Keep an Eye on Parma Western @ Detroit Country Day
Parma Western @ Detroit Country Day, September 2nd This is an interesting matchup, mostly because this will be the first ever meeting between these two teams. Also because both of these teams made it to the Regional Finals in 2021.…
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Continue ReadingParma Western @ Detroit Country Day, September 2nd
This is an interesting matchup, mostly because this will be the first ever meeting between these two teams. Also because both of these teams made it to the Regional Finals in 2021. Country Day & Western both lose key guys from 2021 but will return several key players.
One key guy that Country Day returns next year is running back & defensive end Gabe Winowich (Hudl). I got to watch Winowich play in person this year. He is a very physical runner who is not afraid to lower the boom on defenders. He has breakaway speed and can take the ball the distance any time he touches it. His play this year earned him All State honors not only at running back but at defensive end as well.
Country Day also returns a talented offensive lineman in Center, Lucas Shallal (Hudl). Shallal does a great job of getting outside an blocking on running back screens. He has good leverage and does a good job in pass protection. Shallal shows great overall strength and can drive defenders into the ground.
Gabe Zeldes (Hudl) returns next year for Country Day and will look to build off an impressive 2021 season. Zeldes has great range at the safety position and can intercept passes thrown anywhere near him. Zeldes made the most of his interceptions last year, returning several of them for touchdowns. He shows no fear when it comes to flying up and making tackles. Offensively, Country day uses Gabe Zeldes in the slot & on the outside. They liked to run screen passes to him since he is dangerous after the catch with his speed and change of direction.
Western returns wide receiver & defensive back Caden Oliver (Hudl). Oliver made big plays for Western on both sides of the football last year. He had a huge touchdown run where he reversed field and took it 65 yards for a touchdown in the win over rival Northwest. In the St. Johns win, Oliver had a big run that helped setup Western to score a late touchdown to ice the game. He was also productive in the playoff win over Harper Creek. Western will likely turn to Oliver to make plays against what is always a tough Country Day defense.
Linebacker Landon Heavy (Hudl) is another Western player to keep an eye out for in this game. Heavy was a tackling machine last year for Western. Heavy does a tremendous job of working through traffic and staying square to make physical tackles. He has a powerful upper body and shows the ability to take on interior blockers and running backs.
I love non-conference matchups, I think it is a great way to see who the toughest conferences are. Western plays in the Interstate-8 conference which is one of the toughest division 3 conferences in the state. This will be a good test to see how they matchup with a Country Day team that is one of the toughest division 4 teams in the state. This will be a fun matchup that we will not have to wait long for once the season is underway.