By John Raffel
MaxPreps.com
Summer is over in Michigan. It's time for football.
Football teams from across the state start their three-week preseason when practices open Monday, Aug. 6. Full-contact scrimmages are played toward the end of the second week, Aug. 16-18.
The season openers are Aug. 23-25. The five-week playoff tournament starts in late October with the eight state championship games at Detroit's Ford Field on Thanksgiving weekend.
Teams have wrapped up a summer of conditioning, weight-lifting and camps.
"All three levels are wrapped up. We will start two-a-days next week and we are excited to get going," said Greenville football Coach Dave Moore, echoing the thoughts of other coaches. "We still have a lot of work to do."
Many teams go to off-campus sites for their first three days of practices when pads are not allowed, and stay overnight for a few days to improve the bonding process.
Carson City-Crystal, for instance, a Lansing-area school, will practice on the front grounds at a nearby community college.
"On Friday night we'll have an intra-squad Blue and Gold game at the field to give all the kids a chance to play each other," Carson-Crystal coach Terry Johnson said.
Teams to Watch
As teams get ready for the regular season, some of the top coaches are taking a crack at guessing who might be the teams to beat.
Not surprisingly, they avoid mentioning their own team, hoping to avoid bulletin board material for the opposition.
Lowell's Noel Dean has had two state champions within the past five years and has usually been ranked high in preseason ratings. But Dean doesn't expect his Grand Rapids-area school to get ranked high in the preseason since his lineup was decimated by graduation. He's even suggesting that Greenville, a team that has not beaten Lowell since 1994, might be the favorite in his conference, the OK White.
"In our area, Hudsonville and Caledonia, plus Greenville will be tough," Dean said. "Greenville should have one of the better teams they've put together in a long time."
Despite his program's long-time tradition of being a power, Dean is downplaying his teams prospects.
"This is a year when we'll have to be very healthy and patient," Deane said. "We graduated a lot of great kids last year including an all-state quarterback. We're hoping for the best."
So are other coaches including several in the southeast part of the state.
"We'll be rebuilding but we should be competitive," said Detroit Denby Tech & Prep High School coach Drake Wilkins. "We'll hang in there with anybody. But Detroit Cass Tech and Detroit Martin Luther King will be tough. Parity will be better in the Detroit City League."
Tony Patritto, coach of another southeast Michigan school, Rocheter Adams, has the attitude that his team could be a championship contender.
"We have 16 total starters back," Patritto said. "We're excited. But there's tough teams like Farmington Hills Harrison that you always have to watch out for. Birmingham Brother Rice and Orchard Lake St. Mary are also usually there. The kids worked hard to get in shape during the summer to get ready for the season.
"All of our skilled starters are back so we should be strong. Our defense will be our biggest strength."
Jack Giarmo, who coaches at Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central, located between Detroit and the Ohio border, expects Carrollton Airport to be a state power. But with the season three weeks away, he's taking a cautious attitude like most other coaches.
"Our kids are working hard and we'll get there," Giarmo said. "This team has good attitudes and a good work ethic."
Farmington Hills Harrison Tradition
While Farmington Hills Harrison goes after a state record 13th state title this season, Harrison alum Drew Stanton may be able to attend more games than he had anticipated.
Stanton, who led Harrison to state championship successes earlier this decade, played at Michigan State and was the second draft pick of the Detroit Lions with hopes of contending for playing time. But he was injured in preseason practices - with his former high school coach John Herrington on the scene several times as a spectator - and is expected to be out for several weeks, perhaps the entire season.
"The biggest thing is that I won't be able to do anything for the team," Stanton said. "But I still should be able to go to practices. There's still a lot I can get accomplished."
In his own words, Stanton explained why Harrison has one of Michigan's top football traditions under Herrington.
"He was real big on emphasizing the team and that no one came before the team. He was good at teaching the fundamentals," Stanton said. "In high school, I learned how to understand defenses. I learned how to run the show."
In his senior season at Harrison, Stanton connected on 132-of-196 attempts (67.3 percent) for 2,822 yards and 31 touchdowns. His passing yards and scoring touchdowns marked the fifth-best single-season totals in state history.
"Anytime you're around a winning program, you try to take things that helps you learn how to win in an organization and go from there," Stanton said.
Big Man's Camp a Success
Tom Wells was a happy man last weekend.
Wells was involved in the second annual Big Man's Camp, conducted by former Detroit Lion and seven-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Lomas Brown July 25-27 at Wayne State University football stadium in Detroit.
The camp was designed for high school offensive and defensive linemen and showed them proper training, nutrition and technique.
Wells said he, Brown and other camp staff members will soon be looking at possibly expanding the camp across Michigan. There were 35 youngsters at the camp.
"We showed them a lot of techniques," Wells said. "Most of then were from the greater Detroit area. We had a few from outlying areas. We will eventually take the camp to the Lansing and Detroit areas. There's an interest in it.
"We also had a guy who came in and showed the players how to put together a handbook and tie it in to what their GPA, and ACT and SAT needed to be."
Wells was impressed with Brown's commitment to the camp.
"He was at the camp all three days," Wells said. "He did the drills with the kids and everything. He's really hands on. Lomas still lives in Detroit. He gives a lot back to the community."
Basketball All-Stars
The Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan is hosting its 28th annual All-Star Festival this weekend at Brighton High School near Ann Arbor. It features the top senior Michigan high school boys and girls basketball players from the 2006-07 season.
The girls Class C and D game starts off the day, followed by the girls Class A and B game, the boys Class C and D game and the boys Class A and B game.
Among the players invited to participate was Corperryale Harris of Detroit Redford.
Fall Sports Start Dates
Girls golf practices can start on Aug. 9. The first matches begin Aug. 13.Cross country and tennis start practices Aug. 13 and can also have competition that day.All other sports also start practices on the 13th.Soccer begins playing games Aug. 20, girls volleyball can have matches Aug. 24 and girls swimming and diving can get under way on Aug. 25.An estimated 120,000 athletes across the state will be partaking in Michigan fall sports.