District Finals Matchups to Watch in Southeast Michigan Pt. 1
This week’s district finals matchups are bountiful and very, very good, especially in Southeast MI. Last week, we saw twice the amount of matchups yet many huge (expected) blowouts. This week, on the other hand, there are too many games…
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Continue ReadingThis week’s district finals matchups are bountiful and very, very good, especially in Southeast MI. Last week, we saw twice the amount of matchups yet many huge (expected) blowouts. This week, on the other hand, there are too many games to count that will likely be incredible. Let’s go over some of the best matchups this week, with more coming tomorrow.
Games to Watch
#9 Catholic Central @ #7 West Bloomfield (D1) – Two historically incredible programs face off in my Southeast Michigan game of the week. West Bloomfield has won 9 straight, with their only loss being against #5 Adams during week 1. It’s no secret the incredible D1 talent West Bloomfield produces seemingly year after year, though Catholic Central is looking as good as they’ve ever been. Catholic Central is 8-2 with losses against #18 Chippewa Valley, and #1 in DII, De La Salle. Despite those losses, they have incredible blowout wins against great programs like Brother Rice, and Naperville Central (IL), and St. Mary Prep.
Players to Watch – Dillon Tatum Dillon Tatum 5'11" | 180 lbs | ATH West Bloomfield | 2022 State MI , Kyle Johnson Kyle Johnson 6'1" | 185 lbs | DB West Bloomfield | 2022 MI , Michael Williams II Michael Williams II 6'3" | 225 lbs | LB West Bloomfield | 2022 State MI , Declan Byle Declan Byle 6'2" | 170 lbs | QB Catholic Central | 2022 State MI , Michael Beydoun, Brady Blakita
#21 Oxford @ #5 Adams (D1) – Both teams are red hot coming into this one, with Oxford coming off an upset win against #13 Clarkston. Oxford has won 5 straight, consistently winning all of their close matchups and defeating Clarkston by 10 last Friday. Adams on the other hand has been better than the program has ever been, being undefeated winning 10 straight against great teams such as West Bloomfield and Lapeer.
Players to Watch – Sal Vackaro, Jacob Welc, Kewone Burton, Parker Picot, Chase Krol, Logan Sayre
#20 Dakota @ #2 Romeo (D1) – These two teams met during week 3, and Romeo came away with the close victory 14-10. Don’t let the rankings fool you- Dakota is very capable of pulling off the upset here. The Macomb Red is perhaps the strongest conference in the entire state, and both of these teams were largely successful with a grueling schedule. This should be a very competitive matchup.
Players to Watch – Caleb Youngblood, Anthony Lomakoski, Doug Malcolm Doug Malcolm 6'4" | 315 lbs | DL Romeo | 2022 MI , Aiden Dale, Keyone Nixon Keyone Nixon 5'10" | 170 lbs | DB Macomb Dakota | 2022 State MI , Riley Smalarz Riley Smalarz 6'2" | 290 lbs | OL Dakota | 2022 State MI
#18 Chippewa Valley @ #10 Stevenson – These teams met during week 6, and Stevenson won that one 36-32. This is a great matchup featuring more teams from the Macomb Red. Chippewa Valley has massive talent right now and they’ve beat some of the best programs in the state, and all 3 losses have been by 1 possession or less. Stevenson on the other hand is just as good at 8-2 with their only losses being against #2 Romeo and #1 Rockford. I can almost guarantee that this game is going to be great.
Players to Watch – Ryan Schuster Ryan Schuster 6'2" | 180 lbs | QB Chippewa Valley | 2022 State MI , Zach Allison Zach Allison 6'4" | 240 lbs | DL Chippewa Valley | 2022 MI , Zion Mitchell Zion Mitchell 5'10" | 185 lbs | RB Chippewa Valley | 2022 MI , Biagio Madonna Biagio Madonna 6'0" | 190 lbs | QB Adlai Stevenson | 2022 MI , Jordan Kwiatkowski Jordan Kwiatkowski 6'1" | 220 lbs | LB Adlai Stevenson | 2022 State MI , Jordan Ramsey Jordan Ramsey 5'9" | 185 lbs | RB Adlai Stevenson | 2022 State MI
#16 Woodhaven @ #12 Fordson – Woodhaven is a team that I believe is a bit underrated, as they just upset Dearborn, a team that defeated Fordson earlier this year. The #1 game to watch in dearborn this week, both teams have a huge shot for a state championship if they advance. This should be an awesome matchup, and I can’t wait to see who comes out alive.
Players to Watch – Cornell Perry Cornell Perry 6'0" | 170 lbs | ATH Woodhaven | 2022 State MI , Andrew Ewald, Darion Nundley, Antonio Gates Jr Antonio Gates Jr 6'3" | 185 lbs | WR Fordson | 2022 State MI , Alex Osman Alex Osman 6'0" | 195 lbs | QB Fordson | 2022 MI , Mohammed Sayed