Devon’s Sports Watch

Devon Schwarze-Hemelberg, Flash Sports Reporter

The fall sports season is coming to an end. This week we will talk about the final game for the football team, Fraser soccer getting bounced out of the playoffs, a few of the must see games for the playoffs this upcoming weekend, and my predictions for who will win all of the Division 1 & Division 2 games this week.

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1. Fraser Soccer Gets Bounced From Playoffs

October 21st marked the second round of Districts for Fraser soccer. It also marked the end of their season as the Ramblers were beat 2-1  by the Henry Ford II Falcons. An early goal by Nick Sharpe gave the Ramblers a 1-0 lead, but it didn’t last. Ford’s Javier Steinwascher scored on a penalty kick with just over 5 minutes to go in the 1st half. The call was and still is very controversial as Steinwascher was bumped inside the box, but it was obvious he was a little dramatic in his reaction. The Falcons scored again with 28 minutes to go when Robert Wist’s shot bounced off Fraser senior Dylan Donnelly and into the net. That would turn out to be the game winning goal. Henry Ford advanced to play Troy Athens @ Troy Athens Saturday afternoon. A game in which the Falcons won as well. The loss ended Fraser’s season and broke the hearts of many Fraser seniors as they laid on the field after the final whistle.

 

2. Sterling Heights Stomps Fraser

Friday night was the final game for the football team because they didn’t have enough wins to qualify for playoffs. They were supposed to play the Sterling Heights Stallions, but the team didn’t show up until the 4th quarter, when they were already down big. Fraser did what they have done all season: give up big plays on defense and stall on offense. Fraser was able to hold the high powered Stallion offense to only 7 points in the first half. Sterling Heights proceeded to score 4 more times to finish the game with a 35 points. The Ramblers wouldn’t score until late in the 4th when senior Luke Warchol ran it into the end zone and then convert the 2 pt conversion. The Ramblers would go on to lose 35-8 against playoff bound Sterling Heights.

The Ramblers finished the year 3-6 in coach Sklad’s first season as head coach. The team has a lot of rebuilding to do this season, but the sophomore class looks ready to make their mark for the next 2 years. Quarterback Ian Casey, cornerback Josh Brady, and safety Juan Simmons are all sophomores who played a big role in this year’s varsity team.

Sterling Heights is now 7-2 on the year after being just 1-8 at this time last year. The Stallions will take on Grosse Pointe South at home this Saturday night. If the Stallions win they will take on the winner of Detroit East English Village @ De Le Salle game.

 

3. Fraser Hosts Regionals 

Fraser will be hosting Division 1 Regionals for soccer this week. The semi finals will be played on October 28th at 5pm and 7pm. The first game will be between Rochester Adams and Bloomfield Hills. The second game will be played between Henry Ford II and Eisenhower. Tickets for the games are $5.

The finals will be played October 30th at Fraser.

Predictions: Rochester Adams over Bloomfield Hills 3-1 as Devin Beyer scores twice for Adams. Eisenhower over Henry Ford 1-0 as Ben Campbell scores the only goal for the Eagles.

 

4. Michigan Playoffs Games to Watch

Division 1 Region 2 District 2: Romeo (8-1) takes on Clarkston (7-2). Romeo has qualified for the playoffs for 12 straight years. Their only lose came in week 9 to Eisenhower (6-3) who won, 17-14. Clarkston is coming into Friday’s contest on 6 game winning streak that has seen the Wolves outscore their opponents 230-53. The game should be a good one as both teams average over 35 points per game. Romeo boasts one of the best defenses in the state as they’ve only given up 51 points (5.6ppg) the entire year.

Division 2 Region 2 District 2: Farmington Hills Harrison (7-2) plays Birmingham Groves (9-0). Groves has yet to lose a game this year and has posted 5 shutouts on the year. They’re coming off a big 18-14 win last week against Ann Arbor Pioneer. Farmington Hills Harrison is coming off a 20-14 loss against West Bloomfield. They field a solid defense including one of the best players in the state, DE Khalid Kareem. Kareem recently committed to Notre Dame over the weekend and is ranked #9 at his position.

Division 4 Region 4 District 2: Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood (8-1) plays St. Clair Shores South Lake (8-1). This should be a great game for the lower divisions. Cranbrook-Kingswood is coming off a 42-6 thrashing over Clarenceville and is led by the big arm of  Tyler Santangelo. Santangelo has thrown for over 1700 yds and has helped Cranbrook-Kingswood get off to one of their best records in school history. South Lake is also a very high scoring team as they average 43 points per game. They’ve also posted 2 shutouts and have allowed 14 points or less in 3 other games.

 

5. Predictions For Every Division 1 & 2 Playoff Football Game

Division 1 

R1-D1: Grandville by 8 over Rockford

R1-D1: East Kentwood by 10 over Hudsonville

R1-D2: Grand Ledge by 27 over Howell

R1-D2: Brighton by 21 over Hartland

R2-D1: Lapeer by 40 over Davison

R2-D1: Romeo by 6 over Clarkston

R2-D2: West Bloomfield by 34 over Novi

R2-D2:  Detroit Catholic Central by 10 over Waterford Mott

R3-D1:  Northville by 24 over Plymouth

R3-D1: Canton by 3 over Livonia Stevenson

R3-D2: Saline by 45 over Monroe

R3-D2: Belleville by 10 over Ann Arbor Pioneer

R4-D1: Dakota by 20 over Henry Ford II

R4-D1: Utica Eisenhower by 3 over Chippewa Valley

R4-D2: Sterling Heights Stevenson by 13 over Dearborn Fordson

R4-D2: Cass Tech by 17 over Warren Mott

Division 2

R1-D1: Muskegon Mona Shores by 21 over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern

R1-D1: Muskegon by 7 over Traverse City Central

R1-D2: Lowell by 35 over Battle Creek Lakeview

R1-D2: Portage Central by 12 over Byron Center

R2-D1: Fenton by 31 over Holly

R2-D1: Midland by 6 over Midland Dow

R2-D2: Walled Lake Western by 28 over Walled Lake Northern

R2-D2: Farmington Hills Harrison by 1 over Birmingham Groves

R3-D1:  Jackson by 9 over Livonia Churchill

R3-D1: Farmington by 6 over Livonia Franklin

R3-D2: Berkeley by 14 over Southfield-Lathrup

R3-D2:  Southfield by 13 over Oak Park

R4-D1: Detroit Martin Luther King by 38 over Detroit U-D Jesuit

R4-D1: Wyandotte Roosevelt by 10 over Lincoln Park

R4-D2: De La Salle by 3 over Detroit East English Village

R4-D2: Sterling Heights by 13 over Grosse Pointe South

All games will be played October 30th & October 31st. Times and days for games can found at miprepzone.com at a later time. Thanks for the read everyone. Hope you enjoyed.