ST. CLAIR SHORES — A team’s growth can often be measured by how it handles mistakes and if it can find ways to correct them. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep hopes that its season-opener is an indication of learning from the past. A year ago, NDP opened up the season with a 27-0 loss to St. […]
MACOMB TOWNSHIP — Rochester figures to be a run-oriented team this season. The Flacons showcased that strength Thursday in their season opener. One year after blanking Macomb L’Anse Creuse North, 28-0, Rochester racked up six touchdowns, all on the ground, in throttling the Crusaders by a 42-13 count. Cody DeVoe scored the second, third and […]
BY DAN STICKRADT SENIOR EDITOR dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com WARREN — The line between winning and losing in football can often go down to big plays. Troy Athens had several of them Thursday night in its season opener at Warren Mott. The Red Hawks twice stalled the Marauders inside the red zone on two long drives in the […]
Stick’s Picks is going golfing Thursday morning. He will partner up with some of his colleagues from around the Michigan media arena. The most likely discussion, other than that horrific slice hitting the drink-cart girl four fairways over, will be high school football. Yes, it’s that time of the year again. The months of speculation, […]
2011 PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW INDEX: Below is the index for the 2011 Prep Football Preview Kickoff extravaganza, as compiled and presented by the AdaVan Media Group’s www.northoaklandsports.com editorial staff and corporate sponsors. NOS is a digital daily, sports-only, on-line-only newspaper serving dozens of communities in suburban Detroit. Teams and schools may use the opening paragraphs […]
BY DAN STICKRADT SENIOR EDITOR dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com CLARKSTON — It’s hard to imagine Zach Collins having any fear on the football field. Yet it was three years ago when he felt a little apprehensive lining up near the line of scrimmage. “The coaching staff came to me just before my first game my freshman year and […]
BY DAN STICKRADT SENIOR EDITOR dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com CLARKSTON — Clarkston’s football season last year was interrupted by countless injuries. In fact, most of the Wolves’ starters and top reserves spent time on the disabled list due to the rash of injuries. Matt Dellinger was one of the few Wolves who did not hit the injured reserve […]
BY DAN STICKRADT SENIOR EDITOR dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com AUBURN HILLS — In all reality, Auburn Hills Avondale won’t be as well-oiled of an offensive machine as it was a year ago on the football field. The Yellowjackets could be a better defensive team to compensate. That is the ingredient that coach Steve Deutsch is hoping for in […]
BY DAN STICKRADT SENIOR EDITOR dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com AUBURN HILLS — Veteran Bill Schaffer has a daunting task in front of him as a high school football coach. He was hired to help build Auburn Hills Oakland Christian into a solid prep football program. Oakland Christian is entering its fourth season of competition in football and Oakland […]
BY DAN STICKRADT SENIOR EDITOR dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com CLARKSTON — Kurt Richardson feels he never got a chance to see how good Clarkston football could have been last autumn. Entering that campaign off a Final Four berth in 2009, the Wolves were hit by a massive injury bug in 2010. The veteran Richardson and his staff felt […]
BY DAN STICKRADT SENIOR EDITOR dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com HOLLY — For decades Holly bolstered a football program that every team in the Flint Metro League looked forward to on its schedule. The Bronchos were a doormat program, a team that was considered an easy win, a pushover, a laughing stock. Over the past 60 years Holly has […]
BY DAN STICKRADT SENIOR EDITOR dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com LAKE ORION — Chris Bell does not like all of the extra attention he received last fall. The veteran football coach is a father and an assistant principal at Lake Orion High School to go along with his head coaching duties. That draws in plenty of demands already. So […]
BY DAN STICKRADT SENIOR EDITOR dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com ORTONVILLE — Having something whisked away when it’s within reach can leave a bitter taste in the mouth of any football player or coach. That collectively best describes Ortonville Brandon’s football season last year. The Blackhawks, who had only two winning seasons in the previous decade and have not […]
BY DAN STICKRADT SENIOR EDITOR dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com OXFORD — Bud Rowley is not one to blame others, at least not last year, when he watched Oxford’s football program venture through a rare rebuilding season. In fact, after 28 straight winnings seasons, the longest in Oakland County, the Wildcats limped to a 3-6 overall record, including 2-6 […]
BY DAN STICKRADT SENIOR EDITOR dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com PONTIAC — The start of the 2010 football season for Pontiac Notre Dame Prep was downright ugly. The Fighting Irish opened 0-5 and scored only three touchdowns and 21 total points in that stretch. Instead of throwing in the towel, Notre Dame Prep rebounded to close the campaign with […]
BY DAN STICKRADT SENIOR EDITOR dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com ROCHESTER HILLS — For 10 miserable years, Rochester’s football team crawled through the doldrums of a dark cave with little daylight. Finally in 2010, the Falcons maneuvered from the depths and resurfaced. Not only did the Falcons record their first winning season since 1999, they reached the Division 1 […]
BY DAN STICKRADT SENIOR EDITOR dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com ROCHESTER HILLS — Few football programs have been able to match Rochester Adams in recent times. The Highlanders have been nothing short of a model of consistency. For 14 straight years, Adams has reached the postseason. There have been four teams that have advanced to at least the Final […]
BY DAN STICKRADT SENIOR EDITOR dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com ROCHESTER HILLS — When Rochester Stoney Creek first opened its doors a decade ago, expectations for sports weren’t all that high. It was more of the “wait until a couple of years from now” approach. After all, no powerhouse program is built overnight. That is why football head coach […]
