OAA Teams on the Rise

One of the greatest conferences in the state, the OAA is home to four competitive leagues, with the implementation of a Gold league. In these leagues, we have many teams who are currently on the rise! Let’s check out who I believe have improved throughout the recent years. <strong>OAA Gold: Berkley </strong> I am mildly surprised that Berkley hasn’t gotten much recognition for its recent successes. Berkley had three losses in 2021, and they all came by one possession, and they were all against playoff teams. Most impressively, they took an excellent Waterford Mott team into overtime. This team is headed into 2022 with extraordinary talents such as RB <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/12542030">[player_tooltip player_id="300658" first="Savod" last="Daniels"], </a>QB <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/14265699">[player_tooltip player_id="216984" first="Sunny" last="Kadlitz"]</a>, among others. This is an improved team from their recent past, and I would bet on them winning the Gold, with Avondale in 2nd. <strong>OAA Blue: Troy</strong> There are quite a few teams in the Blue that I consider to be on the rise, but Troy has been getting better for a few years now. They proved that the competition of the old OAA Blue was inferior, and they’ve been promoted to a league that better suits their talent. <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/12842167">[player_tooltip player_id="30347" first="Darius" last="Whiteside"] II</a> is their primary star, with other key players such as <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/16325583">[player_tooltip player_id="274668" first="Jaielen" last="Peacock"]</a>, and <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/14483157">[player_tooltip player_id="216987" first="Parker" last="Brandenberg"]</a>. <strong>OAA White: Southfield A&amp;T</strong> With large amounts of talent and one of the best QBs in the state, Southfield A&amp;T will win some games this coming season. The competition of the White is insane, but if this team can pull things together and play at their best, they will beat most other teams. In other words, this is a more talented team than many other OAA White teams, led by stars such as <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/14556350">[player_tooltip player_id="77216" first="Isaiah" last="Marshall"]</a>, <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/16038485">[player_tooltip player_id="247706" first="Tashi" last="Braceful"]</a>, <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/16716913">Josiah Williams</a>, and others. <strong>OAA Red: Rochester Adams</strong> An insanely great team this past season, Adams returns many stars for 2022. It was an incredible run for the Highlanders as they ran the veer to sweet perfection, with a suffocating defense on the other side. Although Adams has a few critical losses with <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/9810401">[player_tooltip player_id="164642" first="Alex" last="DeGrieck"]</a> and Joey Shallow, they retain D1 talents with [player_tooltip player_id="241265" first="Parker" last="Picot"] and <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/14526871">[player_tooltip player_id="248962" first="Brady" last="Prieskorn"]</a>. I genuinely think Adams can compete for a state championship, though they have the goliath of West Bloomfield standing in the way.