Bonus Bytes - This & That

Some news and thoughts from around the OC prep sports scene;

Pontiac Notre Dame Prep senior football star Joe Kutil committed to Hillsdale this week. Kutil, a strong-armed and tall pocket-passer (6-7), quarterbacked the Fighting Irish to a 9-2 record and into the playoffs for the second year in a row. Hillsdale is developing a taste for OC field generals; Kutil will join former Novi Detroit Catholic Central quarterback Sam Landry, who took the Shamrocks to a state championship as a prepster, on the roster when he gets to campus in the fall. The Chargers also seem to have an affinity for Fighting Irish gridiron gladiators; Former NDP'er Collin McGreevy, who will graduate in the spring, has been Hillsdale's starting placekicker the past couple of seasons.

GUESS WHO'S BACK? It appears that the chipped-bone diagnosis in local boys hoop star Yante Maten's foot was a false-positive……. 'cause the Bloomfield Hill Lahser's big fella aka the "BIG IMPACT" returned to the Knights lineup after a brief absence with a bang, posting a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds in his squad's drubbing of Birmingham Groves Tuesday

West Bloomfield FAB FROSH Trishton Jackson is one of the better two-way ninth-grade varsity studs the area has seen in a while, not just earning the starting nod under center as the Lakers QB on the football field, but EXPLODING onto the hardwood as TEAM DENHA's star point guard…..JACK the KNIFE scored 20 points and dished seven assists on Tuesday night in the WB's defeat of Warren Woods Tower

A lot of people thought the Birmingham DCD boys basketball team were in for a down year. Those people couldn't have been more WRONG…..The 'Jackets trounced Macomb LCN, a Class  A final four team last year, on Tuesday, for their fifth blowout victory of the young season. The 2012-2013 KEENER KAGE KREW is the best team the program has seen since its 2010 state title squad

Oak Park senior football standout Malik Washington will be accompanying teammates Brian Williams and Brandon Harding on to the college gridiron. Washington, an all-league tailback this past season, committed to Ferris State this week, on the heels of Williams and Harding - both wide receivers - committing to the Bulldogs last week. The trio took Oak Park to a league championship and the program's first-ever district crown in 2012.

Speaking of Oak Park, senior boys basketballer Stephon Williams, is a dynamite talent EVERYONE should know about. A 6-3 wing who is fearless with the rock in his hands, Williams is a bit of a secret around town, since he missed a good chunk of last season with an injury. He broke out for a career-high 29 points in the Knights besting of Southfield-Lathrup Tuesday evening, giving OAA watchers a little flavor of what is to come the rest of the winter