Detroit Cass Tech receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones
Detroit Cass Tech will have more than enough skill players to compete for a Division 1 state title. The Technicians’ Jaylen Kelly-Powell and Donovan Peoples-Jones are two of the most gifted players in the state and could play offense and defense.
But the key to the season could be how well offensive right tackle Jordan Reid and the offensive and defensive lines come together.
Reid, Kelly-Powell and Peoples-Jones were at the Detroit Sports Commission Prep Kickoff Classic Fowling Tournament Wednesday in Hamtramck.
“It’s coming together well; we have a lot of guys that are willing to play and a lot of guys that want to play,” Peoples-Jones said. “They want to be out there to represent Cass Tech. Jordan is the leader. He’s really good. He’s really technical, he’s smart, and he knows what he’s doing out there. He wants to win, too.”
Reid, a Michigan State commit, will be responsible for protecting senior quarterback Rodney Hall’s blind side. Hall is a left-hander.
“The offensive line at Cass Tech this year is going to be pretty good,” Reid said. “We have some juniors coming back from last year that are going to play. I was a junior last year and started. We still have the same size as we did last year. Maybe an inch or two shorter. Other than that, we’re going to be a powerhouse.”
■ Top of the park: Tom Danosky has taken over at Allen Park. He played and coached under retired coach Tom Hoover as a quarterback in 1996, so he knows the program’s expectations and doesn’t plan to change a whole lot.
“Coach hired me in 2002,” Danosky said. “The whole staff is pretty much staying on board. I hired one other guy that I played with. I played for Hoover his first year as head coach. I’m going to try to keep going what he had going.
“We have a great tradition. We have a lot of kids that have worked real hard. All effort. They give 100% every day, and the kids buy in. The kids, from a small age, have looked up to the kids that have played varsity football. They want to be part of the tradition and part of that Jag lettering. We get good results.”
Danosky inherits a team featuring 17 seniors, with Antonio Mangiapane and Tyler Beachnau leading the way.
■ And the winner is: Southfield Arts and Technology, the merged high school of Southfield and Southfield-Lathrup, defeated Dearborn Fordson for the tournament title.
Contact Perry A. Farrell: 313-222-2555 or pafarrell@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @farrellperry.
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