The Michigan High School Football Coaches Association released its All-Star roster last month, and gridders form the C & G Newspapers’ coverage area dominated the East roster.
Of the East’s 44 players from Macomb, Oakland, Wayne, Monroe, St. Clair, Lapeer, Sanilac, Huron and Tuscola counties, 16 are from schools in our coverage area.
The July 11 game at Spartan Stadium will be the last time for fans to catch these players in a high school game before they make good on their Feb. 4 National Letters of Intent signing ceremonies and kick off their college careers.
The Macomb Area Conferences alone had seven players garner spots.
Red Division co-MVP Mike Laamanen, who signed with Wayne State University, was tabbed as a defensive lineman, linebackers Dan Sawicki (Clinton Township Clintondale), Kurtis Showers (Madison Heights Madison) and defensive back KyeRell Williams (Clinton Township Chippewa Valley) will accompany him.
Offensively, Utica Eisenhower’s Tyler Copacia, who signed a letter with Grand Valley State, was named one of two quarterbacks, along with Taylor Truman’s Ryan Hargraves.
Copacia and Hargraves will have Chad Allemon (Marine City High) at receiver and Warren Fitzgerald’s C. J. Carroll, an All-County 215-pound wrestler, at fullback.
Lake Orion’s Tyler Benson and Beverly Hills Detroit Country Day’s Tim McLean, both of whom led the blocking for their state runner-up rushing attacks, will serve as the centers for the East.
Rochester Adams’ Cody Wilson, another Central Michigan commitment, will be a defensive back for the East.
The Oakland Activities Association will handle all the East’s kicking duties and bring its total of players in the game to four, with Troy’s Kevin Muma, a Michigan State University commit, placekicking and Rochester Stoney Creek’s Eric Fisher, a 6-foot-7-inch, 243-pound lineman prospect who signed with Central Michigan, punting.
Including MacLean, private schools from our area accounted for six spots on the East roaster.
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Gabe Charette will be on the defensive line, while Birmingham Brother Rice’s Zach Cherocci will play guard on the same offensive line as Warren De La Salle tight end Dan Sorgi.
Adding electricity to the East backfield are Royal Oak Shrine Catholic’s Anthony Cade and future Central Michigan back Zurlon Tipton of Sterling Heights Parkway Christian.
A couple notable names absent from this year’s All-Star rosters were Ohio State recruit Reid Fragel (Grosse Pointe South) and Holland Christian quarterback A. J. Westendorp.
What’s interesting about the omission of Westendorp and Fragel is that teams are allowed at most one representative in the game, but neither South nor Holland Christian had a player named to the rosters.
There could be any number of very sound reasons these two are not part of the game, and I'm not trying to place blame on anyone, but they will be missed
Fragel would have offered flexibility to the East squad with his ability to play tight end, offensive tackle or defensive end.
Westendorp would have given the game a boost of star power with the kind of athleticism that saw him lead his prep team to a Division 4 state title while rewriting the offensive record books for the title game before committing to Central Michigan.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Among royalty
Hopefully those in the real wrestling community will allow me a quick foray into the world of make believe.
I was able to attend he WWE's Royal Rumble Jan. 25 at Joe Louis Arena, and there might be no spectacle that brings the same type of entertainment as professional "wrestling."
It's not just how huge the mountains of humanity they call "superstars" are in real life, it's more the way in which these Yetis interact with the crowds. The way the WWE faithful are part of the show with their signs and chants is something you have to see to believe. Their addition to the festivities is just as much a fixture as folding chairs and exposed turnbuckles in a no disqualification match.
A couple of my personal highlights were the way John Cena and Rob Van Dam of Battle Creek galvanized the crowd.
With simultaneous chants for and against the WWE Champion, Cena is a one-man European soccer match. And when RVD came down the ramp to join the Rumble, the local boy's ovation was as great, if not greater, than any superstar this side of the Undertaker.
So while moonsaults from atop ladders through tables may not require quite the same technical expertise as a cradle into a pin, can there really be that much wrong with anything that can bring as much excitement and joy to a city like Detroit as did the WWE.
I was able to attend he WWE's Royal Rumble Jan. 25 at Joe Louis Arena, and there might be no spectacle that brings the same type of entertainment as professional "wrestling."
It's not just how huge the mountains of humanity they call "superstars" are in real life, it's more the way in which these Yetis interact with the crowds. The way the WWE faithful are part of the show with their signs and chants is something you have to see to believe. Their addition to the festivities is just as much a fixture as folding chairs and exposed turnbuckles in a no disqualification match.
A couple of my personal highlights were the way John Cena and Rob Van Dam of Battle Creek galvanized the crowd.
With simultaneous chants for and against the WWE Champion, Cena is a one-man European soccer match. And when RVD came down the ramp to join the Rumble, the local boy's ovation was as great, if not greater, than any superstar this side of the Undertaker.
So while moonsaults from atop ladders through tables may not require quite the same technical expertise as a cradle into a pin, can there really be that much wrong with anything that can bring as much excitement and joy to a city like Detroit as did the WWE.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Just can't stay away
Few things have made me feel as old as when I walked into De La Salle's gym and saw 2008 Warren Woods Tower grad Kyle Lowry working as a coach with the Pilots.
Then I walked into St. Clair Shores Lakeview Jan. 21 and coach Steve Nicholl told me he had two new assistants, Mike Hissong and Jake Fisher.
It took me a minute to remember why the name Jake Fisher was familiar, but soon enough I realized Jake Fisher was Jacob Fisher, the Huskies' 2005-06 Division 2 145-pound state runner-up that I had covered.
Aside from high school athletes that I covered that are now coaches making me feel every one of my 29 years, they show one of the main reasons I enjoy covering wrestling — commitment.
Unlike any other sport, wrestling brings people together who must be of a like, and sometimes skewed, mind.
These folks enjoy literally taking beatings and call it practice. As the Warren Mott team Web site boasts, "Does your sport have blood time?"
Aside from all the perceived oddities that those outside the wrestling world see, those in it see something bigger than themselves and greater then the tough times that come with losing and the rigors of things like cutting weight.
As Warren Woods Tower coach Greg Mayer said of grapplers like Lowry, "Those guys eat, breath and sleep wrestling, and it's why Fisher admitted that even if he wasn't a paid assistant on the Huskies' staff, he would have been in the practice room anyway.
Guys like Lowry and Fisher returned to the sport so soon after their graduation because it means so much to them, and even though it makes me feel old, I'm glad they're doing it and helping to introduce a new generation to a sport they just can't stay away from.
Then I walked into St. Clair Shores Lakeview Jan. 21 and coach Steve Nicholl told me he had two new assistants, Mike Hissong and Jake Fisher.
It took me a minute to remember why the name Jake Fisher was familiar, but soon enough I realized Jake Fisher was Jacob Fisher, the Huskies' 2005-06 Division 2 145-pound state runner-up that I had covered.
Aside from high school athletes that I covered that are now coaches making me feel every one of my 29 years, they show one of the main reasons I enjoy covering wrestling — commitment.
Unlike any other sport, wrestling brings people together who must be of a like, and sometimes skewed, mind.
These folks enjoy literally taking beatings and call it practice. As the Warren Mott team Web site boasts, "Does your sport have blood time?"
Aside from all the perceived oddities that those outside the wrestling world see, those in it see something bigger than themselves and greater then the tough times that come with losing and the rigors of things like cutting weight.
As Warren Woods Tower coach Greg Mayer said of grapplers like Lowry, "Those guys eat, breath and sleep wrestling, and it's why Fisher admitted that even if he wasn't a paid assistant on the Huskies' staff, he would have been in the practice room anyway.
Guys like Lowry and Fisher returned to the sport so soon after their graduation because it means so much to them, and even though it makes me feel old, I'm glad they're doing it and helping to introduce a new generation to a sport they just can't stay away from.
Monday, January 12, 2009
New kids on the mat
Local wrestling teams would be well served to take notice of a brewing storm on Common Road in Warren.
The Warren De La Salle wrestling team, in its fourth season of existence after coach Dennis Parks started the team in 2005-06, has all the makings of what could be a major player in Macomb County.
Much like Pilots football coach Paul Verska changed the face of metro Detroit prep football when he turned the De La Salle gridiron program around, Parks seems poised to make a splash in the wrestling world.
He only has one grappler, junior 130-pounder Adam Masakowski, on his roster that had mat experience before stepping into the Pilots' wrestling room, but his team has already taken home the 2008-09 Warren City Championships and placed second in two other tournaments this year.
Because Parks pulled his team out of the county meet Dec. 20 because of a conflict with De La Salle's final exams schedule, no one will know how the Pilots measure up to the top teams in Macomb County until the Michigan High School Athletic Association team and individual district tournaments Feb. 18 and Feb. 21, respectively, but if the way wrestlers like senior 215-pounder Padriac Berlin attacks opponents is any indication, the Pilots could pull off a number of perceived upsets in districts and possibly regional tournaments.
Parks has enlisted the help of recent Warren Woods Tower grad Kyle Lowry as an assistant coach, a move that could be very shrewd.
As the Pilots fight to prove themselves in a crowded wrestling county, they could be very comparable to the Tower teams on which Lowry, his twin brother, Kenny, and current Old Dominion grappler and two-time state runner-up Brennan Brumley starred.
After all, just as coach Greg Mayer and former coach Pat Threet built the Titans from also-rans to regional champs, Parks has already built the Pilots from never-weres to city champions.
The Warren De La Salle wrestling team, in its fourth season of existence after coach Dennis Parks started the team in 2005-06, has all the makings of what could be a major player in Macomb County.
Much like Pilots football coach Paul Verska changed the face of metro Detroit prep football when he turned the De La Salle gridiron program around, Parks seems poised to make a splash in the wrestling world.
He only has one grappler, junior 130-pounder Adam Masakowski, on his roster that had mat experience before stepping into the Pilots' wrestling room, but his team has already taken home the 2008-09 Warren City Championships and placed second in two other tournaments this year.
Because Parks pulled his team out of the county meet Dec. 20 because of a conflict with De La Salle's final exams schedule, no one will know how the Pilots measure up to the top teams in Macomb County until the Michigan High School Athletic Association team and individual district tournaments Feb. 18 and Feb. 21, respectively, but if the way wrestlers like senior 215-pounder Padriac Berlin attacks opponents is any indication, the Pilots could pull off a number of perceived upsets in districts and possibly regional tournaments.
Parks has enlisted the help of recent Warren Woods Tower grad Kyle Lowry as an assistant coach, a move that could be very shrewd.
As the Pilots fight to prove themselves in a crowded wrestling county, they could be very comparable to the Tower teams on which Lowry, his twin brother, Kenny, and current Old Dominion grappler and two-time state runner-up Brennan Brumley starred.
After all, just as coach Greg Mayer and former coach Pat Threet built the Titans from also-rans to regional champs, Parks has already built the Pilots from never-weres to city champions.
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