Michigan high school football: Game predictions for Week 2
We’re not even to Labor Day and the football season is off and running.
SOS is even busier than usual these days because he is doing more than just covering games, writing columns and feature stories and making a fool of himself attempting to pick games.
This fall, SOS finds himself back in the classroom, a place SOS attempted to avoid at all costs when he attended high school and allegedly college.
But this is an emergency and no one responds to an emergency quite like SOS ... who typically runs for cover.
This, however, is a different situation. You see, Jill Gordon, the No. 1 teacher at North Farmington, according to SOS’s rankings, had a bit of a slip and fall to end all slip and falls.
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SOS wouldn’t say her ankle was shattered, but in the operating room SOS inserted four plates and at least 25 screws. It was one of SOS’s most complicated surgeries.
Exactly how the accident happened is open for debate. Jill’s story is she was hurrying down to the basement during a summer storm and missed the final three steps.
After an exhaustive investigation, SOS is thinking it came in a skydiving expedition. Evidently it runs in the Gordon family.
Either way, Jill admirably turned down the opportunity to take time off from school to fully recover, insisting she report to school to teach her students.
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Well, that was the plan anyway. It turns out that teaching a full load of “upper math” classes was a bit much, so Jill called in the cavalry.
That is where SOS comes to the rescue. SOS never actually took any “upper level” math classes in high school or college, but how difficult can it really be?
Algebra II? Piece of cake. Pre-calculus and trigonometry? SOS couldn’t even spell those words (thank goodness for spell check).
When things get tough, SOS calls Farmington High and it sends over former Michigan State All-America basketball player Paula Sanders-Avant to bail him out.
Paula is available because she is the school’s Restorative Practice Facilitator. In other words, we’re talking about practice?
If the kids don’t behave, SOS is threatening to bring in Jill’s father, Chuck, who is in the witness protection program in Central Lake. The former Westland Glenn coach can tell the kiddies how he taught Lloyd Carr everything he knows.
As for now, here is everything SOS knows about this week’s best games:
West Bloomfield (1-0) at Birmingham, Groves (1-0), 7 p.m. Thursday: SOS is hoping we can see some situations in which Groves’ offensive tackle Avery Gach is matched against West Bloomfield defensive end Brandon Davis-Swain. The Groves defense will have to contain QB Reqez Nance, while Groves QB Cayden Hardy will have a pull a few tricks out of his helmet to move the ball against that stout defense. Bloomfield Hunt Club 21, Orange Grove 18.
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Grandville (1-0) at Davison (1-0), 7 p.m. Thursday: SOS knows that there is no way Grandville sophomore Jayden Terry is going to score another five TDs this week. In fact, Grandville won’t score five TDs total against Davison, whose coach, Jake Weingartz, would be going out of his mind if that happened. Still, Davison’s defense will have its hands full trying to stop that hide-the-salami offense. But Davison’s defense must contend with AJ Hill. Old Grand Dad 27, Davidson Freeway 24.
Mason (1-0) at DeWitt (1-0), 7 p.m. Thursday: This is a terrific showdown between the Lansing area's top two teams, which are also state contenders. The Mason defense is going to have to shut down the running of QB Elliot Larner. But he is also a capable passer and has some solid targets, especially his twin, Abram. Mason has a dynamite running attack built around AJ Martel. The Bulldogs have the best pure passer in the area in Cason Carswell. Mason Dixon Line 26, DeWhat 25.
Negaunee (1-0) at Gladstone (1-0), 7 p.m. Thursday: These are two of the top teams in the U.P. Gladstone was awesome in its 36-7 total domination of Marquette. Gladstone has a stable of effective running backs, led by Austin Solis and Trevor Thorbahn. And QB/DB Nate Young is a factor on both sides of the ball. Negaunee is the D-6 runner-up and itching to get back to Ford Field. Ty Jacobson is a good passer, but who’s kidding who here? Even though the QB is his kid, Negaunee coach Paul Jacobson wants to pound the ball, which is what Kai Lacer, James Thomson and Weston Yesnet are for. Nagging 31, Man from Glad 23.
Romeo (0-1) at Roseville (1-0), 7 p.m. Thursday: Jordan Simes certainly knows how to make an entrance. The Roseville junior QB threw for 237 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-0 rout of Birmingham Brother Rice. And nobody does that to Brother Rice. So now we need to know if this Roseville team is for real. Although Romeo is coming off a loss, it was a close (35-28) loss to Caledonia, the No. 1 team in D-2. A year ago, Romeo beat the Panthers, 30-6. Rose Garden 33, Wherefore Art Thou 27.
Mick McCabe (err, Son of Swami) is a former longtime columnist for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at mick.mccabe11@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @mickmccabe1. Order his book, “Mick McCabe’s Golden Yearbook: 50 Great Years of Michigan’s Best High School Players, Teams & Memories,” right now at McCabe.PictorialBook.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan high school football: Game predictions for Week 2
