We'll see what happens.