Football
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Fame For The Game – Getting It Done Do-or-Die Style
Burney’s “Game Balls” from this past weekend football playoff slate of district championships:
The Birmingham Groves defense – All Burney can say is WOW!!!…..The Falcons made it look easy with their 24-0 smashing of Birmingham Brother Rice for a D2 title, the program’s first takedown of Rice on the gridiron in more than a half century. Pound-for-pound, could be the No. 1 unit in the entire state…..Yeah, I Said It!!!! Jake Zanolli doesn’t get enough love, so I’m gonna give him a pigskin power shout out for his 8 tackles Friday
The Max & Jack Show (Utica Eisenhower) – This Eagles squad is straight flammable, evidenced by quarterback Max Wittwer and running back Jack Provencher in Ike’s 42-7 dropkicking of MAC Red-rival Macomb Dakota Friday night in D1 action. Wittwer threw for 145 and ran for another 110 yards, scoring twice (once through the air, once on the ground), while Jack Provencher bruised and battered the Cougars’ D by chewing up 142 yards and finding the end zone four times. Now, that’s a TIRELESS TANDEM of SWAGGERING BALLERS & SHOT CALLERS on and off the field if I’ve ever seen one
Mike “Mr. Nasty” Niehaus (Royal Oak Shrine) – Can you saw RAW POWER? Just plain NASTY AS HE WANTS 2 B sideline-to-sideline on both sides of the rock, caught the go-ahead touchdown and tallied a game-high 15 tackles in the Knights’ 49-25 clobbering of Clarkston Everest Collegiate Saturday afternoon in a D8 district final.
Lorenzo McCaskill (Southfield A&T) – Big Bad L-Mack was doing all kinds of damage in the Warriors’ 41-6 blasting of West Bloomfield, rushing for 131 yards and three touchdowns, two on runs of 55 yards or more (55, 60) on offense and locking down 9 tackles, two hurries and a sack on defense for the Cincinnati-bound outside linebacker. Who knew this McKILLER was such a Walter Payton-clone carrying the pill?
Jack Dodge (Walled Lake Western) – Broke the school’s all-time career interception record, charting a pair in his team’s 41-16 pile-driving of Pinckney to give him a total of 16 in his tenure manning the secondary for Western. This kid is the definition of a ball hawk and a leader. Let’s call him "The Equalizer." He’s proven the ultimate difference-maker on defense for Team Z these glorious last two seasons. If he’s not first-team all-state in Division 2 I’d be shocked.
Theo Day (Dearborn Divine Child) – Receives Burney’s “cool as the other side of my pillow award,” after torching Redford Union for 245 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 31-7 romp out of De. The fastest-rising field general prospect in the state for a reason. Can you say limitless ceiling at the college level? Can you say a local prep version of Matt Stafford?
