Fall Football Storylines

High school football is finally back and now is as good of a time as any to take a look at some storylines for the upcoming season.

New Oak Park head coach Greg Carter made the move from Inkster high school. But it seems like much of the Inkster roster will be joining Carter at Oak Park as well and that should help Oak Park in a big way for the upcoming season. Carter has a reputation of having big time success at a number of places, including Detroit DePorres and helping build Inkster into that mold.

The Farmington Hills Harrison big three of Aaron Burbridge, Devin Funchess, and Mario Ojemudia have stolen the headlines in the off-season with their college commitments, but the key to another title run may rest on some of the lesser-known players. Jake Vento is now in charge of the Harrison offense at quarterback and he has some of the top weapons around to help him succeed. Offensive lineman Jake Slobin and wide receiver Garius Coleman should help make Vento’s job much easier this season.

The Catholic League should be as competitive as ever this season, with Novi Detroit Catholic Central loaded with talent as always with tight end Matt Doneth and Matthew Godin leading the way. Orchard Lake Saint Mary’s defense will be a dangerous one, led by punishing linebacker James Ross, it will be very hard to score on the Eaglets this season. Birmingham Brother Rice will have an intriguing quarterback competition as camp goes on between Nick Rao and Cheyne Lacanaria, but regardless of who comes out on top, having Devin Church in the backfield should make things that much easier for the Warriors.

I can’t lie, one of the most intriguing things about this upcoming football season for me is the blue turf put in at Oxford. The “Smurf Turf” has taken its fame at Boise State over the course of the past 10 seasons, so it will be interesting to see if the new turf can give Oxford a competitive edge.

Walled Lake Central quarterback Zach Leimbach has put together a 10-0 record in two seasons of KLAA North play. The Vikings have lost a handful of players from last season, but they still have Leimbach, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the senior quarterback finish at 15-0 in KLAA North action.