Friday Night Lights 2009: 9-1
Huge week for the Friday Night Lights feature, as nearly every Michigan commit kicked off the season this weekend, and Mgoblog was live and in person for four of the games (covering 6 of the commits). Players with MGoOriginal content will be at the top, and guys who haven't hit the field yet are towards the bottom. Without further ado, Friday Night Lights:
MI QB Devin Gardner
Last Week: Game Preview. Ann Arbor.com fluff. Inkster loses to Ann Arbor Pioneer 32-35. Article #2. Devin threw 10/14 for 97 yards and a touchdown, while running 16 times for 113 yards and a touchdown. See the MGoBlog review of Gardner, including a photo gallery and HD video.
This week: Inkster (0-1) @ East Kentwood on Thursday. MGoBlog might be in atendance. Hell, let's take a vote. Would you rather have more Devin video or some Austin White video from this coming Thursday?
MI WR Ricardo Miller
Last Week: Game Preview. Ann Arbor Pioneer defeats Inkster 35-32. Article #2. Ricardo caught 3 passes for 70 yards. Photo gallery and scouting report never really got published, because there was actually too much(!) content for MGoBlog to handle this weekend, so you'll have to suffer through the MgoHighlights:
This Week: Dexter @ Ann Arbor Pioneer (1-0). MGoBlog will either be at this game, or the Huron/Tecumseh game. Leave your preference in the comments.
OH WR Jerald Robinson
Last Week: Canton South fell to Dover 14-27. Jerald caught 2 passes for 6 yards, returned one kickoff for 15 yards, and made 1 solo tackle and 6 assisted tackles. See the MGoBlog report from the game, including video.
This Week: Canton South (0-1) @ Canfield.
MI WR/TE Jeremy Jackson
Last Week: Ann Arbor Huron fell to Chelsea 35-29. Jeremy had 6 receptions for 86 yards, including a 48-yarder. He also added 3 tackles and 6 assisted tackles from his free safety spot (where he actually looked pretty good, at least at the high school level). Original MGoHighlights:
This Week: Tecumseh @ Ann Arbor Huron (0-1). MGoBlog will either be at this game, or the Pioneer/Dexter game. Leave your preference in the comments.
OH DT Terry Talbott
Last Week: Wayne defeats Cincinnati Princeton 21-4. MGoBlog was there, and you can see the photos here:
We're still having a slight delay on the HD video, but it will be posted when available. Terry finished with 8.5 tackles, 4.5 for loss (18 yards). He also had 1.5 sacks (11 yards) and 2 QB hurries.
This Week: Huber Heights Wayne (1-0) @ Canton McKinley on Saturday.
OH CB Terrence Talbott
Last Week: Wayne defeats Cincinnati Princeton 21-4. MGoBlog was there, and you can see the photo gallery above.
This Week: Huber Heights Wayne @ Canton McKinley.
SC QB Cornelius Jones
Last Week: Spartanburg defeats Union 35-0.
"Jones ran for touchdowns of 3, 1 and 3 yards and completed 6 of 7 passes for 91 yards and a touchdown."
“He’s a very athletic quarterback and you have to give Spartanburg credit, they just took it to us,” Union County coach David Lipsey said.
As with last week, Clarence Beeks gives us the dish.
This Week: Spartanburg (1-1) @ Northwestern.
Season Totals:
| Cornelius Jones 2009 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||
| Game | Result | Comp | Att | Yds | TD | Int | % | Yds/Att | Rush | Yds | TD | Avg |
| Dorman | L 7-20 | 7 | 24 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 29.17 | 1.75 | ||||
| Union | W 35-0 | 6 | 7 | 91 | 1 | 0 | 85.71 | 13.00 | 9 | 63 | 4 | 7.00 |
| Dorman | L 7-20 | 13 | 31 | 133 | 0 | 0 | 41.94 | 4.29 | 9 | 63 | 4 | 7.00 |
MI RB Austin White
Last Week: Stevenson falls to crosstown rival Franklin 7-21. Austin has 14 carries for 64 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown for the Spartans' only points. Rivals has video of White's performance. Be forewarned, though - it caused my browser to lock up once.
This Week: Howell @ Livonia Stevenson (0-1) on Thursday. Leave comments on whether you'd rather have MGoBlog at this game, or Devin's game in Grand Rapids on Thursday.
TX RB Stephen Hopkins
Last Week: Marcus pounded Grapevine 62-28. Boxscore. Hopkins had 13 carries for 78 yards and touchdowns of 4 and 6 yards.
This Week: Plano West @ Marcus (1-0).
OH WR/S DJ Williamson
Last Week: Harding tied Shaw 24-24. Second article. No mention of Williamson in either paper.
This Week: Chaney @ Warren G. Harding (0-0-1).
OH OL Christian Pace
Last Week: Season preview fluff. Avon Lake upset 28-16.
This Week: Avon Lake (0-1) @ Brunswick
OH LB Antonio Kinard
Last Week: Liberty defeats East 17-6.
This Week: Niles @ Liberty (1-0).
OH CB Courtney Avery
Last Week: Lexington led 7-3 when the game was suspended due to weather:
When the game was suspended, Avery was 6 of 7 passing for 91 yards with one TD and one interception.
Once the game resumed, he picked up where he left off, leading to a 42-17 victory.:
The Minutemen had big plays throughout the game as Avery connected on 18 of 28 passes for 278 yards and three TDs, including scoring connections to Kenya Coombs (53 yards), Brian Byrne (28 yards) and Kevin 
The touchdown was a 53-yarder.
This Week: Mart @ Lexington (1-0).
TX RB Tony Drake
Last Week: Skyline's season doesn't open up until this Friday.
This Week: Kimball @ Skyline.
LA Slot WR Drew Dileo
Last Week: Dileo's season doesn't start until the 11th.
This Week: Dileo's season doesn't start until the 11th.
PA DE Ken Wilkins
Last Week: Season preview fluff. Individual preseason fluff:
"He's an unbelievable physical talent," Trinity coach Ed Dalton said. "He's very muscular, and he has a 28-inch waist. He looks like an NFL player today. He's not going to take a year in college to get that physical look. He already has it. He's blessed physically."
...
"[Committing early to Michigan] was a relief off my shoulders," Wilkins said. "I found out where I wanted to go, and there was no point in letting the pressure build up. It was a good position to be in to be wanted by all those schools, but I wanted to do what was best for me."
Trinity's regular season has not started yet.
This Week: Canon-McMillian @ Trinity.
PA DE Jordan Paskorz
Last Week: Season preview fluff. Individual preseason fluff:
A hybrid defensive end/linebacker, Paskorz has carved a reputation as one of the WPIAL's elite players. Various blog writers question how elite...
"Everyone is entitled to their own wrong opinions," DeMatteo said. "Honestly, I can only base mine from working with the kid, but it's hard to find a player of his caliber. He worked hard, he devoted time early in the morning and he didn't miss workouts [ed - too soon?]. Jordan has been a quiet leader, and at least to me, he's exemplified what a Division I player should be."
What isn't questioned is Paskorz's athleticism. His muscular frame -- and the potential to add more bulk -- is evident. He runs a 40-yard dash in about 4.7 seconds and can dunk a basketball from a standing position. Paskorz, who also plays tight end, had nine sacks for a Talbots squad that struggled to a 1-8 finish in 2008.
This Week: Hampton @ Blackhawk
FL S Marvin Robinson
Last Week: Season preview fluff:
Anchoring that secondary will be senior safety Marvin Robinson, who Reynolds called "one of the best players in the school's history."
The article goes on to mention that he is being recruited by schools like Ohio State and Michigan. OK, but which one has he committed to, moron?
This Week: Lake Region @ Winter Haven.
Is it just me, or does anyone else think that a tie in major high school football is weird? Because I don't know about you guys, but where I'm from we do college style overtime for varsity games.
The first linked article explains the tie: Harding tied the game with 21 seconds left, and then there was a lightning delay that stretched on long enough for them to call the game as it stood.
sgtwolverine.com
Go to Inkster vs. EK. Devin Gardner is more fun to watch highlights of than AW and it should be a better game too. Sounds like a no brainer to me.
I live within 15 minutes of EK. Their stadium is top-notch, their team is pretty good (if only on the offense), so we would be able to watch a good game. Gardner should play really well against them.
Kittens help make the pain go away.
Will they be coming back? I liked that feature at Varsity Blue. Then I didn't have to worry at all about other team's recruiting because you would provide me with a weekly summary.
I would like to see some Austin White highlights so we can see how he looks.
I think there might have been an update in Parkview Baptist's schedule. It seemed odd to me that they wouldn't be starting until the 11th since the Jamboree's were this weekend. In LA, a Jamboree is a glorified scrimmage, with actual results reported in the papers. Parkview won theirs 40-0 (http://www.2theadvocate.com/sports/preps/56002952.html)
I then clicked on the week 1 schedule for games to be played this weekend and Parkview Baptist has a home game scheduled. There was also a small blurb on this confirming the scheduled game in an article on the upcoming games.
http://www.2theadvocate.com/sports/preps/56117782.html
http://www.2theadvocate.com/sports/preps/56119012.html
Go Dexter v Pioneer. As a former Tecumseh grad, I can tell you that the team this year has nobody to match up with Jackson in the secondary so expect greater than normal numbers. Tecumseh is young and inexperienced and I would be shocked if Jackson doesnt go for 2 TD's and over 100. Save watching Tecumseh until they have a home game against someone....at least you will get to see the new monstrous stadium. Go to Dexter v Pioneer
Did Tecumseh actually build the new stadium? I know the old one was condemned last year and they had plans for a new stadium, but I didn't know they'd built it.
sgtwolverine.com
agreed, Austin White is my vote.
I would love to hear from someone who is better at evaluating talent than I am, but from the videos of Jackson and Miller, I thought Jackson looked better.
Miller is probably a better blocker, but Jackson looks much quicker in and out of cuts, which should help him get better separation than Miller.
I am a little bit confused because in his junior video Miller looked faster than he did in this one.
I don't know, maybe I am missing something.
Either way, Ricardo is my favorite recruit this year, but I could see him being moved to linebacker.
Also, Nick Hill looks like Mike Hart in almost every except that he FUMBLES. Just thought I would throw that out there.
Q: Why did the actuary put it in his will to be buried in Israel?
A: The chances of resurrection are better there.
Hill has been reliable over the last three years -- he's really not that much of a fumbler. I'm not sure why he was so fumbly on Saturday.
sgtwolverine.com
Dexter wears Michigan helmets with Minnesota colors. Will that affect your decision?
sgtwolverine.com
I was at the Gardner game on Saturday night. His side-arm throwing technique has really diminished over the offseason. He has a good zip on the ball and seems to be very patient, looking at several of his options before picking a receiver, or even more exciting, scrambling out of the pocket for a gain. Two of his incomplete passes were hailmarys at the end of each half, so that stat is not as bad as it appears. I know he is a man amongst boys right now, but it was nonetheless exciting to see him running and stiff-arming opposing players in their helmets as he ran by them.
I commented on the CIL on Saturday that he reminded me of Pryor, but not just as fluid in his running, but the more that I think about it and watch video, it's Vince Young, without the metal issues, that Devin looks like. I really wish he would enroll early.
I have a Fandom Endurance III merit badge
But actually, i don't care. I will be at that game anyway because my nephew plays for Pioneer.
caw caw
Infinity can only happen once. Think about that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwGXMryTbwE
Be at the game as well for the other side (lil Bro), So I would vote the other way.
P.S. I think all the games are Thursday this week for the holiday weekend. So anyone planning to attend any games keep this in mind.
~rlc
Chelsea is still listed as Friday, so I don't think all the schools have altered their schedules for the holiday weekend.
sgtwolverine.com
Make sure to double check though! Dexter vs Pioneer is listed as Friday, Sept 4th as well. However, since my little brother is on the team I am quite sure it is actually on Thursday the 3rd.
EDIT: mlive did update the date for Dexter v Pioneer game now.
~rlc
East Kentwood is within a mile and a half of my house... might just have to make the trip over there to check Devin out.
I was going to say the same thing. I live within 15 minutes of there. BFF's?
or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.
MORE DEVIN HD VIDEO!
That would be sweet! ROAD TRIP!
"A house divided against itself cannot stand"
UM should release a show called Sunday Night Lights and basically it's a rip-off of Big Brother featuring Barwis as the voice in the control room. same setup applies: a bunch of young people locked in a facility forced to do tasks for rewards.
I'd like to see some Austin White video. I love having the Gardner videos, but we've seen a billion of them, while we've only seen bits and pieces of White.
...and by that, I mean helter-skelter, willy-nilly and putt-putt!