Week Twelve Recap.

Written Saturday January 23rd at 4:15 PM

WEST BLOOMFIELD 41, Davison 0.

West Bloomfield started the game with a fumble by Donovan Edwards in which Davison recovered the ball however the Cardinals suffered a huge hamstring injury to Harrison Unger which impacted them and especially on the defensive side of the football. Lakers safety Kyle Johnson would recover a Davison fumble a few plays later deep in West Bloomfield territory. On the next drive Edwards went 78 yards for a touchdown for a 7-0 lead. Penalties have been killing the Lakers with eight penalties. Davison’s kicking game was horrendous with two shank punts including a drive that started at the Cardinals 17 yard line but penalties and mistakes hurt the drive. Jake Ward would connect on a 39 yard field goal for a 10-0 lead. Mekhi Elam would then score on a 13 yard touchdown run to make it 17-0 Lakers. West Bloomfield would then have a bad punt but the Lakers defense took over. They took advantage of a Cardinals illegal formation penalty and would stop the Davison offense on downs keeping their 17-0 lead into halftime.

Davison started the second half with the football but linebacker Nyles King took the football off the jet sweep from Jaylen Flowers to help West Bloomfield score a defensive touchdown for the Lakers to further increase their lead to 24-0. Edwards would then strike again from 71 yards out for a 31-0 West Bloomfield lead. Edwards would add another score from 16 yards out to make it 38-0 Lakers and force the running clock. Ward added a 45 yard field goal to make it 41-0 West Bloomfield. 

That would be the final score.

Edwards finished with 14 carries for 257 yards and three touchdowns for the Lakers in his final high school game. Their lines were perfect in this game. It is their first State title in school history.

West Bloomfield coach Ron Bellamy finally has his State Championship.

Uyl Needs To Take A Stand.

Written Friday January 22nd at 4:05 PM

MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said that the MHSAA would guarantee all three seasons.

Now it’s time to prove it.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has become the biggest hurdle in the MHSAA to achieving their goals.

Whitmer and the Michigan of Health and Human Services has extended “the pause” three times since November on certain contact sports. Although non-contact sports have been given the green light to continue their seasons.

Basketball, Cheerleading, Wrestling, and Hockey remain on hold until February 21^st.

Uyl was blindsided like everyone else by the decision from Whitmer and her administration on Friday morning. “We found out about this decision at 9:30 am just like everyone else and we will address it this weekend to collect more information. We did not anticipate this delay in winter contact practices and competition, and today’s announcement has created many new questions. Obviously this is very disappointing to thousands of athletes who have been training with their teams over the last week and watching teams in other states around Michigan play for the last two months.”

The reason why Uyl needs to prove it is because Whitmer and her administration have done this three times to the student-athletes by halting their ability to compete. Despite coronavirus case numbers coming down, she and her administration have extended the pause anyway.

Robert Gordon stepped down as MDHHS Director on Friday after putting the new order in place. Whitmer appointed Elizabeth Hertel to take over as MDHHS Director. This though will need to be confirmed by the Republican held Senate.

When Uyl meets with the MDHHS he needs to be firm with them. “What are the numbers that are holding them up??? And where would the road map be at???” He mentioned this on the Huge Show.

Uyl and the MHSAA Representative Council are expected to meet next week to adjust the schedule for the four sports affected by the new order.

Uyl needs to take a stand against Whitmer and the MDHHS. He needs to stand up for the student-athletes, parents, coaches, superintendents, and athletic directors that are fed up with Whitmer and the MDHHS pausing these four winter contact sports.

Could the MHSAA sue Whitmer and the MDHHS??? I don’t know but there could be multiple lawsuits filed against Whitmer and the MDHHS.

If Uyl wants three seasons it’s time for him to make a stand for these student-athletes.

Whitmer and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Extends Indoor Contact Sports ban until February 21st.

Written Friday January 22nd at 10:30 AM

Updated Monday January 25th at 12:00 PM

Indoor contact sports remain banned in Michigan until February 21st.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services lifted indoor dining on February 1st but they extended the indoor contact sports ban according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services website.

The contact sports include basketball, hockey, cheerleading, and wrestling.

MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl was blindsided by the announcement from Whitmer and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Chief Executive Joeniah Kalduhn. "We found out about the decision at 9:30 am just like everyone else and we will address it as quickly as possible after taking the weekend to collect more information. We did not anticipate this delay in winter contact practices and competition and today's announcement has created many new questions" said Uyl.

This is the third time that Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has extended the order surrounding contact sports. Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has not done a good job addressing the emotional and mental health of these winter student athletes.

"Obviously this is disappointing to thousands of athletes who have been training with their teams over the last week and watching teams in other states around Michigan play for the last two months" Uyl concluded.

The MDHHS sent out a statement on Monday explaining why these sports are still on pause. "We are pleased to continue incrementally reopen the economy with the recent MDHHS order. Counties across the country have faced outbreaks of COVID-19 associated with sports teams. In Michigan there were 42 outbreaks (K-12, professional, collegiate, and commercial venues) in August and September 2020 before restrictions on contact sports and MDHHS and local health departments are still identifying outbreaks on teams that are currently playing. Outbreaks of this magnitude have the potential to affect not just a sports team but the entire community in which the players and coach resides as well. Sports that require frequent closeness between players make it more difficult to prevent disease transmission compared to sports that are not as close to each other. The risk of COVID-19 transmission is increased by the number of individuals as a player physically interacts with as well as the duration of that interaction. The arrival of the new B.1.1.1.7 variant also means even more caution must be taken so we avoid the rapid rise in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths that other countries have experienced. Even with mitigation measures in place such as wearing of masks, disease transmission can not be completely prevented when players are in prolonged or intense contact. Sports like football, basketball, rugby, field hockey, soccer, lacrosse, wrestling, hockey, futsal, and martial arts with opponents. These risks are even greater for indoor contact sports where there is not natural ventilation to mitigate the close proximity of participants. Teams that can implement robust public health measures may be able to decrease risk but risk remains elevated. We will continue to carefully watch the data to assess what other activities can be permitted. We are also laser focused on achieving our goal of vaccinating at least 70 percent of Michiganders ages 16 and up as quickly as possible so we can end this pandemic and get back to a sense of normalcy."

It wouldn't surprise anyone if lawsuits happen against Whitmer and MDHHS.

We shall see what happens but Whitmer and the MDHHS have failed these student-athletes again.

The MHSAA and the Representative Council will meet again next week to adjust the schedules.

It makes me wonder if there is anyone in Lansing that is fighting for our student-athletes???

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

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Week Twelve Picks.

Written Tuesday January 19th at 12:00 AM

Here is the everyone's projection heading into the Division One State Championship Game on Saturday afternoon at Ford Field. It has been a very odd season with the pauses and the adversity that the student athletes, athletic directors and coaches have had to deal with. Anyway here are the picks for Saturday's match up and also please listen to this week's podcast with me and Locke.

SANDY DUNES: 73-26

LOCKE: 67-32

DUNLAP: 73-26

BURNEY: 71-28

STICK: 70-29

COTTER: 81-18

West Bloomfield vs. Davison: This is shaping up to be a low scoring very tight Division One State Championship game at Ford Field on Saturday afternoon. Even though this will the first meeting between the Lakers and the Cardinals on the varsity level. These two teams have met in junior varsity football action at Davison with West Bloomfield winning that game. Both of these teams are stacked with proven college prospects. The Lakers with Donovan Edwards, Alex Short, Maxwell Hairston, Dillion Tatum, Semaj Morgan, among others. The Cardinals with Dion Brown, Harry Unger, Will Watkins, Carter Cryderman, JayLen Flowers, Treavion Warren, among others. Both of these teams are well coached and have been dominant going a combined 21-1 this season. West Bloomfield has been more battle tested though. Davison brings a ton of experience and they are the defending Division One State Champions. The Cardinals have allowed 10 points against two powerhouses in Novi Detroit Catholic Central and Rockford in the last two weeks. West Bloomfield had to overcome their biggest hurdle TO DATE in the State Semifinals by beating Belleville 35-34 in double overtime. The key for the Lakers in this game is they need to find some balance. They need to have that balance against a very strong Davison defense. The key for the Cardinals is how they will stop Edwards which is everybody’s challenge in playing West Bloomfield. If this game goes to down to the kicking game then I would trust the Lakers more than Davison. This will be the best team the Cardinals have seen all season long with West Bloomfield. The Lakers have seen teams like this before. This is shaping up to be a very good game.

 

SANDY DUNES PICK: WEST BLOOMFIELD 10, DAVISON 7.

LOCKE PICK: WEST BLOOMFIELD 21, DAVISON 17.

DUNLAP PICK: WEST BLOOMFIELD 20, DAVISON 17.

BURNEY PICK: WEST BLOOMFIELD 24, DAVISON 21.

STICK PICK: WEST BLOOMFIELD 28, DAVISON 21.

COTTER PICK: WEST BLOOMFIELD 31, DAVISON 14.

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