By John Raffel
MaxPreps.com
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It couldn't be a better setup.
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It's the last weekend of the regular season and two teams in the Detroit area, Lake Orion and Clarkston, are playing each other. Both are 8-0 and the winner takes the Oakland Activities Association title.
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Chris Bell has had success in recent years in his coaching tenure with Lake Orion.
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"We were returning eight on offense and six on defense. We knew if they came together that we could have a pretty good team," Bell said. "We thought if we came together and stayed healthy, we could have a pretty good team. We've played well on defense and we're a big play team."
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Aaron Allen has had eight yards per carry for Lake Orion while quarterback Chris Lum has thrown for 25 touchdowns.
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"It will be a good football game," Bell said of the matchup with Clarkston. "They're obviously playing well. They have a good quarterback who runs well. It's a league championship game for them, too, and being that we're so close, this game could also determine home field advantage for the playoffs if we wind up meeting them."
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This weekend's game is at Clarkston, "but that doesn't matter," Bell said.
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The five-week playoffs start Oct. 27.
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"We can line up and play with anyone," Bell said. "But there are a lot of good football teams out there."
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Kurt Richardson is coaching the undefeated Clarkston.
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"The key is that we don't turn the ball over. Our defense has been good," Richardson said. "Our backs are running very well."
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Jimmy Popp is leading the team in rushing. Clarkston's biggest scare going into the Lake Orion game was a 14-11 win over Troy.
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"I thought we'd be a pretty good football team," Richardson said. "But I didn't know for sure. I thought we'd be OK."
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Sunday Spotlight
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Sunday is a big day for Michigan football teams. The state will announce pairings for the five-week, 256-team playoffs. Sunday morning, state officials will identify those teams that have won at least six games on a nine-game schedule or at least five games on a seven or eight-game schedule. That number usually winds up in the mid-240s.
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To get to 256 teams, the state awards a divisional number of slots to schools in the official school classification of A, B, C and D, If there are 244 teams that automatically qualify for three leftover spots, then the state goes to the top 5-4 teams in Class A according to computer rankings, three in Class B, etc.
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If it's not a divisible number by four, then the higher class gets a remaining leftover spot. If there are 242 automatic teams, for instance, and 14 leftover spots, it goes four in Class A, four in class B, three in C and three in D.
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When the 256 qualifiers are determined, they're split into eight divisions two according to enrollment. The schools with the highest enrollments are in Division 1 and those with the smallest are in Division 8.
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In each division, the state draws four geographical regions with eight teams in each. Each region is split into a two four-team districts. Teams are seed, one through four, according to their computer rating.
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Opening week of the playoffs, Oct. 27-28, feature the pre-districts, followed by district finals Nov. 3-4, the regional finals Nov. 10-11, the state semifinals Nov. 17-18 and the state finals at Ford Field in Detroit on Nov. 24-25.
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Girls Basketball
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Lansing Waverly is enjoying a 14-0 start in girls basketball and might be able to bring a state title to Michigan's capital this season.
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Frank Trotterÿ is in his fifth year as coach at Waverly, which won the state title in 2004.
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"We had 15 wins in a row that season," Trotter said. "The kids are playing good defense. We can go with eight to nine players a game."
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Key players have included shooting guard Britney Galloway, a junior, and 6-2 freshman Marissa Taylor. But two seniors are also playing well with Tiara Adams at 11 points and seven rebounds per game, and senior Jordan Dunn at 11 points, four steals and four assists per game.
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Waverly has had some close calls, including slipping past East Lansing, 43-38.
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"Ionia will be tough, Eaton Rapids too," Trotter said. "Our district tournament at the end of the year will be tough."
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Boys Golf
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The state finals for the Lower Peninsula in golf are also this weekend with four divisions. Two of the sites are at Michigan State's University Forest Akers Golf Courses, on the west and east side of campus.