OAA Sideline Report

Sideline Report Playoff Edition: Thrillers, Blowouts in First Round

Late field goals doom Athens and Lake Orion, while Seaholm and Groves can’t keep pace with their OAA White opponents.

There wasn’t a whole lot of middle ground for Oakland County teams in the first round of the high school football playoffs. Local teams either lost big or battled it out until the final seconds. Which side was your team on? Here’s a recap of all the action: Quote of the Week: "My challenge for you is to handle yourself with the same class and dignity tonight after a loss as you have after victory,” Lake Orion head coach Chris Bell said to his team after Friday's 20-17 loss to Walled Lake Central. Stat of the Week: five That’s how many lead changes there were in five overtime periods between Troy Athens and Romeo on Friday night. The teams combined for only 14 points in regulation and then the game turned into a shootout. Both schools …

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OAA Sideline Report: Football Recap, Week 6: Teams Battle The Rain

Groves takes control of the OAA Blue and Harrison clinches playoff spot in poor weather conditions.

After Friday night, some teams might want it to rain for every game. Teams had to battle low temperatures, high winds and a lot of rain last week. Some offenses flourished while others struggled. Here’s a look at last week’s slate of games. Quote of the Week: Even head coaches can get things wrong sometimes. Groves head coach Brendan Flaherty predicted his team’s game against Avondale was going to be a high scoring one. He ended up being half right when the Falcons won 56-14. “I thought it was going to be a shoot-out, we were blitzing and played man (coverage) 98 percent of the time,” Flaherty said. “I thought we were going to get some things home and they’re going to get big plays, I was expecting a shootout.” Stat of the Week: Andover is…

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St. Mary's Outlasts Brother Rice in Overtime, 10-9

Eaglets head coach George Porritt scores win No. 199, delays Al Fracassa's 400th with a homecoming victory.

The score: Birmingham Brother Rice 9, Orchard Lake St. Mary's 10 (OT) The star: St. Mary's senior wide receiver Christopher Woolen scored the game's winning touchdown in overtime off of a pass from Dan Clements, and senior kicker Nathan Parry booted the game-winning extra point. However, senior linebacker James Ross made it all possible with several key tackles that held Brother Rice to only nine points. The turning point: Down 9-3 in overtime, on third-and-goal from the 17 in a downpour, Clements threw from the shotgun and hit Woolen at the 7-yard-line on a curl route. Woolen broke three tackles on his way to the end zone to tie the game, and Parry clinched it with the extra point. The quote: "I caught it and turned around and saw a seam…

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OAA Sideline Report

Football Recap, Week 5: Battle for Position

Division races in the Oakland Activities Association are starting to take shape after another great group of games.

The races in the Oakland Activities Association Red, White and Blue divisions are starting to really take shape. Harrison is the clear front-runner in the White and should run the table. The battle for second place is a little more heated. Farmington had a big win over Adams on Friday to make it a three-way battle between those two teams and Southfield. All three teams are currently 3-1 in the division.  In the Blue, the division title is up for grabs with Avondale, Groves and Berkley tied at the top with one loss each. Losses for Seaholm and Lahser over the weekend have dropped the schools to the middle of the pack. Lake Orion still is undefeated in the Red division, but it has games against all three teams in second place left on the …

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Football Recap, Week 4: Upset Alert

First place up for grabs in Oakland Activities Association Blue division after two big upsets this weekend.

Undefeated no more. The Lahser and Avondale varsity football teams had their perfect records wiped out after suffering tough losses on their respective home fields this week. Both were upset in the Oakland Activities Association Blue division and now five teams are tied atop the Blue with one loss. Quote of the Week: It was the second straight week an OAA Blue team lost on a failed two-point conversion attempt. Avondale lost 23-22 to Ferndale when head coach Steve Deutsch had his team go for the win in the final minutes. Here’s what the coach told Patch about the decision… "I got a running back who is dying for air and my quarterback is exhausted, so I didn't want to go to overtime. I wanted to end it right there and just be done with it. …

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OAA Sideline Report: Football Recap, Week 3: Thrillers Galore

Three games were decided in final minute on Friday in an exciting week of Oakland Activities Association action.

Wow. Now, that was a week of football. Three Oakland Activities Association games were decided by three points or less in week three (that’s a lot of threes!) and one of those games went into double overtime. Let's take a look at the triumph and heartbreak on the field this week ... Quote of the Week: “I’ve always said if we are going to put a stamp somewhere, it’s going to be on the defensive side of the football,” Lahser head coach Dan Loria said. His Knights certainly did that in week three by shutting out Seaholm 20-0 on the road. Stat of the Week: Berkley and Groves combined for 75 points in week three.  The schools only scored 70 points combined in the first two weeks of the season.  Player of the Week: Lahser cornerback Nate Cole …

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