Oakland County Top Ten - 9/1/2009

 

1. Birmingham Brother Rice - The Warriors talent-edge at the skill positions give them the slight advantage over arch-rival CC in the rankings. Junior Jimmy Pickens does it all for coach Fracassa - playing big on both sides of the ball. Outside linebacker, Timmy "Jumbo" Hamilton is a rising star

 

2. Novi Detroit Catholic Central - Big and physical in the trenches and fundamentally sound across the board, CC is not flashy, just plain good. Senior fullback Niko Palazetti is the best goal-line power back in the state, Jeff Sherman anchors things up front, Mike Kinville and Justin D'agostino are an imposing linebacking tandem.

 

3. Birmingham Detroit Country Day - The best junior class in the area, featuring big time offensive threats Josh Harris (QB), Lee Bailey (RB/CB), and Kenny Knight (WR). Jason Ray (S/LB) and Chris Eddins (DL) headline the Yellowjackets stingy "D" that pitched the shutout in their opening night 33-0 over Seaholm.

 

4. Lake Orion - Must rebound from a tough-loss to Hudsonville, where the Dragons blew a three-possession lead in the fourth quarter. Head Coach Chris Bell's troop will show what there made of this week against upstart West Bloomfield. LO has arguably the most balanced offense in the area - QB Sean Charrette, RB's Kim Bruce & Marques Stevenson, OL Ben Walker and Pat Fehlberg, and WR Mike Nelson all major contributors on last season's D1 state finalist squad return - however some question remain on defense after surrendering a major lead-cough up against Hudsonville on Friday night in Ypsilanti.

 

5. West Bloomfield - Explosive and underrated. All-purpose stud Cameron Fields is skyrocketing up recruiting charts with his recent on the field-showings - alas last thur against Groves when he went for 220 combined yards and 2 TD's. Aaron Foster and Matt Judan are great athletes with keen ball-hawking instincts on 'D"

 

6. Troy  - Senior QB Bobby Wunderlich dodged a bullet by recovering from a pre-season injury to lead the Colts to an opening night victory against Rochester. His 71 yard TD run in the first quarter erased any doubt about his health and showed how dangerous head coach Gary Griffith's running game is. Tailbacks Chris Wheeler and Damon Brown are two of the best runners around

 

7. Clarkston - Taylor Scarlett, Dakota Bender, Dustin Gamble, Bryan Haslinger- enough said!!!

 

8. Orchard Lake St. Mary's - Penn St-bound signal caller Robert Bolden looked good in the team's loss at East Grand Rapids last week, but needs some help from his surrounding cast. Still, the Eaglets are highly-skilled and if they gel this fall, George Porritt may have another return to Ford Field on his hands this November. 

 

9. Southfield  - Dae'von Robinson is the most underrated running back in the state. His 240 yard, 3 TD performance against Farmington showed his value is overwhelmingly high. Maurice Davenport, one of the better LB's in the county and Detroit Henry Ford-transfer Kevin Harmon, a genuine playmaker who can rush the QB just as well as drop back and defend the pass, lead a tough and athletic Blue Jays "D"

 

10. AH Avondale - Senior tailback Francois Matthews is a superstar. D.J. Lynch holds its down on both ends of the ball for the Y-jackets.