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PREP FOOTBALL: Boys of fall back and ready for 2013 season

Dan Stickradt | August 12, 2013 | Comments (1)

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

Twitter: @LocalSportsFans

If there was anybody in the state of Michigan that was ready for the start of high school football practice to officially begin Monday in Michigan, it is Bud Rowley.

The veteran Oxford head coach has been chomping at the bits for months.

“I was born ready,” snarled Rowley after Monday’s morning session at Oxford. “It’s the best time of year. I was pumped during (the high school baseball season).”

Players and coaches from more than 600 member schools of the Michigan High School Athletic Association, plus teams that compete in the home-schooled-based Christian Football League of Michigan, returned to the grid-iron Monday — some teams as early as 12 midnight — to begin to prepare for the 2013 season.

Regular season games will begin Aug.28-30 around the state, as they all aim to reach the postseason come the end of October. Optimism is never higher than in the month of August.

BACK TO WORK: Bud Rowley and his Oxford Wildcats were among more than 600 teams across the state that returned to the grid-iron Monday. File Photo.

At Oxford

Bud Rowley can’t remember how many years he’s coached the Wildcats.

“Nobody really cares about that stuff. We just care about getting these kids ready for the season, to play football on Friday nights,” barked Rowley, who has coached teams to winning seasons in 29 of the past 30 years. “I know it is well over 30 years.”

Oxford had a rebuilding season in 2010, but bounced back with playoff seasons in both 2011 and 2012. The Wildcats were 7-4 last season and reached the Division 2 district finals before falling to state powerhouse Birmingham Brother Rice.

The Wildcats return five starters on offense and four on defense, but by no means is the cupboard bare. There is plenty of speed and multi-sport athletes back in uniform this season.

“We’ll be ready, but these boys have to realize that there are no nights off in the OAA White (Division),” offered Rowley. “It’s a great league. If you don’t come ready to practice and ready to play every Friday night, then you won’t win. There are no weak teams in our league. Everybody’s tough. Southfield is very good, Farmington Harrison is always good, Oak Park, (Rochester) Adams, Farmington — they’re all good. There is going to be some great football on Friday nights in our league.”

At Holly

For years, Holly was a pushover, a laughing stock in the Flint Metro League. The Bronchos could count the winning seasons on one hand going back several decades.

That has all changed in recent years. Despite finishing 5-4 last season and barely missing a postseason bid in 2012, Holly has posted winning records in four of the past seven seasons, including three straight winning campaigns. You have to go back to the 1940s the last time Holly posted three straights seasons above five-hundred.

“We’ve been really competitive since I’ve been here,” said senior linebacker Kyle Pepper, a second-year starter. “We’ve had winning records the past three years. The mentality has changed here and we hope to continue that.

“It’s funny, though, that some people still think the Holly is an easy win,” continued Pepper. “We again want to prove to people that Holly can compete with anybody in our league.”

Ryan Culloty, who took over the Bronchos five years ago, coached Holly to postseason runs in 2010 and 2011. This team is a mystery, much like the rest of the flock in the nine-school FML.

“Just about everybody graduated a lot of two- and three-year starters. Everybody has question marks,” offered Culloty. “I don’t think there is any one team that is a heavy favorite in our league. In fact, the past couple of years the race was wide open and a lot of teams were very even.”

With graduating leaving many holes to fill throughout the league, the vacancies create new opportunity for other athletes who were waiting in the wings a year ago.

“We’ll see who steps up and provides leadership on this team and how quickly we gel as a team,” said Culloty. “We do have some nice athletes. I think if things come together, then we’ll be very competitive. But we’ll need for a lot of kids to step up.”

At Auburn Hills Avondale

It was six years ago when Auburn Hills Avondale suffered through a miserable 0-9 campaign.

“Those days are long in our past,” admitted Steven Deutsch, who enters his 12^th season with the Yellowjackets.

Avondale has posted five straight winnings seasons since that ’07 debacle, including making the Division 3 postseason in 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2008. The
Yellowjackets were 9-2 last season and reached the district finals.

There is plenty of talent on the roster, great size and speed that few can counter against.

“We still have two, four-year starters back,” noted Deutsch. “We started all of those young guys on offense three years ago and then last year, and this year, we have a lot of experience back (in the trenches).”

Avondale also has one of the state’s fastest players in junior Joshuwa Holloman. The speedster regrouped at the end of the track season to win regional, Oakland County and Division 1 state titles in the 100 meters. He continued to impress and was clocked at 4.32 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the Alabama Camp over the summer.

“He’s turned a lot of heads the past few months,” said Deutsch. “He was hurt for a lot of the track season and then he just kind of blew up. He put in a lot of impressive times at various camps this summer and is drawing a lot of attention.

“What that means for us is making sure he’s healthy. We have a lot of experience on this team and if we use our size and speed, then I think this team is capable of contending for the OAA-Blue and reaching the playoffs again.”

Avondale, Clarkston, Lake Orion, Oxford and Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes all made the MHSAA postseason last season, one of the lowest number in recent years in terms of schools from the coverage are of www.northoaklandsports.com reaching the field of 256.

Can more teams reach the postseason in 2013? Come back to www.northoaklandsports.com over the next three weeks and read about all of the area’s schools, plus team capsules for members the Oakland Activities Association, Flint Metro League, Catholic High School League, Michigan Independent Athletic Conference and more.

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