Northville Scouting Report (vs. Lake Orion)

Northville starts its season off with a bang. Besting a really good OAA Red team in Week 1 puts Northville on the map. This team was playing loose, having fun, and generally was the more fundamentally sound team. Below are five evaluations for the Northville prospects that I decided to watch closely.    To start, Max looks bigger and stronger than what he's listed at here (and on Hudl). He passes the eye test as a power RB.   Max got better as the game went on. Running off-tackle, Max was able to consistently bowl through some big Lake Orion defenders. Not much to say in the open field, and not a ton of top-end speed. Though, as a power RB, Max was awesome. A classic powerful RB who earned Northville a handful of tough first downs last night. Max and Cooper make for a lethal rushing combo. On paper, most defenses in the KLAA West are inferior to Lake Orion's. I expect Max to have an insanely productive year.     It's been a while since I saw a QB have as much fun as Cooper. I really liked how Cooper carried himself and performed Thursday night.   To start, Cooper ran the ball incredibly well. I thought the Lake Orion front 7 did an excellent job of manufacturing pressure, but Cooper did an even better job evading defenders. Yes, there were times when Cooper was caught, but more often than not, Cooper was able to extend plays. Not a ton of pass attempts for him, but his passes were all on point. Exactly what I expected, and somehow more. Not to mention Cooper fighting through an injury for much of the game. Everything from Cooper's passing, designed rushes, improvised rushes, toughness, and fake handoffs were impressive. Great showing!     I was able to get a very quick impression of Cassius. A rotational sophomore WR, I can tell that Cassius has some athletic upside and will likely earn more touches as the season goes on. He typically lined up as the X WR and ran simple comeback routes, mostly as a decoy. There was one instance where Cassius got a touch on a reverse, but Lake Orion blew it up- no fault to Cassius.   What I mostly want to get across is that Cassius is on my radar now. I like his frame, I like what he showed athletically, and I'm looking forward to seeing what Cassius does on Varsity this season.       Danny was playing lights-out before a late third-quarter injury. I was highly impressed with Danny's explosiveness off the edge. The Lake Orion run game was a tad slow to develop, and Danny took full advantage. Did a great job keeping runs inside the tackles, and had the speed to blow up plays from the backside + rush the passer. I was sad to see Danny's arm in a sling in the 4th quarter, but hey, looked him him and all of Northville were still having a blast.     Noah immediately caught my eye because of his size. Legit 6'3"+ height, with a great frame. In short, I beleive Noah could easily be a GLIAC target next offseason if he sharpens a few things up. Noah was a passable run and pass blocker and displayed good anchor, but he needs to work on his foot speed and all-around aggressiveness in the run game. One big positive I witnessed was when his QB was tackled, Noah was the only one of the linemen who offered to help him up.   I like Noah as a potential prospect next offseason. He's got great upside.

Northville starts its season off with a bang. Besting a really good OAA Red team in Week 1 puts Northville on the map. This team was playing loose, having fun, and generally was the more fundamentally sound team. Below are five evaluations for the Northville prospects that I decided to watch closely.