WEEK 4 Rankings - Oakland County Top Ten

Top 10 Football Teams In Oakland County

1              Novi Detroit Catholic Central (4-0) -Shamrocks are in peak-form and playing at an elite level. Head coach Tom Mach's tailback-unit is deep and diverse.  Mach can go four deep – Palazeti, Capatina, Savakus, and Herzog – and have very little if any drop off in production.  That's rare in high school football. The Shamrocks' O-line play is top rate too. Throw in a battle-tested senior QB and a defense that is spinning shutouts like an MLB ace and CC has to be the favorite to win the state title in Division 1

2              Lake Orion (3-1) – The Dragons can hit you from so many angles offensively, opponents are constantly on their toes – usually back-peddling.  LO running-mates Kim Bruce and Marques Stevenson can easily make an argument that they're as good a backfield as CC's stable of ball-toters and it would be hard to dispute it.  The receiving corps of Mike Nelson, D aniel Ney, Alex Mayo, and Zach Zott, is one of the 1   Novi Detroit Catholic Central (4-0) – Coming off a draught-breaking win over Brother Rice, the best around. Sophomore QB Sean Charette makes the whole Dragons ship sail, playing at a clip well beyond his years under center for head coach Chris Bell.

3              Birmingham Brother Rice (3-1) – The Warriors are strong-willed and mentally-tough and there's little doubt in my mind they will bounce back strong from their defeat to CC. I'll even go a step further and say that Rice will rebound big time by taking down De La Salle at home this Saturday.

4              Clarkston (4-0) – Everyone knows about the Wolves top-of-the-class "O", but it's been the team's excellent play on the defensive side of the ball that's the reason they're undefeated right now. Jeff Dean and Bryan Haslinger anchor things up front, while the d-back unit of Chris Canada, Derek Booker, Andrew Schram, and Dustin Gamble (also C-Town's top receiver) has been in shutdown mode since the start of the season. Gamble's pick in the end zone in the closing sec onds of Week 3 preserved a 25-21 comeback win over Troy and the entire unit stepped up big time in Week 4  by completely neutralizing West Bloomfield's prolific receiving corps in the team's 17-7 win over the Lakers last Thursday.

 5             Farmington Hills Harrison (4-0) – Guess whose back? Herrington's Hawks are all systems go, firing on all cylinders once again. Dominic Mencotti is headlining a spirited defense and Vince "The Prince" Salatino, Steve Slobin, Aaron Burbridge make Harrison's high-powered offense hum like a classic motor city muscle car. An undefeated regular season is a distinct possibility right now!

 6              Rochester Hills Adams (3-1) – Adams is hitting its stride and looks to be primed for a playoff run with such a stout "D" and machine like-efficient "O". Tony Partrito's Highlanders are built for the long haul and is just starting to pick up steam.

7              Walled Lake Central (4-0) – Vikings Head Coach Bob Meyer has done a superb job getting the Central program back in tip top shape following consecutive down campaigns in '07 and '08. Senior QB Joe Diamond is the real deal. His expert-command of the Vikings offense and on-the-field leadership makes Central ultra-formidable and the front-runner for a KLAA crown.

8              Milford (3-1) – Junior riflemen Luke Johnson has the Mavericks thinking big things. Johnson and his top weapons on offense Bryar Miller, Brandon Bell, and Cody Beck are a scary group for opposing defenses to face. There looks to be no late-season foibles in the cards this year for the upstart Mav Pack.

9              Birmingham Detroit Country Day (3-1) – Taken down to the canvas with force by a fierce Highland Park squad last weekend, the next week or two will be a true character test for coach MacLean's Yellowjackets. If I had to bet, I'd say QB Josh Harris and team captains Jason Ray, Joe MacLean, and Chris Eddins, will make sure the team is focused and ready to play.

10           a. Madison Heights Madison (3-0) – Tony Lowry and Jeremiah McQueen are a sweet pitch=and-catch connection.  Valdez Showers is a beast.  Sophomore Danny Larkins does it all for head coach Drake Wilkins' Eagles.   

                b. Southfield (3-1) – The Blue Jays "D" comes up huge against upset-minded Stoney Creek on Friday night, picking up a fumble and returning it for a score that proved the winner for Tim Conley's gridiron gladiators. Down 14-0 at the half to SC, Daevon Robinson helped Southfield storm back in the second half, rumbling for TD runs of 17 and 27 and showing why he is one of the best tailbacks in the area.

                c.  Pontiac (3-1) – Jonathon McKnight plays as smooth as Bryan McKnight sings. Jabari Martin, Dominique Shaw, Martez Shelton, and Robert Dooley are all having standout seasons for the su rprise of the year Phoenix.  Network TV should give head coach Greg Ganfield his own show and call it "The Reclimator", since he proves Parcell-like everywhere he goes and turns things around in a hurry.