Plenty of D4 contenders in county
The Division 4 football ranks in Oakland County are elite.
Ortonville Brandon, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep and Birmingham Detroit Country Day are all contenders for long playoff runs in the COVID-19-truncated 2020 campaign.
They each debuted in The Oakland Press’ Top 10 this week.
Brandon (2-0) is coming off a resounding 41-28 win over Goodrich that propelled the Blackhawks into the driver’s seat in the race for the Flint Metro League (II) title.
The Brandon offense is humming, as second-year starter Micha Miller continues to blosso munder center and has emerged as one of the Flint Metro’ s prime time field generals the past two seasons. He threw for 183 yards and two scores in the Goodrich game. Receiver Brayton McQueen and slot back Jawon Slater forman elusive pair of weapons for Miller in the passing attack. Rugged all-state senior linebacker Peyton Gulledge paces the defense.
The Blackhawks went 8-3 in 2019 and dropped a 54-40 shootout to Notre Dame Prep in the district finals. Brandon head coach Brad Zube returned the bulk of his squad this year andthat was evident right off the bat when the Blackhawks blasted Owosso 70-0 two weeks ago to kickoff 2020.
“This is a veteran roster, we had a lot of guys coming back, so where we are after two weeks is meeting our expectations for ourselves more than anything,” Zube said. “We’re balanced on offense and the defense is getting after it, playing with a lot of emotion. Peyton (Gulledge) is as tenacious as they come sideline to sideline.”
NDP is just as dangerous as ever this fall and like Brandon unleashes a hidden gem at quarterback to spark a high-wattage offensive assault.
The Fighting Irish(2-0) popped Saginaw Heritage 38-0 to open the season and then roughed up Harper Woods 35-14 Friday night.
Senior signal-caller Jacob Bendtsen, maybe the most underrated quarterbacks in the county, is being recruited
heavily by GLIAC schools right now and has thrown nine touchdowns in the first two weeks of the season. Four of Bendtsen’s scoring tosses have found their ways into the hands of his favorite target, senior receiver Clayton Bone.
“Jacob (Bendtsen) has the field vision of a pro, he sees things develop and understands the game and the position with the best around,” NDP head coach Pat Fox said.
Country Day (1- 0) advanced into the Division 4 state finals last year, losing to Grand Rapids Catholic Central. On Saturday, Country Day beat Detroit U-D Jesuit 21-12.
Junior quarterback Brandon Mann is a durable dual threat starting to generate Division I college interest. His protection unit up front is formidable, led by Northwestern-commit Caleb Tiernan and Ivy League recruit Will Leggon.
Longtime Country Day head coach Dan MacLean knows this year is different than any other and prepares his club accordingly. Danny MacLean, the coach’s son, calls plays for the Yellowjackets’ defense fromhis hybrid linebacker-safety spot.
“The season is going to come down to a battle of attrition, physically and mentally,” he said. “My team has a knack for making key plays in big moments and rising to the occasion. That bodes well forus in this climate I think.”
Quote of the Week
“Whenever you put Catholic Central and Brother Rice out there, whatever sport it is, but especially football, it’s going to be an all-out brawl .... emotions run high, that’s because the rivalry means so much to everyone involved.”
— Novi Detroit Catholic Central senior wide receiver and captain Sam Dersa (Saginaw Valley State) after his Shamrocks bumped off Birmingham Brother Rice 1712 Saturday night in a renewal of the classic Catholic League rivalry series.