The Week Ahead: Fall Season Kicks Into High Gear

Lahser and Andover Soccer

The Lahser and Andover varsity boys soccer team will have an early season matchup this Tuesday at 7 p.m. on the Barons field.

Andover is hoping a large group of returning seniors will help make them contenders in the OAA White this year and get them through districts. Division 2 second-team all-state selection Nick Shabino is one of seven seniors back for the Barons.

The Knights were one of the top teams in the state last year. They reached the Division 2 finals and fell just short of a title in a 2-1 loss to Grand Rapids Northview. They bring back a solid group of players as well, led by Division 2 second team all-state defender Erik Kelly.

Tuesday’s game will be a good measuring stick for both teams to see where they are at in the second week of the season.

Lahser will close out the week with a visit to Rochester on Thursday  at 7 p.m., while Andover has a game at Farmington at 5:30 p.m.

Brother Rice and Country Day Tennis

It will be a battle of two of top teams in the state at 4 p.m. Wednesday when Brother Rice hosts Detroit Country Day face off on the tennis courts.

Brother Rice finished third place in Division 1 last season and Country Day finished in second place in Division 3. Both teams are loaded with talent again this year.

The Yellowjackets have nine players back including their top two singles players Sven Kranz and Rishi Patel as well as their top doubles pairing Alex Gruskin and Abay Hukku. The Warriors bring back a similar amount of talent. Gunnar Peery and Johnny Cameron reached the state semifinals last year in singles, they are both back along with Jack Hamaty, Chris Corbell and Colin Rapso.

It won’t get much easier from there for Brother Rice.

On Friday, it has to visit the team that beat out Country in Division 3 last year. The Warriors visit defending state champions Cranbrook Kingswood on Friday at 4 p.m. They also have a match at the beginning of the week against De La Salle on Monday at 4 p.m.

Country Day just has one other match this week. It hosts Petoskey at 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Football (Various)

• Lahser: It took the Knights varsity football team nine weeks to win two games last year. They didn’t pick up their second win until the final week of the season. 

This year, Lahser has a chance to do it by week two after beating Groves 34-20 in its season opener.

It plays at Ferndale on Friday at 7 p.m. The Eagles beat the Knights last season 28-13, but their coach Ryan Dunlap expects to face a much improved Knights football team this year.

“Lahser is going to have 6,000 different formations and 400 different personal packages, so we’ll get all that on video,” Dunlap said. “They are going to be very disciplined and well coached. They got a good tough defense, they have some linebackers that can play.”

• Andover: The Andover varsity football team fell just short against Hazel Park 28-26 in its season opener last week. Things don’t get easier for the Barons for their home opener at 7 p.m. Thursday when they welcome a very tough Seaholm football team.

The Maples are coming off a huge 48-14 win over North Farmington. 
Seaholm can do a little bit of everything. They have a balanced offense that features senior quarterback John Glazier and a very tough run defense. Andover could struggle moving the ball against the Maples bigger defensive line.   

Brother Rice: The 2011 Big Prep Showdown went well for Brother Rice’s varsity football team. The Warriors beat Detroit Martin Luther King 28-21 in one of the most exciting games of the event with a 78-yard pass from Warriors quarterback Cheyne Lacaanaria to Travis Ferguson with only 2:20 left. 

Brother Rice will look to carry that momentum into this Saturday's game against Ann Arbor Pioneer at 7:30 p.m. at Hurley Field in Berkley.