Football has always been associated with Thanksgiving in Detroit, but
lately the Thursday afternoon affair seems to leave fans hungry
compared to the weekend feast.
A little of the Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day sheen has dissipated ever since the retirement of one Barry Sanders, but after the past two years of high school finals, even No. 20 himself would be hard-pressed to provide a better show.
Many assumed the 2006 Division 2 championship between Warren De La Salle and Muskegon
High could not be topped. But as is the case with most things, if you
wait long enough, you’ll be proved wrong as the 2007 Orchard Lake St.
Mary’s/East Grand Rapids Division 3 championship came very close.
Where all of last year’s dramatics were contained to regulation, you may have
read that the Eaglets one-upped their league rival Pilots and extended
their game to five overtimes.
Just like last year, the most exciting game of the weekend pitted a team from the Catholic High School League against the OK Conference with plenty of bragging rights
between public and private andEastside versus Westside at stake.
Again, the OK won as East Grand Rapids outlasted the Eaglets in a marathon just as narrowly as Muskegon’s Ronald Johnson outraced De La Salle's Don Fowler in a sprint last year.
Of course, talk to people in Macomb County and they’ll tell you the OK and Catholic League are playing for second place.
Macomb Dakota from the Mac Red Division took home its second straight Division
1 championship and Marine City High topped Detroit Country Day for the
Division 4 crown.
The Cougars put together the first Division 1 14-0 season since 1999, and answered every question and doubt they had coming into this year.
When the final game was played, Dakota was arguably more dominant than last year’s team, which was an overtime away from also being undefeated.
The Cougars won their 22nd consecutive game against Livonia Stevenson, but take into account that streak started after an overtime loss to Utica Ford II Sept. 22, and if one or two bounces went the other way, we’d be talking about a 28-game streak.
But that would be impossible ...
Given the one loss that Dakota’s JV and two freshmen teams combined for in
2007, maybe I should wait till next year before saying that.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
No-huddle highlights on horizon
Find me a metro Detroit football fan who wouldn’t want Peyton Manning as the signal caller of the Detroit Lions and I’ll find you Atlantis.
Sure, Jon Kitna has, for now, provided some consistency in a position long prone to considerable questioning and criticism. And surely the Tom Brady fan club has a large following in the area.
But Manning’s ability to call and execute plays successfully from the line of scrimmage in the Indianapolis Colts’ no-huddle offense is a treat to watch, and a similar version may be making its way to the Motor City and Ford Field.
No, the Lions didn’t trade their next 40 first-round draft picks for the Colts QB.
But Team Michigan of the All American Football League, which begins its inaugural season in April, plans to implement a similar no-huddle offensive scheme to Ford Field under the direction of John Fontes.
Fontes, who was introduced as Team Michigan’s head coach Nov. 27, worked with Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore when the pair were assistants under Wayne Fontes (John’s brother) when he was at the helm of the Lions in the 1990s.
Fontes hopes to tap into his friendship with Moore in bringing an exciting offense into the AAFL.
“I have a great respect for Tom Moore,” Fontes said. “Tom’s been so gracious. He said to me, ‘Any time that you get started, and you want your offensive coordinators to come sit down with us after our season’s over with, you’re more than welcome. Because this right here can work for you.'”
Moore was the Lions’ quarterbacks coach in 1994-95 and was offensive coordinator in 1995-96 and 1996-97. Detroit led the NFL in total offense in 1995 (382.1 yards-per-game) as the Lions became the first team in league history to have two receivers catch 100 passes (Herman Moore and Brett Perriman).
“His offensive style is so unique and so simple that when we draft, we’re drafting for that style of offense — no huddle,” Fontes said. “And we’re going to call the play at the line of scrimmage, just like he does. We’re going to give the quarterback one running play and two pass plays, depending on what he sees. And we’re going to line up in a formation and let it role from there.”
Before coming to Detroit, Tom Moore helped the Pittsburgh Steelers win a pair of Super Bowls as an offensive assistant coach. Since leaving Detroit, he has directed Manning and the Colts' dynamic offense, culminating in last season’s Super Bowl win over the Chicago Bears.
The AAFL, which will begin its 10-game regular season April 12 — following a national draft Jan. 25 at a to-be-determined location — requires all players to have exhausted their collegiate eligibility and earned their undergraduate degree.
While nobody expects a player of Peyton Manning’s caliber to play in the AAFL, Team Michigan Chairman Stan Edwards guaranteed the quality of talent in the league would be more than sufficient.
“You’ll get a good brand of football,” Edwards said.
Sure, Jon Kitna has, for now, provided some consistency in a position long prone to considerable questioning and criticism. And surely the Tom Brady fan club has a large following in the area.
But Manning’s ability to call and execute plays successfully from the line of scrimmage in the Indianapolis Colts’ no-huddle offense is a treat to watch, and a similar version may be making its way to the Motor City and Ford Field.
No, the Lions didn’t trade their next 40 first-round draft picks for the Colts QB.
But Team Michigan of the All American Football League, which begins its inaugural season in April, plans to implement a similar no-huddle offensive scheme to Ford Field under the direction of John Fontes.
Fontes, who was introduced as Team Michigan’s head coach Nov. 27, worked with Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore when the pair were assistants under Wayne Fontes (John’s brother) when he was at the helm of the Lions in the 1990s.
Fontes hopes to tap into his friendship with Moore in bringing an exciting offense into the AAFL.
“I have a great respect for Tom Moore,” Fontes said. “Tom’s been so gracious. He said to me, ‘Any time that you get started, and you want your offensive coordinators to come sit down with us after our season’s over with, you’re more than welcome. Because this right here can work for you.'”
Moore was the Lions’ quarterbacks coach in 1994-95 and was offensive coordinator in 1995-96 and 1996-97. Detroit led the NFL in total offense in 1995 (382.1 yards-per-game) as the Lions became the first team in league history to have two receivers catch 100 passes (Herman Moore and Brett Perriman).
“His offensive style is so unique and so simple that when we draft, we’re drafting for that style of offense — no huddle,” Fontes said. “And we’re going to call the play at the line of scrimmage, just like he does. We’re going to give the quarterback one running play and two pass plays, depending on what he sees. And we’re going to line up in a formation and let it role from there.”
Before coming to Detroit, Tom Moore helped the Pittsburgh Steelers win a pair of Super Bowls as an offensive assistant coach. Since leaving Detroit, he has directed Manning and the Colts' dynamic offense, culminating in last season’s Super Bowl win over the Chicago Bears.
The AAFL, which will begin its 10-game regular season April 12 — following a national draft Jan. 25 at a to-be-determined location — requires all players to have exhausted their collegiate eligibility and earned their undergraduate degree.
While nobody expects a player of Peyton Manning’s caliber to play in the AAFL, Team Michigan Chairman Stan Edwards guaranteed the quality of talent in the league would be more than sufficient.
“You’ll get a good brand of football,” Edwards said.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Districts, districts and more districts
No better way to enjoy the last weekend of reasonable temperatures than catching a local district championship football game. Winter always seems to roll in the weekend of regional title games and seemingly hangs around until baseball and softball kick of their district tournaments, so be sure to get out and enjoy the brisk Friday night and Saturday afternoon at one of many local matchups.
No. 2 Rochester Adams (9-1) hosts No. 2 Birmingham Brother Rice (8-2) at 7 p.m. Nov. 2.
A lot of metro Detroit pride is on the line with this game. Both squads are ranked second in Division 2 by the Associated Press, both squads have won Division 2 state titles in the last five years, and both squads might represent the metro area’s best chance of knocking off defending Division 2 state champ No. 1 Muskegon High or their rival No. 4 Hudsonville High Nov. 23 at Ford Field.
Rice brings a rejuvenated offense, led by senior running back Caulton Ray IV and senior quarterback Andy Lentz, up against an Adams defense that has so much speed Rice coach Al Fracassa believes it to be better than the defense that beat him in the 2003 state title game.
No. 1 Macomb Dakota (10-0) hosts Clinton Township Chippewa Valley (7-3) at 7 p.m. Nov. 2.
The buzz saw that is the Dakota football team hasn’t let up on anyone since an early season 29-22 scare from Utica Eisenhower Sept. 7. Since then, the Cougars have outscored opponents 282-71, including a 39-0 win against the Big Reds Sept. 21. Of course, that was with Chippewa Valley senior quarterback Tyler Alwardt severely hampered with a leg injury. After the Big Reds fell to Dakota, they also dropped their next game, 21-14, to Utica Eisenhower, but have since rattled off four straight wins and outscored opponents 139-58 in that span.
No. 5 Warren Cousino (10-0) hosts Detroit Denby (7-3) at 7 p.m. Nov. 2.
The Patriots are following much the same path that put them in the Division 1 state semifinal a year ago. After beating a Macomb Area Conference rival in the first round — this year it was Warren Mott; last year it was Utica Stevenson — Cousino now faces Denby from the Detroit Public School League, the same team it beat a year ago to win the program’s first regional title and one of the three teams the Patriots scrimmaged during the 2007 preseason.
The major difference in Cousino’s postseason road map would come if the Patriots were to win another regional title and return to the semifinals. There they would face a team from the group headed by unbeaten No. 4 Livonia Stevenson instead of Dakota — which they wouldn’t face until Nov. 24 at Ford Field in the Division 1 title game.
No. 9* Beverly Hills Detroit Country Day (8-2) hosts Detroit Crockett (6-4) at 1 p.m. Nov. 3.
The Yellowjackets’ ranking gets an asterisk because the Associated Press ranked it among the top 10 in Division 5. Country Day qualified for the Division 4 playoff bracket, and after topping one PSL foe — Detroit Douglass — in the first round, it gets another with the Rockets. Where Douglass was making its first trip to the postseason, Crockett is slightly more seasoned with this being its eighth appearance since 1997. With Crockett’s in-state losses coming against Denby (Division 1), Detroit King (Division 2) and Detroit Southeastern (Division 1), Country Day is going to need another big day from senior running back Jonas "The Benz" Gray, who in committing to Notre Dame is following in the footsteps of former Detroit MacKenzie star Jerome "the Bus" Bettis.
No. 2 Rochester Adams (9-1) hosts No. 2 Birmingham Brother Rice (8-2) at 7 p.m. Nov. 2.
A lot of metro Detroit pride is on the line with this game. Both squads are ranked second in Division 2 by the Associated Press, both squads have won Division 2 state titles in the last five years, and both squads might represent the metro area’s best chance of knocking off defending Division 2 state champ No. 1 Muskegon High or their rival No. 4 Hudsonville High Nov. 23 at Ford Field.
Rice brings a rejuvenated offense, led by senior running back Caulton Ray IV and senior quarterback Andy Lentz, up against an Adams defense that has so much speed Rice coach Al Fracassa believes it to be better than the defense that beat him in the 2003 state title game.
No. 1 Macomb Dakota (10-0) hosts Clinton Township Chippewa Valley (7-3) at 7 p.m. Nov. 2.
The buzz saw that is the Dakota football team hasn’t let up on anyone since an early season 29-22 scare from Utica Eisenhower Sept. 7. Since then, the Cougars have outscored opponents 282-71, including a 39-0 win against the Big Reds Sept. 21. Of course, that was with Chippewa Valley senior quarterback Tyler Alwardt severely hampered with a leg injury. After the Big Reds fell to Dakota, they also dropped their next game, 21-14, to Utica Eisenhower, but have since rattled off four straight wins and outscored opponents 139-58 in that span.
No. 5 Warren Cousino (10-0) hosts Detroit Denby (7-3) at 7 p.m. Nov. 2.
The Patriots are following much the same path that put them in the Division 1 state semifinal a year ago. After beating a Macomb Area Conference rival in the first round — this year it was Warren Mott; last year it was Utica Stevenson — Cousino now faces Denby from the Detroit Public School League, the same team it beat a year ago to win the program’s first regional title and one of the three teams the Patriots scrimmaged during the 2007 preseason.
The major difference in Cousino’s postseason road map would come if the Patriots were to win another regional title and return to the semifinals. There they would face a team from the group headed by unbeaten No. 4 Livonia Stevenson instead of Dakota — which they wouldn’t face until Nov. 24 at Ford Field in the Division 1 title game.
No. 9* Beverly Hills Detroit Country Day (8-2) hosts Detroit Crockett (6-4) at 1 p.m. Nov. 3.
The Yellowjackets’ ranking gets an asterisk because the Associated Press ranked it among the top 10 in Division 5. Country Day qualified for the Division 4 playoff bracket, and after topping one PSL foe — Detroit Douglass — in the first round, it gets another with the Rockets. Where Douglass was making its first trip to the postseason, Crockett is slightly more seasoned with this being its eighth appearance since 1997. With Crockett’s in-state losses coming against Denby (Division 1), Detroit King (Division 2) and Detroit Southeastern (Division 1), Country Day is going to need another big day from senior running back Jonas "The Benz" Gray, who in committing to Notre Dame is following in the footsteps of former Detroit MacKenzie star Jerome "the Bus" Bettis.
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