Players to Watch in West Bloomfield @ Adams

West Bloomfield faces off against Rochester Adams in the most intriguing rematch of the season. After winning the D1 state championship last season, West Bloomfield lost in a shocker during week 1 against this Rochester Adams team; and here they are again. Adams sits undefeated at 11-0 while West Bloomfield is 10-1. The winner of this matchup will advance to the state semifinals where they’ll face the winner of Rockford vs Grand Blanc. <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Players to Watch</span></strong> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Adams ’23 QB/DB <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/7806998/Parker-Picot">Parker Picot</a></strong></span> The Alabama baseball commit has been the centerpiece for this Adams team throughout the whole season. Running a Veer offense as a Quarterback is no small task. Constantly making triple-option reads is something few can truly be great at, but Picot is the man for the job. Though unlike most Veer quarterbacks in the state, Picot can throw the ball very well. Most notably, Picot is in the conversation of Michigan High School Football Player of the year. We’ve seen it with many of the great veer teams over the years, Muskegon, 2019 Seaholm, and this year’s Adams team; they all have quarterbacks who have served as fearless leaders, and the entire team is completely bought into the mission. <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">West Bloomfield ’22 RB [player_tooltip player_id="30133" first="Dillon" last="Tatum"] </span></strong> The future Spartan running back has been living up to the hype and more this season. All you need to know about last week’s game against a great Catholic Central team is that Tatum was dominant rushing for 195 yards and scoring 3 touchdowns in the match. Another top candidate for Michigan High School Football Player of the Year, Tatum is going to be the difference-maker against an Adams team that prides itself on stopping the run. https://twitter.com/SpartanTailgate/status/1456785330309410818 <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Adams ’22 EDGE/T [player_tooltip player_id="164642" first="Alex" last="DeGrieck"]</strong></span> Degrieck posted 5 sacks last week against Oxford, which is a school record, and he’s committed to Harvard. Do I even have to elaborate any further? He’s a force off the edge and a solid offensive tackle. He’s going to be a crucial piece in stopping the run game against an elite West Bloomfield line and running back room. The most impressive thing about Degrieck’s game is his power moves, often outmuscling opposing linemen and driving them all the way back to the QB. <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">West Bloomfield ’22 WR/KR <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/16154294/Deangelo-Thomas">Deangelo Thomas</a></span></strong> After playing a year in Dallas, Thomas is back where he grew up playing for the team that he knows best. He’s a versatile weapon for the Laker offense, lining up primarily in the slot. He’s utilized in jet sweeps, deep passes, screens, slants, and everything in between, not necessarily being the first option for the WB offense, but he’d surely be the #1 guy on the vast majority of D1 high school programs. Thomas also has talent in kick returning having already broken a few for touchdowns. Thomas could be a weapon West Bloomfield looks to utilize more, especially if Adams keys in on their top stars. <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Adams RB/DB/LB <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/11563839/Marco-DiCresce">Marco DiCresce</a></span></strong> DiCresce is a swiss army knife for Adams, utilized in many different ways on offense and defense. On the offensive side, he’s very commonly a pitch or handoff read, and he gains great yardage when he does get the ball. I would bet that Adams has some pass plays drawn up for him as well. As for defense, this is where DiCresce shines playing lots of positions and doing everything quite well. As a defensive back, DiCresce has shown great zone and man skills, having broken up or intercepted some key passes across this season, and he’s very capable of playing great against the WB pass game. DiCresce also plays a mean outside linebacker, even sometimes lining up on the line of scrimmage. His quickness and willingness to hit hard makes him stand out amongst the rest. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>West Bloomfield ’22 LB [player_tooltip player_id="30135" first="Michael" last="Williams II"] </strong></span> <span style="font-size: 12pt;">The uncommitted Power-5 prospect has proven to be one of, if not the best pass rusher in the state, totaling 23 total sacks on the season, with the MHSAA record being 26 set by Al Moyski in 1977. Willams is on the brink of a historical season, using his speed and elite finesse moves to flash by some of the best offensive tackles in the state. It’s going to be very interesting to see Williams face off against the best veer offense in the state. </span>