Utica Eisenhower Preview

Written Tuesday October 30th, at 4:30 PM

The Utica Eisenhower Eagles come in as one of the best teams in Macomb County and also in the state. Their record doesn’t indicate it though but this is a very dangerous team and a very dangerous match up for the Dragons on Friday night.

You can throw all the records away in this match up of two traditional powerhouses.

The Eagles come in at 8-2, with a playoff win over Warren Mott 28-0 at Swienhart Field. Eisenhower went 3-2 in the MAC Red with road losses to Macomb Dakota (24-6) and Chippewa Valley (21-7.)

Eisenhower features a very big and good offensive line. The only team I can think off with that comparison is Clarkston. The Wolves beat the Dragons 21-14 a few weeks ago. The difference with Clarkston and Eisenhower is that Eagles has a passing threat and a good quarterback-wide receiver combo.

 It all starts with four year starting quarterback Joe Zerafa.

Zerafa had a touchdown pass in his only meeting against Lake Orion in 2010 but the Eagles lost 17-10 to the Dragons in the regional finals.

Zerafa can throw the ball very well and also can run with his speed. Zerafa was six for eight for 101 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for a two yard touchdown last week against Warren Mott.

The Eagles have scored 275 points this season, which is 27.5 points per game, rounded up to 28 points per game. Eisenhower’s defense has only allowed 106 points, which is 10.6 points per game. The Dragons have scored 380 points this season, which is 38 points per game. Lake Orion’s defense has only allowed 103 points, which is 10.3 points per game.

Eisenhower features a four man senior laden rushing attack. All of them have balance, speed, power, and versatility.

The Eagles have star running back Shane King. King dislocated his elbow earlier in the season and thought that he wasn’t going to return at all this season. King did return though against Sterling Heights Stevenson in a 23-16 victory at Swienhart Field and has done well since. King had 20 carries for 118 yards against Warren Mott and hasn’t been stopped since he returned.

Eisenhower also has a trio of senior running backs who filled in nicely when King was out. Jay Miron had seven carries for 71 yards, Idode Kerobo had 44 yards and a touchdown, and Grant Davis had 17 yards on eight carries against the Marauders.

Zerafa’s top weapon is junior wide receiver Joe Chmielewski. Chemielewski had a 22 yard, one hand touchdown catch into the end zone for an Eagles touchdown. He also had a 13 yard touchdown to open up the scoring against the Marauders. He had 70 yards and two scores last week.

Time possession has been key in this series and will be key in this game. Both teams have very good defenses, a lot of team speed on both sides of the ball along with playmakers.

Eisenhower's line like I said is also big, very similar to Clarkston in height and in size. The Eagles are led by a division one college football recruit David Curlie and always have had a good defense as mentioned.

Eisenhower has been good at Swienhart Field but somewhat suspect on the road. The Eagles lost at Chippewa Valley 21-7 and to Macomb Dakota 24-6 but they did get wins earlier in the season at Dan Barnabo Field 20-10 and 23-16 over Sterling Heights Stevenson at Swienhart Field.

Eisenhower has been battled tested. The Eagles played seven playoff teams (Port Huron, Grosse Pointe South, Chippewa Valley, Macomb Dakota, Romeo, Sterling Heights Stevenson, and Warren Mott.) Lake Orion has also been battled tested. The Dragons played four playoff teams (Oxford, Clarkston, Farmington, and Sterling Heights Stevenson.)

This is the second time in four seasons that these two teams have met. The Dragons won both times against Eisenhower. In 2008 it was 7-0 Lake Orion after Branden Oakes ran the winning touchdown down the right sideline to the end zone in the district semifinal. The Dragons in 2010 scored two rushing touchdowns, one by Marques Stevenson and one by Dan Ney and also had to overcome a field goal miss to win 17-10 in the regional final.

This meeting will be back at Lake Orion for a third time.

This season the Eagles have a first year coach in Chris Smith. Smith took over for Bob Lantzy, who retired after last season. He should be confident with this group because they have a lot of experience under their belt. Smith was Lantzy’s defensive coordinator so he has a lot of experience on that side of the ball. This is a very good coaching staff that Eisenhower has.

Eisenhower is playoff tested, as well as Lake Orion. Last season the Eagles went to the state semifinals before losing 10-7 to Detroit Cass Tech at Troy Athens.

The Eagles changed uniforms for the season. Their helmets are gray and have an E on it instead of the Seahawks logo. They changed jerseys from blue to black. They changed pants as well from the silver pants to the black pants but have a white-white combination they wear on the road.

This game is anybody’s guess but we’ll see what happens.