Walled Lake Western’s Robert Hudson before his team game against Northville on Monday, September 9, 2016, at Warriors Stadium in Walled Lake, MI.
One of the biggest surprises of Week 8 was DeWitt’s margin of victory over visiting Menominee. Beating the Maroons was one thing, but the 48-14 score was eye-catching.
“They’re still a very good football team,” DeWitt coach Rob Zimmerman said. “I think we’ve gotten a lot better. I think it’s a combination of the two. We played about as well as we could play.”
A year ago, DeWitt traveled to the U.P. to play at Menominee and lost, 40-35. That Menominee team lost in the Div. 5 regional final to eventual state champ Grand Rapids West Catholic.
“Their kids are the same way they were last year — really salty, tough kids and they’ve got a couple of good skill kids,” Zimmerman said. “We’re really good up front. Our defensive front seven is very good and physically they got us in the second half. This year we’ve got a lot of those same kids back and so we did a real good job up front on them and that was the difference.”
DeWitt is 7-1 and ranked No. 5 in Division 3. Its lone blemish is a 28-21 loss in Week 2 to Division 1 Grand Ledge. The Panthers lost in the district final the last two seasons after finishing runner-up in 2013.
Leading the Panthers is J.D. Ross, a talented two-way player at receiver, running back and defensive back.
DeWitt could be in for a long tournament run this fall.
Son of Swami’s Week 9 high school football picks
Purdue coaching change could alter Hudson’s plans
It didn’t take long for Rob Hudson’s phone to begin ringing again.
Hudson, Walled Lake Western’s massive 6-foot-8, 310-pound offensive tackle, committed to Purdue, but college coaches began calling when Purdue coach Darrell Hazell was fired this week.
Cincinnati, which had offered Hudson a scholarship, was the first to call and others followed.
“Yeah, a few of them have called,” Hudson said. “I haven’t really said much. They just wanted to see how everything was going.”
Hudson is listening to other college coaches and is keeping his options open.
“Honestly, I’m not even sure what I’m going to do,” he said. “I’m just trying to see what’s going to happen. You never know, I might not even have a spot with the new person there. We’ll see what happens.”
It isn’t unusual for new coaches not to honor offers made by the previous coach, but every team needs a left tackle, especially one with the size and talent of Hudson.
Football: Walled Lake Western could claim final KLAA title
De La Salle’s Rescigno gets starting nod at Rutgers
Rutgers is changing starting quarterbacks and coach Chris Ash is going local.
Warren De La Salle grad Gio Rescigno, a redshirt sophomore, will make his first career start Saturday at Minnesota when he replaces Chris Laviano, who has started the previous 18 games for Rutgers (2-5).
Last week, Rescigno came off the bench and completed 10 of 18 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown in a 24-7 loss to Illinois.
Rescigno’s only full season as a starting quarterback was his senior season at De La Salle. He did start three games as a junior when senior Shane Morris was diagnosed with mononucleosis.
Week 9 high school football schedule
Coach of the Week
Bloomfield Hills coach Dan Loria is this week’s Detroit Lions/Farm Bureau Insurance Michigan High School Coach of the Week. Last week, Bloomfield Hills defeated Berkley, 42-16, to improve to 8-0 and clinch the OAA Blue championship. A former Grosse Pointe South assistant, this is Loria’s 16th season as head coach and this will be his ninth playoff appearance.