OAA Recap. Week Seven.

Written Saturday October 12th, at 5:15 PM

1. Clarkston

2. Southfield

3. Lake Orion

4. Harrison

5. Oak Park

6. Seaholm

7. Groves

8. Stoney Creek

9. Rochester

10. West Bloomfield

BIG WIN: West Bloomfield: The Lakers may have saved the job of Ronald Bellamy after upsetting Stoney Creek 31-26 on Friday night in West Bloomfield. West Bloomfield sits at 4-3 has to travel to Pontiac, and then plays the crossover at home, which will likely be Oxford. For Stoney Creek at 5-2, this damages them in playoff points and could possibly lose home field advantage and start on the road if they get to the playoffs. The Cougars have another opportunity to make the playoffs but the road might not be easy. Stoney Creek has to travel to Rochester and beat the Falcons just to make the playoffs or win the crossover game if they lose that.

TOUGH LOSS: Oak Park: The Knights led 22-7 early in Farmington Hills against Harrison only to be in a wild and crazy game as the game was tied 30-30 at halftime. Oak Park scored on a late touchdown with 53 seconds left to take a 52-51 lead only to see Harrison go down the field and kick a 30 yard field goal for a 54-52 lead for the Hawks with one second left in the game. The Knights had one last chance to win but a bad pitch on a hand off led to a Harrison touchdown and a 60-52 lead and victory over Oak Park. Both these teams will be in the playoffs but the Knights play Oxford this week in Knight Valley. Harrison plays Farmington at home and then the crossover where one could see Stoney Creek, Lake Orion, or West Bloomfield while the other may play Lake Orion or Clarkston.

MOST DISSAPOINTED: Farmington: In a season that the Falcons might struggle, everybody though that Farmington would cruse in this game over Bloomfield Hills. This was the first season for Blackhawks football and nobody saw this coming especially at Farmington but the scoreboard read. Bloomfield Hills 42, Farmington 14. The Falcons defense was just awful. They gave up pass play after pass play it wasn’t even pretty. Farmington now is the second worst team in the White behind Southfield-Lathrup and that is pretty bad.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME: North Farmington: The Raiders just needed to win one game and they had Chauncey Bridges against a Royal Oak team that before the season was 2-43 since 2007. Now the Ravens are 3-4 after upsetting North Farmington 28-18 at Royal Oak. This is the biggest win in Coach Ryan Irish’s career at Royal Oak and already has three wins on the season. The Raiders still have an opportunity to make the playoffs all they to do is beat winless Hazel Park at home just to make the playoffs.

Big Games for Week Eight:

3. Lake Orion at 1. Clarkston: The Lake Orion/Clarkston game will decide the Red with Stoney Creek’s upset loss to West Bloomfield. Either the Wolves win it outright or the Dragons share the crown with Clarkston. Both teams have very good players and this game should be interesting. Lake Orion has not beaten Clarkston since 2010 and hasn’t won at Clarkston since 2007.

7. Groves at 6. Seaholm: Both teams are undefeated at 7-0 and the Blue is at stake in this match up separated by a mile off Maple Road between Beverly Hills and Birmingham. For Groves it is about redemption since they had a disappointing 2012 campaign. For Seaholm it’s about repeating as Blue Champions and going perfect. Something has to give in this match up this week.

8. Stoney Creek at 9. Rochester: The Falcons have been beating the teams they are suppose to beat and they did that by beating Troy Athens 35-14 with their fourth string quarterback on their homecoming. The Cougars were upset by West Bloomfield 31-26 last week on the road after the Lakers exposed the Cougars defense through the air. This game has major playoff implications for both teams. Rochester needs this win and needs to beat Adams in two weeks while Stoney Creek just needs to win one game to make their first playoff appearance since 2007.

Red Standings:

1. Clarkston                 6-0       6-1

3. Lake Orion               5-1       6-1

8. Stoney Creek           4-2       5-2

9. Rochester                 3-3       4-3

10. West Bloomfield     3-3       4-3

Troy                             2-4       2-5

Troy Athens                 1-5       1-6

Pontiac                         0-6       0-7

Last Week Scores:

Clarkston 42, Troy 0

Lake Orion 62, Pontiac 13

West Bloomfield 31, Stoney Creek 26

Rochester 35, Troy Athens 14

This Week Games:

3. Lake Orion at 1. Clarkston

8. Stoney Creek at 9. Rochester

10. West Bloomfield at Pontiac

Troy at Troy Athens

White Standings:

2. Southfield                 6-0       6-1

4. Harrison                   5-1       6-1

5. Oak Park                 4-2       5-2

Adams                         3-3       4-3

Oxford                         3-3       3-4

Bloomfield Hills            2-4       2-5

Farmington                   1-5       1-6

Southfield-Lathrup        0-6       1-6

Last Week Games:

Southfield 14, Adams 7

Harrison 60, Oak Park 52

Oxford 49, Southfield-Lathrup 15

Bloomfield Hills 42, Farmington 14

This Week Games:

Southfield-Lathrup at 2. Southfield

Farmington at 4. Harrison

Oxford at 5. Oak Park

Adams at Bloomfield Hills

Blue Standings:

6. Seaholm                   6-0       7-0

7. Groves                     6-0       7-0

North Farmington         3-3       4-3

Royal Oak                    3-3       3-4

Berkley                        3-3       3-4

Avondale                      2-4       3-4

Ferndale                       1-5       1-6

Hazel Park                   0-6       0-7

Last Week Games:

Seaholm 48, Ferndale 0

Groves 29, Berkley 20

Royal Oak 28, North Farmington 18

Avondale 56, Hazel Park 22

This Week Games:

7. Groves at 6. Seaholm

Royal Oak at Berkley

Ferndale at Avondale

Hazel Park at North Farmington

Other Games around the State:

Linden is in so much trouble right now at 4-3 for a playoff berth. The Eagles have already lost to Fenton, Brandon, and Lapeer West. Linden is in real danger to miss the playoffs and still has to play Lapeer East and Swartz Creek. Lapeer East beat Swartz Creek 35-21 so the Flint Metro League race looks to get tight with Lapeer East, Lapeer West, Holly, Swartz Creek, Brandon, and Linden along with Fenton.

Things are not looking good for Traverse City West after the Titans lost to Cadillac 26-21 on the road. The Vikings move to 7-0 in the Big North this season. Traverse City West still has to play Allendale who is 6-1 in a non league game up in Traverse City and if the Titans lose this game then they will be eliminated from the playoffs.

Lansing Holt won 35-21 over Okemos and is second in the Capital Area Conference Blue Division. The Rams looks to be on a direct course with Grand Ledge in week nine in a winner take all match up with both teams having three losses.

Saginaw Heritage is in trouble after losing to Midland Dow 28-7. The Hawks now have three losses now and still have to close out the season with Mount Pleasant in week nine in the Saginaw Valley Athletic Association North division.

Waterford Kettering is 4-3 after beating their arch rival Waterford Mott 27-0 in the Beef Bowl game. The Captains have a big game this week with Pinckney in the Kensington Lakes Crossover game and if they win that and beat Dearborn Edsel Ford then they could be back in the playoffs for the first time since they were in the OAA.

Howell looks like they might have to beat Jackson Lutheran Christi again just to make the playoffs like last season and looks like they could clash with White Lake Lakeland in the KLAA Crossover. The Highlanders are 4-3 after losing 27-20 to Brighton and needs to win out if they want to make the playoffs.

It looks like the Ottawa Kent Conference Red it looks like Muskegon wrapped up the crown and Rockford will be a distant second but the battle between East Kentwood and Hudsonville is heating up. Both the Eagles and Falcons are going to battle it out for a playoff spot. The Falcons still has to play Hudsonville and Rockford to close out the season.

Utica Eisenhower might return back to the playoffs after winning 16-14 over Romeo at Swienhart Field. The Eagles are still in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in 15 years if they don’t win out. Utica Eisenhower and the Bulldogs have easy schedules to close out the season and Eisenhower looks to be in much better shape than the Bulldogs are right now. Romeo could still get into the playoffs at 5-4 but other teams like Hudsonville, East Kentwood, and Oxford might have a stronger resume to impress the MHSAA committee and go to the playoffs.

We’ll see you next week.