Pleasant Surpises

Breaking down some of Oakland County's teams that are off to surprising, and impressive starts as we have crossed the midway point of the football season.

Farmington (4-1)
This season was expected to be a rebuilding year of sorts for the Falcons, but instead, it’s been anything but a rebuilding year. The Falcons, behind dynamic playmakers Jordan Degreffenreed and Bryan Green on offense and a solid core on defense that held a very talented Oak Park team to just six points last week, Farmington has a very good chance to make the playoffs this year.

Birmingham Groves (4-1)
Groves, behind star running back Keon Collier, continue to get the job done week in and week out. The offense for the Falcons has been at full strength from day one, averaging just over four touchdowns per game. But the importance of Collier cannot be understated, the senior running back is just as dangerous as a receiver as he is a runner, which gives opposing defenses nightmares.

Rochester Adams (4-1)
Heading into this season, many thought that depth would be a huge concern for the Highlanders, who had a smaller than usual turnout for their team this year. But behind quarterback and safety Tony Anesse, Adams is on pace to make the playoffs once again for the 15th straight season.  If it weren’t for a minor misstep or two against Southfield, Adams could very well be 5-0 this season.

Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (5-0)
It’s not necessarily surprising that Notre Dame Prep is piling up wins this year, but more how they’ve done it. They are flat out hammering teams in one way or another. The Fighting Irish are outscoring teams 176-35, and head coach Kyle Zimmerman has them firing on all cylinders in just about every way possible.

Royal Oak Shrine (5-0)
Much like Notre Dame Prep, it's not a surprise to see Shrine win their fair share of games, but again it's the way they've been winning their games. The defense has been flat out dominant and the offense has been a force to be reckoned with. The Shrine offense has put up nearly 36 points per game while the defense is allowing less than six points per game.


Novi/North Farmington (3-2)
After slow 0-2 starts both teams have come out in a big way in the past three weeks, tallying wins in each of the past three contests and putting up some impressive numbers while doing so. Novi quarterback Derek Ince has thrown for 300+ yards in each of the last two weeks while the key to North Farmington’s success has been running backs Jacquis Woods and Kevin Miller who are as electric in the open field as anyone.

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