OAA Football and Volleyball Early Top 10

Written Saturday May 11th, 2013 at 9:45 PM,

Hello all, I haven't written a post in a while but with my busy schedule I have set up the early fall football and volleyball rankings for the season. They will give you an idea of the projections for the early season. Now things can change between now and August so here are the early way before preseason top 10 for both football and volleyball.

Football Early Top 10:

10. North Farmington (3-6, 1-6 White): The Raiders move back from the White to the Blue makes a return to the playoffs a real possibility.

9. Avondale (9-2, 6-1 Blue: Lost to Orchard Lake St. Marys 42-14 in District Finals): The Blue is up for grabs and expect the Yellow Jackets to be up there this season.

8. Harrison (6-4, 4-3 White: Lost to Fenton 22-19 in first round): The Hawks are still young but with a year experience they will be back in the White race once again.

7. Oak Park (9-3, 6-1 White: Lost to Wyandotte Roosevelt 10-6 in Regional Finals): The defending White champs maybe down just a bit this season but a foundation is in place in Knight Valley under Greg Carter.

6. Southfield (7-4, 4-3 White: Lost to Oak Park 19-12 in District Finals): Laurence Marshall’s Commitment to Michigan is set, now he can focus on leading the Jays back to the postseason.

5. Rochester Adams (4-5, 3-4 White): The Highlanders will continue to ride the late season momentum into this season behind Matt Sokol.

4. Stoney Creek (5-4, 4-3 Red): Brad Zube may have his best team in a while in Rochester and with the peaces in place a playoff berth is real for the Cougars.

3. Oxford (7-4, 5-2 White: Lost to Birmingham Brother Rice 38-6 in District Finals): With Glacier Wallington and Ben Line, things will be interesting in Oxford

2. Lake Orion (11-2, 6-1 Red: Lost to Detroit Cass Tech 34-27 in State Semifinals): Dragons will relay on the running game this season to get back where they want to be.

1. Clarkston (11-1, 7-0 Red: Lost to Rockford 25-14 in Regional Finals): Program teams went unbeaten plus return of Ian Erickson makes the Wolves a dangerous threat.

Volleyball Early Top 10:

10. Rochester: The Falcons moved down from the Red to the White and with the loss of Stephanie Sikorski to graduation, questions will loom in Rochester.

9. Oxford: The Wildcats still have Darien Bandell but the question will still be around Oxford is who will be able to help Bandell out this season.

8. North Farmington: Even with the loss of Nacayla Joyce and Kaitlyn Schoeppner, the Raiders will be fine. A lot of opportunities are in hand for Jessica Condeni’s crew.

7. Troy: The Colts lost a lot of senior talent but the coaching staff there is one of the best in Vince Muscat and they still will have Olivia Parks back for another season.

6. Birmingham Seaholm: The playoff run into the state quarterfinals helped the Maples last season but the talent will be a little down with the departures of Erin Neudenfelt, Andrea Goddard, and Kathy Quigley but with the Maple Forest and tremendous coaching from Heather Lippert, a run back to the quarterfinals is possible.

5. Stoney Creek: The Cougars could be the best team in Rochester and the move to the Red will only help them this season, also there is motivation for Stoney Creek after losing in the district finals to Utica Eisenhower last season.

4. Beverly Hills Wylie E. Groves: The Falcons are talented and will be a force in Oakland County this season. They will be led by seniors Sarah Costello and Liz Putti along with junior Kristen Rathbun. Groves is the clear favorite to win the White this season.

3. Bloomfield Hills: The merger of Lahser and Andover gives the Blackhawks an advantage on the volleyball front. What makes things interesting for Bloomfield Hills will be the play of juniors Erin Okuniewski (setter), Michah Paulatter, (hitter), and Katie Wenson (hitter) along with the Andover talent will make Bloomfield Hills a serious contender in the Red this season.

2. Lake Orion: Hannah Murdock will be dominant this season in the Dragons green and white and Lake Orion is still a state title contender along with being one of the deepest teams in Oakland County. If the Dragons can get an inside threat from Tess Marshall and company then look out.

1. Clarkston: The Alabama transfer could be scarier than Rachel Dickerson and Dickerson was one of the best hitters in Oakland County. Her re-arrival to Michigan for her senior season puts the Wolves back in the state title hunt along with setter Brianna Frakes.