OAA Sideline Report: Football Recap, Week 6: Teams Battle The Rain

After Friday night, some teams might want it to rain for every game.

Teams had to battle low temperatures, high winds and a lot of rain last week. Some offenses flourished while others struggled.

Here’s a look at last week’s slate of games.

Discussion Points

Quote of the Week: Even head coaches can get things wrong sometimes. Groves head coach Brendan Flaherty predicted his team’s game against Avondale was going to be a high scoring one. He ended up being half right when the Falcons won 56-14.

“I thought it was going to be a shoot-out, we were blitzing and played man (coverage) 98 percent of the time,” Flaherty said. “I thought we were going to get some things home and they’re going to get big plays, I was expecting a shootout.”

Stat of the Week: Andover is now 0-6 on the season after a 27-24 loss to Ferndale on Friday night.

That’s the fourth game the Barons have lost this season by a margin of three points or less. Outside of a 56-21 loss to Seaholm in week two, Andover’s margin of defeat this season has been an average of just less than six points per game. That’s the lowest total in the entire OAA. 

Player of the Week: Joe Mayone (QB; Groves) had the fans chanting “Joe the Show” on Friday night with his performance against Avondale. The senior was 5-for-6 through the air with 109 yards and a touchdown. He also ran 86 yards and two touchdowns on only five carries. His 50-yard quarterback sneak in the second quarter put the game out of reach.

Honorable Mentions – Kevin Miller (RB; North Farmington); Keon Collier (RB; Groves); Spencer McCourt (QB; Lahser) 

Out of Bounds: The football playoffs are now only four weeks away.

Per MHSAA rules, teams with six or more wins that play a nine game schedule automatically qualify for the playoffs. Teams with an eight game schedule can qualify with five wins.

The top 256 teams in the state make the playoffs so if the number of automatic qualifiers is less than 256, teams with lesser records may qualify.

Harrison was the first OAA team to officially clinch a playoff spot with its win over Oak Park on Friday. The Hawks are 6-0 and the unbeaten team in the entire conference.

Four more teams could be added to that list of qualifiers this weekend. Groves, Lake Orion, Southfield and Troy Athens are all 5-1 and one win away from a playoff berth. There is a large group of teams two wins away and three teams on the bubble at 3-3 including Troy and Berkley.

One more loss would the schools on the list of teams hoping to qualify with less than six wins.

Game Highlights

1^ST DOWN: GROVES over Avondale 56-14

What we learned: The momentum just continues to build for the Groves football program. It dominated Avondale for a full 48 minutes on Friday at home. The Yellow Jackets defense had no answer for the Falcons play action passing nor could they contain running back Keon Collier.

Groves offense has been playing really well for weeks, so the bigger surprise was how well the defense played. It forced two turnovers, had a consistent pass rush and contained the run. The Falcons limited a team that averaged 38 points a game going into the game to 14 points.

Question Marks: Avondale’s red zone offense continues to be a problem. Head coach Steve Deutsch said his team is playing tighter when it gets inside the 20. The team is 2-2 in its last four games and the offense’s failure to score touchdowns in key situations has been a problem.

The defense was terrible against Groves, but usually the Yellow Jackets can rely on its offense to keep up with opposing teams. Can they open things up in the next couple of weeks down by the end zone? They will need to in order to make a playoff push.

Next Week: Groves has a chance to clinch a playoff berth when it hosts Ferndale on Thursday at 7 p.m. Avondale has a key game on Thursday at 7 p.m. when it visits North Farmington.

Full Recap: For a recap with quotes from both coaches

2^nd DOWN: NORTH FARMINGTON over Berkley 32-14

What we learned: North Farmington’s running game looks like it will carry it into the playoffs.

After opening 0-2, it was hard to envision the Raiders being a playoff team. Four straight wins have them knocking on the door.

Head coach Todd Schultz has used a combination of Kevin Millar, Jaquis Woods and Jason Ervin to get an offense that combined for only 29 points the first two weeks of the season to average 31 points per game since.

North Farmington probably has the most favorable schedule for the rest of the season in the OAA Blue. It has a tough game against Avondale this weekend, but after that it plays Andover and Waterford Kettering. The schools combined records? 0-12.

Question Marks: Every time it looks like Berkley has turned a corner this season it takes two steps back.

Poor tackling hurt the defense for the second time this season. In a similar performance to the one against Groves in week three, the defense gave up huge yardage on the ground and over 30 points. Offensively, the Bears aren’t built to come back from double-digit deficits.

Berkley’s latest setback could have cost it a shot at the playoffs. They have both Seaholm and Avondale left to play and it will be tough for them to win three straight games to end the season.

Next Week:  North Farmington hosts Avondale on Thursday at 7 p.m. while Berkley visits Seaholm with its playoff chances on the line at 7 p.m. Thursday.

3^rd DOWN: Lake Orion over TROY 17-7

What we learned: Lake Orion’s defense looks ready to face some tough tests in the upcoming weeks.

After giving up 41 points to Oxford in week one, the Dragons defense hasn’t allowed more than 14 points in five games. On Friday against Troy, it only allowed a single touchdown against the second best team its faced this season.

It only gets harder from here for Lake Orion. It plays Troy Athens on Friday and Clarkston in three weeks. If the Dragons beat Troy Athens it will visit Harrison in two weeks for the OAA Crossover game in a battle of the top teams of the OAA Red and OAA White.

Question Marks: Troy’s offense hasn’t been able to put up the kind of numbers it needs to compete against the top tier of teams in the OAA Red. The offense’s poor performance in the red zone on Friday prevented the Colts from getting a big upset against the Dragons.

In their three losses this season the offense has averaged just over seven points a game and been held under 10 points twice. The defense has only allowed an average of 21 points in those losses. All three have been winnable games. To make the playoffs, Troy will need to win its final three games of the season and to do that it definitely need to be more consistent on offense.

Next Week: Troy hosts Pontiac on Friday at 7 p.m. and Lake Orion hosts Troy Athens on Friday at 7 p.m.

4^th DOWN: GAME OF THE WEEK Oxford over ADAMS 22-16 (OT)

What we learned: Prescott Line is hard to beat. The Oxford running back and linebacker came up big on both sides of the field Friday. He had over 250 yards rushing and three touchdowns and then won the game for his team by forcing a fumble in overtime. His impact on the game was pretty incredible.

Question Marks: Will Adams be able to prevent its first three game losing streak since 1996? Probably not. It hosts Harrison on Thursday and it will be really tough for the Highlanders to overcome the talented Hawks roster.

Next Week: Adams hosts Harrison on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Other Results

OAA Blue 

FERNDALE over Andover 27-24

LAHSER over Warren Fitzgerald 29-19

SEAHOLM over Hazel Park 34-18

OAA Red

Clarkston over ROCHESTER 28-0

PONTIAC over Royal Oak 52-0 –

TROY ATHENS over West Bloomfield 27-17 –

OAA White 

HARRISON over Oak Park 48-35

Lathrup over STONEY CREEK 14-7 –

SOUTHFIELD over Farmington 30-13

This Week (all games have 7 p.m. start times)

Game to Watch: Harrison at Adams (Thursday Oct. 6) and Troy Athens at Lake Orion (Friday Oct. 7)

Thursday (Oct 6)

Avondale at North Farmington

Berkley at Seaholm

Ferndale at Groves

Flint Northwestern at Andover

Hazel Park at Lahser

Rochester at West Bloomfield

Rochester Stoney Creek at Farmington

Harrison at Adams

Friday (Oct. 7)

Clarkston at Royal Oak

Pontiac at Troy

Troy Athens at Lake Orion

Previous weeks

Have you missed any of our previous weekly recaps? Here’s a chance to catch up…

Sideline Report –

Sideline Report –

Sideline Report –

Sideline Report –

Sideline Report –

Preseason Preview – 39-Page Look Ahead