Battle for Orchard Lake Road Tips Off Tonight

The students on the Orchard Lake and Abbott Middle School seventh- and eighth-grade basketball teams think of Friday's game as special. Their coaches know that it's just another game — albeit, one with bragging rights on the line for a large group of boys who love the game.

What happens when first-ever "Battle of Orchard Lake Road" takes over (5 p.m.) remains to be seen. We know that it does feature giveaways and concessions, with elementary school students invited to participate with their principals in special pregame ceremonies. In addition, OLMS seventh-grade head coach Greg Raspberry said, he expects 600-800 in attendance for the later start, which dwarfs a normal crowd at an afternoon by far. 

Both teams are excited to play in front of so many people after the sun has gone down, he said. "It's like 'Monday Night Football' to them," said Raspberry, a second-year basketball coach in the district who also coaches football at the high school. 

Abbott's seventh- and eighth-grade coach, Kyle Kilpatrick, agreed. Kilpatrick is also a ninth-grade biology teacher at the high school, who has seen students — the overwhelming majority having gone to either of the district's two middle schools — "getting in some shots" at him in class. 

"It’s been interesting to see it and it’s slowly building. It's advertised at the high school and the district made t-shirts for the kids to wear and support them. Frankly, I'm amazed at how many people know about it. The kids are really pumped," he said.

Their respective principals even revived a sports rivalry tradition and placed a bet. Either Sonja James of or Amy Hughes of will wear a t-shirt advertising the winner on the Tuesday after the game.

Abbott excited to play spoiler to OLMS

What can basketball fans and other interested observers expect? Well, for starters, they can expect to see some future West Bloomfield Lakers. 

Raspberry counts Kevin McAdoo, Davion Johnson, Garrett Winn and Runako Ziegler as a "fantastic four" in his starting lineup, which has helped lead the Vikings to an undefeated season. 

All four are naturally gifted, Raspberry said, but what sets them apart is their unselfishness. He expects all four to play high school basketball if they choose, but perhaps what is more interesting is that they buy into the idea of teamwork as it leads to wins.

"Our team is unselfish and we all like to pass the ball to each other and get everyone involved. When everyone is involved, everybody’s happy, and that’s what we want to do. If everybody’s hot, they really can’t stop us," said Ziegler, 13, who is #32 on OLMS and skilled at the guard/small forward position.

Jacob Binke helps anchor a seventh-grade Eagles team which is similarly-skilled, despite having lost some close games. The seventh-graders lost to OLMS by 10 on Monday, but that should only intensify the tean's focus, he said.

"They’re a really good team and I’m hoping to beat them because it’d ruin their undefeated season. We’re going to be playing them in high school practice, so we’ve got to show them we can play now," he said.

Greg Bellamy coaches an undefeated eighth-grade team at OLMS which features skilled individuals in Gervon Winn and Alec Sandberg, while Aubry Hainsworth paces a 5-2 eighth-grade team at Abbott. 

All records are pending results of games scheduled for Thursday night.

Love of the game takes center stage

Make no mistake — the coaches and principals explained that most every boy on both teams, including both grade levels, know the first and second string on the other team. Players interviewed said that they count those players as their friends. Regardless of the result, more than likely, the only place you'll find sour grapes are at the neighborhood grocery stores.

"They're responding to it well by taking it in stride. They're not getting too excited over it and if they lose, they won't get too depressed. It's pretty much what I would expect from a middle school team," Raspberry said.

A first-year head coach, Kilpatrick added that the competition has kept the Eagles focused. "The day I got here, they said, 'We’re ready to play OLMS. It was always about, 'If we can’t beat these guys, we can’t beat OLMS.' It’s healthy competition."

Count Hughes and James among those who are rooting for overtime. "If it's a close game, you're happy, because the people will be in the stands and cheering for whole game. It's a situation in which a younger child sitting in the stands might be watching their neighbor with pride and an older child feels respect. It's a cool feeling," Hughes said.

James agreed. "Whoever wins, it’s secondary, because it’s a community event. We have two great teams who are excited to battle it out, and that's the future of our high school community."