Oak Park make most of playoff opportunity
OAK PARK » Things have all fallen into place quite nicely for the Oak Park Knights in the playoffs.
After not winning a regularseason game, the Knights are playing their best football when it counts the most. They certainly have the roster — dotted with college-level talent at nearly every position — to do some serious damage. And they have.
The fact that in any other season, the Knights wouldn’t have had this chance isn’t lost on them.
“We’re lucky, we got right at the right time, we came together as a team before it was too late, and because of the shortened season, we were still alive when the playoffs started,” Oak Park head coach Greg Carter said. “I think that makes the impact of what we’ve been able to do even bigger than it would be in a normal year. We’re energized by that.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MHSAA made it so every team in the state qualified for the postseason. Oak Park (36) took full advantage and has reeled off three straight wins. The
Knights will square off with Livonia Churchill (6-2) in a Division 2 regional title bout when the playoffs resume from its 3-week pause in mid-December.
Carter has won four state championships in his career as a head coach, but has never made it past the regionals at the helm of the Oak Park program. The crazy, unpredictable 2020 campaign seems as good as any to take that next step.
“We took a lot of beat downs to figure ourselves out as a group,” he said. “We never turned on each other though. There was no finger pointing, no blame game. We owned our mess and then we went about cleaning it up. We did it together and we did it with hard work. At a certain point, we just decided we were going to be a tough out in the playoffs regardless of our record. We knew everybody was getting in, so we said
why not us? Now, we’re clicking.”
Getting a pair of star players back from injury for the playoff push helped the cause substantially. Se
nior lineman and Michigan State- commit Rayshaun Benny and senior linebacker and Miami (OH)commit Marlon Dawson are playing like young men possessed, sparking the entire defensive unit with their hard-hitting and enthusiasm. Toledo- commit Jaylin Mines has moved
from free safety to a “viper” spot and senior wide receiver Ky’Shaun Jackson has slid into a cornerback slot without missing a beat.
On offense, James Burnley is making strides at quarterback after a regular-season full of growing pains. Michigan State-commit Davion Primm is rush
ing the football with poise and purpose that seemed missing in September and wide receiver Amari Harris is having a breakout playoff run stretching the field as Burnley’s top target in the passing game.
“We’ve turned the corner, guys are stepping up,” Carter said.