Killer crossovers

Week six on the Macomb Area Conference football slate is a pretty good one, with games like 4-1 Macomb Dakota traveling to 5-0 Grosse Pointe North; Warren Cousino getting reacquainted with former MAC White rival and current MAC Red leader Romeo High; and the MAC's surprise team of the season, Warren Mott, at Clinton Township Chippewa Valley's homecoming.

Week six has rivalries like Madison Heights Lamphere taking on Madison Heights Madison and St. Clair Shores Lake Shore facing St. Clair Shores South Lake. The only people who could complain are sports reporters who have to pick just one game to be at (I chose the North/Dakota showdown).

What's the cause of this excitement — crossovers.

With the MAC switching from a five-division league to six in 2008, it created four weeks for crossover games.

It's not just week six, either. With all six league titles decided heading into the final week of the regular season, week nine could make week six look boring.

In week nine, Utica Stevenson travels to Mott in a possible postseason preview. Chippewa Valley hosts Cousino — one or both teams could be fighting for a playoff berth. Roseville and Eastpointe East Detroit end their year with one of the Eastside's most underrated rivalries. Center Line High hosts Warren Lincoln, and former Macomb Oakland Athletic Conference and Oakland Activities Association foes Madison High and Clawson High meet for the first time since 2003.

Speaking of the OAA, why would a league want to miss out on all this crossover fun?

With the OAA's current format of two eight-team divisions and one nine-team division, the teams lucky enough to be in the OAA Red and White get two crossovers, and those in the Blue have their league schedule account for eight of nine regular-season games.

To say nothing of fan interest, these schedules have teams starting their league play in week one, giving them no time to get rosters in order or account for any of the many inevitable early season roadblocks before competing for a league title.

I propose the OAA follow the MAC's lead (they've already switched from numbered divisions to colors) and move to five, five-team divisions. With five crossovers, the OAA could open it's league slate in week three, have an open date in the middle of the season for rivalries or other crossovers, and still have their final two weeks open for rivalries — games with champions playing other champs in a format like the Catholic League's Prep Bowl. Maybe they could go completely outside the league and play against corresponding champs from a rival league that may or may not have most of its constituency east of Dequindre.

Also, aligning a five-of-five format could take into account any number of factors, be they competitive balance or geography.

Here are two of a great many possibilities that might be fun. The first is the "geographic alignment."

OAA White: Rochester Adams, Rochester High, Rochester Stoney Creek, Troy High and Troy Athens.

OAA Red: Lake Orion High, Clarkston High, Farmington Hills Harrison, Farmington High and North Farmington.

OAA Blue: Bloomfield Hills Lahser, Bloomfield Hills Andover, Southfield High, Southfield-Lathrup and West Bloomfield High.


OAA Gold: Royal Oak High, Ferndale High, Berkly High, Birmingham Seaholm and Birmingham Groves.

OAA Silver: Auburn Hills Avondale, Pontiac Northern, Pontiac Central, Hazel Park and Oak Park

Now comes the fun one, the "competitive alignment."

OAA White: Adams, Lake Orion, Clarkston, Harrison and Lathrup.

OAA Red: Lahser, Southfield, Groves, Rochester and Stoney Creek.

OAA Blue: Troy, Athens, West Bloomfield, Seaholm and Oak Park.

OAA Gold: Ferndale, Berkley, Farmington, Pontiac Northern and Royal Oak.

OAA Silver: Pontiac Central, Andover, North Farmington, Hazel Park and Avondale.