AOTW: Adams hopes to tie the ‘Knott’ with championship run

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

ROCHESTER HILLS — Suiting up for Rochester Adams has been a no-brainer for Dylan Knott. The senior has enjoyed great success with the storied Highlanders, who have  a deep tradition in boys and girls soccer.

After all, Adams has never finished below five-hundred in boys soccer since launching its program in 1981, long before Knott was even born. Both the boys and girls teams at Adams have combined for numerous Final Four appearances and have also won a combined three state championships.

“They have such a great tradition. They’ve had a lot of great teams and players I’ve heard about (over the years),” said Knott. “There’s no place I’d rather play.”

Knott, a fourth-year varsity veteran and third-year starter, was third-team all-state as a sophomore and second-team all-state as a junior. This year he entered the season as one of the top-25 players in the state and could even be an All-State First Team or All-State Dream team player, an honor that many greats to don the Highlanders’ jersey have earned over the years.

Knott, who plays midfield and forward for 8-5-4 Adams, lost in the district semifinals his freshman season. His sophomore year the Highlanders advanced all the way to the Division 1 state semifinals before a 1-0 overtime loss to Birmingham Brother Rice ended their season.

As a junior, Adams won a district, his team’s sixth in 11 years, before succumbing to Grand Blanc, 3-2, in a regional semifinals. The Highlanders went eight rounds of penalty kicks with the Bobcats before falling on the short side.

This season, Adams still had a modest campaign, finishing third out of nine schools in the rugged OAA Red Division while playing a tough non-league schedule. The Highlanders finished 6-1-1 in conference play, beating eventual champ Troy (2-0) and tying Troy Athens (1-1), the two teams that finished ahead of them.

The Highlanders also spent a month in the coaches association top 10 and are currently listed as honorable mention.

Knott has watched back-to-back large graduating classes at Adams take away 13 and 12 players, respectively, from the roster. Adams has just reloaded it arsenal.

Each time, Knott has again been one of the catalysts.

THE CATALYST: Rochester Adams senior midfielder Dylan Knott has been a key component to Highlanders' success throughout his career. File Photo | Randall McAdory

The 5-foot-11, 155-pound Knott, who joined Ryan Ceisel and Alex Tzonev as the only returning starters this season, has collected six goals and nine assists this season, although he missed three games in the later part of the regular season with a minor injury.

“The past couple of years, we’ve been very successful,” said Knott, who is a Division I college recruit and plays ball for the Vardar Academy. “We would like another chance to go a long ways this season. We have a lot of new guys, but we still have a lot of talent.”

Knott and Adams will have their hands full with a first-round game against a very familiar opponent. The Highlanders will visit Troy at 7 p.m. Monday for a Division 1 pre-district contest.

Regardless of Adams’ fate in the postseason, coach Josh Hickey feels he has one of the state’s best on his side.

“He can do a lot with the ball. He can take restarts, score, defend and set up teammates,” smiled Hickey. “I think he’s one of the best in the state. Other coaches like him because he’s dangerous whenever he touches the ball and he works so hard on the field. He’s very fast that he can dribble right by you. He’s a great play-maker.”

If Adams, which split with Troy in the regular season, can beat the sixth-ranked Colts, then Knott is the type of player that can carry a team on its back for a long postseason ride. Brother Rice is also in the Troy-hosted, eight-school district, so the path will be difficult.

“I just want to do whatever it takes to help us be successful,” said Knott. “It would be nice to make another run. We’ll see when we get there (to the tournament). There’s a lot of very good teams out there.”

There’s also a lot of talented players out there and Knott is on that list.

Tags: Athlete of the Week, boys soccer, Dylan Knott, featured, high school boys soccer, Prep Boys Soccer, Rochester Adams Boys Soccer, soccer

Category: BWW Athlete of the Week, High School, High School (M-Z), Prep Wraps, Rochester Adams