Michigan State takes on No. 3 Ohio State
Mt. Pleasant seems pretty darn attractive this time of year.
Novi Detroit Catholic Central football star Bruno Guberinich changed gears in his college recruitment last week, de-committing from Division II Grand Valley State and committing to play at the Division I level for Central Michigan.
Guberinich (6-5, 280) is an All-Catholic League selection on the defensive line. He had originally committed to GVSU back in the summer.
“It wasn’t an easy decision, Grand Valley State is a great football program,” he said. “I was excited that they saw me as an asset for the future of their team.”
A chance to compete in the DI football ranks was something Guberinich just couldn’t walk away from though. The opportunity came as a shock.
“Hearing from Central Michigan was a complete surprise,” Guberinich said. “I’ve been playing football since I was in the third grade and playing DI football is a goal I’ve always hoped to achieve. I’m very happy with the chance to go up to Mt. Pleasant and make an impact.”
Guberinich’s Catholic Central prep squad is sporting a perfect record (9- 0). The Shamrocks won the CHSL Central title and are ready to go toe-to-toe with defending state champion Davison in the regional championship when the playoffs resume on Dec. 15-16. Guberinich has already netted 65 tackles in the shortened season.
“Time to finish what we started,” he said.
Catholic Central finished the regular season as the No. 6 team in the state according to the Associated Press poll. The tradition-steeped Shamrocks program is gunning for its first trip to the state finals in four seasons.
Filling new roles
Personnel changes on the football field at West Bloomfield and Oak Park have aided in propelling the Lakers and Knights on long playoff runs.
West Bloomfield’s All-American running back Donovan Edwards is taking half of his team’s snaps at quarterback, some out of the wildcat formation, some under center, some out of the shotgun. Edwards scored six first-half touchdowns in West Bloomfield’s 63-6 throttling of Sterling Heights in a Division 1 district championship game.
Oak Park turned its season around in the playoffs thanks to three key shifts in the lineup:
• Michigan State- commit Rayshaun Benny returned to the field after battling an injury and has slotted nicely at a rush end spot. Benny is headed to East Lansing as a tackle.
• Toledo-commit Jaylin Mines moved from safety to the viper, a hybrid defensive back and linebacker position.
• Senior wide receiver Ky’Shaun Jackson changed sides of the ball and is now starting at cornerback.
After not winning a single contest in the regular season, Oak Park (3-6) is riding a threegame hot streak into the Division 2 regionals finals against Livonia Churchill.
Tweets of the week
“Let’s go get a ring,” — Novi Catholic Central junior quarterback Declan Byle on getting back to work and preparing for the rest of the playoffs
“Don’t count the days, make the days count,” — Oak Park senior linebacker Marlon Dawson (Miami OH)