OAA Top 24 and reasons for rankings

Written Wednesday August 21st, at 7:03 PM

My thoughts on the Dragons Den, Top Ten are very interesting with people happy, others wondering why I have them ranked high or low this season. Well here are my concerns and reasons why I ranked these teams where they are at. Here is the overall projections and ranking from 24 to one.

Bottom Nine:

24. Ferndale Eagles: Good running back, back for the Eagles but something with 14-22 since 2008 isn’t a good thing.

23. Royal Oak Ravens: 2-43 since 2007 is all you need to know with the Ravens.

22. Southfield-Lathrup Chargers: New coach Keith Stephens gives the Chargers hope but rebuild won’t happen this season though because of the tough White this season.

21. Pontiac Phoenix: Financial difficulties have impacted this Phoenix team when it came to the athletic health insurance and the school district itself. Pontiac has a tough road ahead with Clarkston, Lake Orion, Stoney Creek, Troy, and Troy Athens on the schedule.

20. West Bloomfield Lakers: Lakers Quarterback Tristan Jackson returns and will give the Lakers everything he has but he needs play-makers around him and good line play which will give West Bloomfield a chance to compete.

19. Beverly Hills Wylie E. Groves Falcons: The Falcons were a disappointment from a season ago returns Ross Williams and has Avondale, North Farmington, and Berkley all coming to Beverly Hills but the trip to Birmingham is critical if they want to make the playoffs.

18. Hazel Park Vikings:  New facilities give the Vikings an advantage but will it transfer into winning games???

17. Berkley Bears: New coach Chris Sikora gives the Bears hope and to possibly get into the playoffs this season.

16. Rochester Falcons: Falcons will be all right for Coach Eric Vernon and its 21 seniors but playoffs could be a difficult chore this season with playing the likes of Lake Orion, Clarkston, and Stoney Creek on a consistent basis.

Top 15:

15. Bloomfield Hills Blackhawks: The Blackhawks are now one. The combination of Bloomfield Hills Lahser and Bloomfield Hills Andover is complete. Bloomfield Hills moved up from the Blue to the dangerous White this season. The Blackhawks returns quarterback Spencer McCourt from a season ago when he was at Bloomfield Hills Lahser. Bloomfield Hills has a very brutal schedule and a trip to the playoffs is in deep jeopardy with trips to Oxford, Southfield, and Farmington. The Blackhawks have Oak Park, Harrison, and Adams all coming to Bloomfield Hills.

14. Farmington Falcons: The Falcons will be skilled on both sides of the football but the question will be line play. Farmington also has a tough schedule with games at Oxford, at Adams, and at Harrison. The Falcons host Southfield and Oak Park. Farmington last season finished 6-3 only to lose to Walled Lake Western in the playoffs. The Falcons need to beat Westland John Glenn if they want to have a shot at the playoffs again this season if not then the Falcons are in huge trouble especially in the White.

13. Troy Colts: The Colts return nine starters on defense along with wide receiver and safety Danny Wunderluch and quarterback Jay Darish. The schedule is pretty daunting which is why they are ranked 13^th. The Colts host Stoney Creek, Rochester, and Clarkston, play Lake Orion in downtown Detroit, and has to travel to Romeo and Troy Athens. Troy finished 5-4 last season but lost a lot of experience from a season ago so that is a major concern heading into this season.

12. Troy Athens Red Hawks: The Red Hawks was a disappointment last season at 2-7. Experts have Troy Athens to return back to form than they were in 2011. The Red Hawks returns quarterback Jake Nelson and tight end Lucas Bezerra. Troy Athens schedule is brutal with trips to Warren Mott, Lake Orion, Stoney Creek, and Clarkston. If the Red Hawks lose to Warren Mott week one then their playoff hopes would be in serious jeopardy.

11. Birmingham Seaholm Maples: The Maples are expected to contend for a league title this season in the Blue. The schedule is tricky especially starting with Ann Arbor Pioneer coming to Birmingham in week one. Birmingham Seaholm has to travel to Auburn Hills the next week and hosts North Farmington in week three. It won’t surprise me if the Maples started the season 0-3 so that’s why they are not ranked in the Dragons Den Top Ten poll.

10. North Farmington Raiders: The Raiders have a very good running back in Chauncey Bridges. The reason why the Raiders are ranked is because of Bridges and the schedule is friendly since North Farmington dropped from the White to the Blue. North Farmington was 3-6 last season. Expect a playoff appearance in the north side of Farmington this season.

9. Avondale Yellow Jackets: Avondale was 8-1 last season and is expected to contend in the Blue yet again this season. The Yellow Jackets have a good schedule with Redford Union in Redford and hosts Birmingham Seaholm in week two which is why they are ranked here along with running back Josh Holloman as well. Also Steve Deutch coaches in Auburn Hills so that’s one of the reasons why they are ranked here in the poll.

8. Farmington Hills Harrison Hawks: Harrison was a disappointing 6-3 and lost to Fenton in the playoffs last season but does return running back Lorenzo Collins and has a friendly schedule. They will have Adams, Oxford, Farmington, and Oak Park all coming to Farmington Hills and they have a difficult test at Southfield and at the crossover. The Hawks are expected to make a playoff spot but the inexperience at quarterback could be a daunting task.

7. Oak Park Knights: The Knights made the playoffs for the first time since 2005 and won the White last season with a 7-2 record but it could be difficult if Oak Park wants to return back to the playoffs. My biggest concerns for Oak Park are the tough schedule with only two home games (Southfield and Oxford) this season. The Knights play Orchard Lake Saint Marys at Wayne State in week one and have trips to Adams, Harrison, and Farmington. The next concern is at quarterback in bringing in a new one so they probably will run the football a lot. The next concern will be its depth is always a concern in Knight Valley.

6. Rochester Adams Highlanders: The Highlanders want to return to the playoffs after missing the playoffs for the first time in 15 seasons (went 4-5 last season.) Adams returns quarterback Matt Sokol along with a solid running game. The Highlanders schedule is brutal with home games against Clarkston, Oak Park, Adams, and Oxford coming to Rochester and trips to Southfield,  Harrison, and Stoney Creek is concerning. If Adams wants to return to the playoffs then they must win at least five of these games.

5. Stoney Creek Cougars: The Cougars lost a heart-breaker to Southfield last season and missing out at 5-4. They do return experience in Justin Addar, Joe Cox, Brady Stabelin, Beru Stabelin, and Shawn Scullen. The schedule is very friendly with Royal Oak to kick off the season but have tough games against Lake Orion at home and at Clarkston in the middle of the season. Stoney Creek should be a playoff team this season and will likely meet Rochester Adams to close out the season so that game could have a meaning seeing who will be best in Rochester.

4. Oxford Wildcats: The Wildcats do return Glacier Wallington, Ben Line, Zach Adorn, and Michael Tilley. Line play is a question in Wildcat country. Oxford finished 6-3 last season making the playoffs for a second straight season. The schedule is tough with Lake Orion kicking off the season and has games with Southfield and Farmington at home and trips to Oak Park, Harrison, and Adams. If Oxford can navigate through this schedule then a return trip to the playoffs is very likely.

3. Lake Orion Dragons: The Dragons return skill players Zach Arnold, Cory Ester, Chris Leigh, Dominic Giovinnazzo among others on a team that finished 8-1 last season and a state semifinal appearance. Questions will linger at offensive line, quarterback, defensive line, linebacker, and secondary. Lake Orion has a tough road slate with games at Oxford, at Stoney Creek, and at Clarkston. Troy Athens and the crossover come to Lake Orion this season. The Troy game is at Ford Field. If the Dragons defense can come together along with the offensive line a deep run in the state playoffs is possible.

2. Clarkston Wolves: This maybe Clarkston’s best chance to win a state title. Clarkston finished unbeaten (9-0) last season but lost to Rockford in the playoffs. The Wolves will have Ian Erickson, Nick Matich, David Beddle, Shane Hines, and Tim Cason along with a strong junior class as well. Clarkston has questions with DJ Zezula’s capability at quarterback this season along is can they live up to expectations with how good and the returnees Clarkston has back. The Wolves have Lake Orion, Stoney Creek, and the crossover all coming to Clarkston. Clarkston has to travel to Adams which will be interesting week one.

1. Southfield Blue Jays: The Blue Jays have a very dangerous team from a 6-3 team from a season ago. Southfield added Malik McDonnell and Jaylen Brady at quarterback as transfers. The weakness Southfield has is on special teams. The Blue Jays don’t have a proven kicker and could go for two points a lot. If the Blue Jays want to be a state title team they must develop a kicking game. The schedule works out well with home games against Harrison, Adams, and Oak Park. They do play Detroit Cass Tech week one at Wayne State but their toughest game could be when Southfield goes to Oxford to play the Wildcats and Farmington could be a challenge as well.