FOOTBALL: Stoney Creek caps first unbeaten regular season with OAA-White title
Cougars draw first-round bye in expanded playoff format
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
ROCHESTER HILLS — Camron Burford knows he speaks for his entire football team at Rochester Stoney Creek when he says the Cougars want to cruise into some unchartered waters.
So far, so good. The Cougars are doing just that.
In its 19th campaign, Stoney Creek finished the regular season unbeaten for the first time in school history and head into the postseason on quite a roll.
“We want to do things no other team in school history has done,” said Burford, a senior running back and a bonafide All-State player. “We want to go as far as we can.”
The Cougars finished a perfect 6-0 in the COVID-shortened season, including 5-0 in the OAA White Division for the outright league title.
It marked the first time since 2006 and 2007 that Stoney Creek has won a league title. Both of those titles came in the OAA Blue Division and the Cougars could not get past the first round of the postseason during those campaigns. Now up in the OAA-White, Stoney Creek has put up some vaunted numbers and is turning some heads.
“It’s been an amazing season so far,” said third-year head coach Nick Merlo, who grew up in a football household where his dad has been a high school and college coach and both of his brothers, Tony and Joe, are assistants under him.
“We haven’t had a team quite like this. This group works incredibly hard and they have great chemistry. Everyone does their part and that is why we have been so successful,” offered Merlo, who was an assistant at his alma mater, Rochester, before taking over the program before the 2018 season.
While Burford and sophomore Jon Fogler have formed quite a tandem in the rushing game — Burford is averaging some 7.5 yards per carry, rushed for 20 touchdowns and over 1,100 yards in only six games — this team is loaded all over the field.
“He’s had the best season in terms of running backs at Stoney Creek. I’m sure he will be an All-State player when the season is over,” said Merlo of Burford. “Not too many kids in the state have put up those numbers in six weeks. Hopefully, we’ll get to play a few games in the playoffs.”
Senior quarterback Ryan Eckhout is a true field general, although he isn’t called to pass all that much. The Cougars have scored 233 points — good for a 38.9 points per game average. The Cougars seldom turn the ball over, much to Eckhout’s direction under center.
“We don’t pass that many times a game, but when we do — Ryan has had some great throws,” noted Merlo. “He’s a smart kid and a great leader for us.”
The entire offensive line returned from last year and this group has become even more tight-knit. Senior Austin Jordan is being courted by Division I and Division II schools and leads the way of a talented group of pile movers. Seniors Aden Smith, Josef Engelhardt, Garrett Joye, Matthew Daines and Grant Lowery have also been nothing short of sterling behind those aforementioned offensive gaudy numbers.
Stoney Creek has defeated its six opponents by an impressive 29.2 points a game.
With 18 senior starters overall and 18 returning starters from last year, there is ample talent in the trenches that have performed at high levels.
Defensively, senior Jon Rayba anchors the line and is one of the leading tacklers. The Cougars have yielded only 58 points in six games, posted one shutout, and allowed three teams to score 10 points or less, while no school has scored more than 14 points on Stoney Creek.
“Jon Rayba has had an amazing season,” said Merlo. “He’s the leader on defense and we’ve been really good there.”
The thing about us is that every team in our league this year made the playoffs last season. That shows the strength of the teams we are playing,” said Merlo. “(Birmingham) Seaholm made the semifinals in Division 2 last year, and (Birmingham) Groves has been to the semifinals twice in the last five years. North Farmington was undefeated last year and Farmington was second behind them. And Rochester Adams is always good and in the playoffs most years. There aren’t bad programs in our league.”
Senior Cole Luhmann leads the linebackers unit, while senior Carson Chambers anchors the secondary. Jordan, Smith, Engelhardt, Joye, Daniel and Lowery have also spent time on the defensive line plugging up holes and tormenting opposing team’s quarterbacks and running backs.
In the title-clinching win over Birmingham Groves, a convincing 40-14 triumph, Burford rang the bell for four touchdowns after carrying the ball 20 times for 261 yards for the Cougars, who piled up 380 yards on the ground in the rout. Fogler also had a pair of rushing touchdowns against the Falcons.
Stoney Creek now turns its attention to the postseason as the top seed in its district. The Cougars have never won a postseason game. They lost in the pre-district game in 2006 (14-6 to Grosse Pointe North), 2007 (42-8 to Birmingham Brother Rice), 2013 (16-7 to Rochester Adams) and 2019 (21-14 to Lake Orion).
The Cougars will have to wait an additional week to try to sail to its first postseason win. With Utica withdrawing from the postseason due to health concerns, that leaves Stoney Creek’s district with only seven teams. Macomb L’Anse Creuse North (0-5) slid up to the seventh seed, giving the Cougars a first-round bye.
The Cougars will host in the district semifinals against the pre-district winner of the Utica Eisenhower (2-4) and Clinton Township Chippewa Valley (2-3), the latter being the 2018 state champion, the weekend of Nov. 7-8.
Last season, the Cougars gave Lake Orion all it could handle before falling by a touchdown in a Division 1 pre-district contest.
“That’s just how it worked out,” said Merlo. “I think we would have loved to play (in the first round) and get that first postseason win. But this is how it ended up with us getting a bye. We’ll just prepare to play either Eisenhower and Chippewa Valley. Both of those programs are traditionally two of the best in Macomb County. We’re looking forward to playing in the playoffs, regardless of which team that is, and representing our school and community in the best way we can.”
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