LOCAL PREP STANDOUTS ON THEIR GRIND AT ALL-STAR GAMES, CAMPS THE NEXT FEW DAYS

Besides this upcoming weekend being prep sports state championship weekend on the spring schedule, there are a few other major events involving primetime-worthy high school athletes from Oakland County taken place in the near future.

On Saturday, as the state's baseball and softball powers slug it out for the right to call themselves state champions out in Battle Creek, the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association All-Star Game is taking place in East Lansing at Spartan Stadium. Over a dozen local college-bound players are slated to participate for the East team, including Mike Kinville (CC), Justin Cherocchi (Brother Rice), D.J. Cook (FH Harrison), Rob Feeman (Clawson), Dana Harris (MH Madison), Bryan Haslinger (Clarkston), Gary Hunter (OLSM), Matt Judon (West Bloomfield), D.J. Lynch (AH Avondale), Jason Ray (DCD), Jordan Sanders (RH Adams), Ben Walker (Lake Orion), Mike Schiano (WOLL), John Westfall (Milford) and Bobby Wunderlich (Troy).

There's some serious D1 talent on that squad (Kinville's going to CMU, Lynch to Bowling Green, Hunter to Dayton, Ray to Princeton, etc..), not to mention a county sideline stud in Clawson's Jim Sparks calling shots as the head coach of the Eastsiders.  Burney is sure everyone from the area that suits up will do the county and Burney himself mega-proud!!!!!

In last season's game, the OC made quite a splash by the MVP-caliber performance by West Bloomfield's Chris Hurst, who scored two touchdowns (one on a return, the other on a fly route to clinch the game in the fourth quarter), in an East Squad victory.

Also this week on Thursday and Friday, Wayne State University will be hosting the fifth annual Sound Mind, Sound Body prep football camp, an event ran by Curtis Blackwell and that features many of the county and the state's top college gridiron prospects. All in all the camp will showcase over 70 players – mostly in-coming juniors and seniors – that currently hold D1 offers. Expected to attend the event from the OC are Shawn Conway (Seaholm/Michigan), Valdez Showers (MH Madison), Jake Duzey (Troy Athens), Bryan Bell (WL Central), Kenny Knight (DCD), De Quante Humphrey (undecided) and Tim Hamilton (Brother Rice), among others

Then finally on Monday, the annual Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association All-Star Game will be played at Comerica Park, with several more OC studs dotting the East team's roster.

Guys like: Nick Druzinski (RH Adams/Toledo), Korey Hall (OLSM), Paul Lobur (MH Lamphere), Pat MacKenzie (Brother Rice/CMU) and Jake Paulson (WL Cental/Oakland U). Just like in the football all-star game, the county shined brightly in last year's affair, seeing all-state Brother Rice slugger, Matt Conway, belt a home run to deep left-center field in Comerica Park and take away team MVP honors.