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District battles provide first step in long tournament run

Dan Stickradt | October 17, 2011 | Comments (0)

The MHSAA boys soccer districts will commence across the state Monday and several area teams have plans for an extensive stay in the postseason.

The dreams of the Final Four and a state championship are reserved for only a couple of area teams lucky enough to advance very tough districts and regionals. But a team must take it one game at a time to advance.

There are certain districts across the state with multiple ranked teams or squads listed as honorable mention in the rankings, so fans can expect their fair share of overtime games and shootouts. Other districts are somewhat less daunting.

Either way, there will be several of the area’s top teams that will not survive the first week of the postseason.

Below is a look at the districts involving schools from the www.northoaklandsports.com coverage area, plus a brief look at the upcoming Michigan Association of Christian Schools tournament, which will kick off Tuesday.

DISTRICT NO. 9 AT TROY (Competing teams, Birmingham Brother Rice, Birmingham Seaholm, Pontiac Troy, Rochester Adams, Waterford Kettering, Waterford Mott, West Bloomfield): The opening round game between Troy and Adams should be a classic, as the two split in the regular season. The winner will likely advance all the way to the finals against Brother Rice. It has been said that defense wins championships in sports. That is why a team that has given up just eight goals this season will prevail.

DISTRICT PICK: Troy.

DISTRICT NO. 10 HOSTED BY UTICA (Competing teams: Clinton Township, Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse, Rochester, Rochester Stoney Creek, Sterling Heights Stevenson, Troy Athens, Utica, Utica Ford): This is one of the more balanced districts in the state, with a number of teams capable of winning three straight to advance to the regional round. Chippewa Valley defeated Athens in the first game of the season but the Red Hawks have emerged as a top-10 caliber team in recent weeks. Stoney Creek and Rochester have overcome some injuries and off-field issues and have played strong down the stretch, with Stoney edging Rochester 2-1 just last week. Both Stevenson and Utica have the star power with Dream Team-caliber players (Jerome Cristobal at Stevenson and Jeff Atkins at Utica). First-year head coach Todd Heugh and Troy Athens, second to Troy in the brutally-tough OAA-Red, appear to be playing the best soccer of them all at the present time.

PICK: Troy Athens.

READY FOR BATTLE: Rochester Stoney Creek (white jerseys) and Holly (red jerseys hope to get a leg up on the competition this week with the start of district play across the state. File Photo

DISTRICT NO. 12 HOSTED BY GRAND BLANC (Competing teams: Clarkston Davison, Flint Carman-Ainsworth, Flushing, Grand Blanc, Lake Orion, Oxford): Grand Blanc, the most successful team in the Flint-area history, is the favorite here. Yet the ninth-ranked Bobcats are not quite as good as the past three years, when they made long runs which included state semifinal berths in 2008 and 2010. Clarkston and Lake Orion are battle-tested coming out of the OAA Red Division, although the Wolves and Dragons are a bit unpredictable. Oxford, if it can sneak past Davison, is back on the rise after a couple of down years and could be a surprise team. Throughout the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, the Wildcats made multiple long runs as a ClassB/Division 2 school. Carman-Ainsworth is way down and Flushing and Davison don’t appear to be a serious threat to advance with three wins in a week. It’s a safe pick to go with the team with the most successful history and the best player in the state, and that’s Zach Carroll and Grand Blanc.

PICK: Grand Blanc.

DISTRICT NO. 2 HOSTED BY BLOOMFIELD HILLS LAHSER (Competing teams: Auburn Hills Avondale, Bloomfield Hills Lahser, Fenton, Holly, Linden, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, Ortonville Brandon): This is one of the state’s most balanced districts in all four divisions combined and doesn’t offer a clear-cut favorite. Except or St. Mary’s, all of the other teams here have enough talent to win three straight. Brandon was second, Holly third, Fenton fourth and Linden fifth in a very competitive Flint Metro League this season. Holly has the district’s best goalkeeper and Lahser, although down this season, has made several runs to the Final Four in the past 15 years including the state runner-up trophy last season. Both Holly and Avondale, the OAA White Division runner-up, have played an extremely tough non-conference schedule. The major difference of all of these schools is something that a coach can’t teach, which is team speed. One team has more than the others.

PICK: Auburn Hills Avondale.

DISTRICT NO. 37 HOSTED BY PONTIAC NOTRE DAME PREP (Birmingham Detroit Country Day, Clawson, Harper Woods, Macomb Lutheran North, Mt. Clemens, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, St. Clair Shores South Lake): Country Day has captured 13 state titles in school history and drops back down after a one-year stint in Division 2. The Yellowjackets are ranked fifth and are the favorite heading into the week. The teams that could pose a threat are Clawson, which has climbed ahead of DCD in the rankings (third) although haven’t played as difficult as a schedule, Lutheran North and host Notre Dame Prep. All are also capable teams. Lutheran North is listed as honorable mention while Notre Dame Prep was second in the CHSL AA Division and was the CHSL C-D tournament runner-up. The Country Day mystique is enough fear to strike into any team. Clawson has been building for this year for four years and should meet DCD in the finals.

PICK: Detroit Country Day.

DISTRICT No.56 HOSTED BY AUBURN HILLS OAKLAND CHRISTIAN (Competing teams: Auburn Hills Oakland Christian, Clarkston Everest Collegiate, Marine City Cardinal Mooney, New Haven Merritt Academy, Pontiac Academy of Excellence, Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest, Sterling Heights Parkway Christian): Oakland Christian is the heavy favorite to win this district, which would be the school’s seventh straight. Lutheran Northwest is getting better and could provide a battle in the semifinals, but if the Lancers play at their level, which has kept them well inside the top 10 all season, then this is a very winnable district. The other five teams don’t stand much of a chance.

PICK: Auburn Hills Oakland Christian.

MICHIGAN ASSOCIATION OF CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS

DIVISION I: Defending champion Troy Bethany Christian is the top seed and should eventually face Davison Faith Baptist next week in the state semifinals. Second-ranked Temperance Stateline Christian and fourth-ranked Vassar Juniata Christian are on the other half of the bracket and one of those two teams should make it to the title game Oct.29 at Clarkston Springfield Christian. Bethany Christian, if its plays up to its level, should win its second straight MACS-Division I title.

PICK: Troy Bethany Christian.

DIVISION II: This is a wide-open field with two-time defending champion Clarkston Springfield Christian having a good of a three-peat. The other teams that could pose a threat are Bridgeport Baptist and Adrian Berean Baptist. All of these schools in the D-II bracket have less than 40 students in grades 9-12, so no team is drawing from a huge talent pool. The team that peaks at the right time will prevail.

PICK: Clarkston Springfield Christian.

(Dan Stickradt is senior editor for the AdaVanMedia Group’s www.northoaklandsports.com. He can be reached by e-mail at dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com.)

Tags: Boys Soccer District Picks, Editor's Column, featured, Publisher's Viewpoint