For seniors such as McGraw, actually earning a playoff berth is important to his class. They don’t want any handouts or freebies this time around.
Michalsen is attempting to build a winning program at a place that has been historically challenging to win at. McGraw’s class wants to be the foundation for any future success the Cougars might have.
“I totally understand that (our team isn’t playing for a state championship in 2022),” McGraw added. “I texted coach and told him I fully realize we’re building something special here, and I’m OK with being the stepping-stone class so the next 10-15 years can be successful here. That’s why making the playoffs would mean a lot. It hasn’t been done in 5 years besides that COVID year. We’re just building something special for the younger kids coming up.”
Detroit Country Day junior Gabe Winowich rushed for two touchdowns during Saturday’s 35-10 homecoming victory over Flint Powers Catholic.
That puts him at around 700 yards and nine TDs rushing for the season (and the Yellowjackets had a bye in Week 5). Which is part of the reason Hometown Life included the running back on our mid-season Player of the Year watch list a week ago.
But the four-star isn’t getting recruited by big-time colleges to run the ball. Most of them want him to play on defense.
He’s listed as an athlete in 247Sports’ recruiting database. And plenty of schools have talked to him about playing defensive end, linebacker or strong safety.
But he’s still holding out hope he can catch on as a running back at the next level.
“I would love to run the ball in college,” he said. “I really believe that I can. Some people want me to play defense. But my whole thing is I’d like to have the ability to come on campus and have the ability to play running back. If I can’t prove myself, I have no problem playing defense. But I don’t know. The goal is to run the ball, and I think that I can.”
Winowich already holds offers from Maryland and Rutgers.
More interest will be coming. He’s already 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds. He’s built like a Division I player, for sure.
And he’s definitely built like a running back.
He has breakaway speed. He showed that on his 60-yard TD run to close out Saturday’s victory. And he’s slippery, which is something he also showed on the game’s second play, as he stumbled out of a few tackles, corrected course and raced 58 yards for a hard-fought TD.
Plus, he’s built like a Mack truck. He has no problem bowling over tacklers. But it’s also hard to overlook just how good of a tackler he is while playing defensive end.
“I’m not against playing defense, but my first choice is to run the football,” Winowich added. “I think I’ve got the speed for it. I was able to run a 4.49 (hand-timed 40-yard dash) at Notre Dame. I thought that was going to be pretty good enough, but they want me to play defense, so I don’t have an answer (about why teams aren’t recruiting me as a running back first).”
Winowich plans to make his college announcement next August before Country Day kicks off its 2023 season. Will he be committing as a linebacker or safety, or will he get his wish and land somewhere as a tailback?
Can the Maples finish the regular season undefeated?
Birmingham Seaholm (6-0, 3-0) should have no problem beating 2-4 Berkley in an Oakland Activities Association crossover matchup this week.
But the Maples have two challenging games to close out the regular season.
They face Farmington (4-2, 2-1) in Week 7. A win for Seaholm gives them a perfect record in the Blue and the outright championship. A win for the Falcons makes it a two-way tie between the two teams. Judging by how well the Maples performed in their shutout against Troy, last year’s OAA-Blue runner-ups, a week ago, they should be the favorite when they meet Farmington in two weeks.
But their regular-season finale should be a tougher one. Not only is it a rivalry game against Birmingham Groves (4-2) but these Falcons play in the tougher OAA-White. Groves should be more battle-tested against better opponents, considering it’ll enter the finale having already played against three-star QB Isaiah Marshall at Southfield A&T and Bloomfield Hills QB CJ Jackson, who led the Black Hawks to the OAA-Blue title in 2021.
But the fact we’re talking about Seaholm going undefeated in the regular season is wild considering the Maples were abysmal last year. They went 1-8 overall and scored seven or fewer points in four of their nine games.
Which Community Chest card will the Patriots pull from the deck of Monopoly cards?
Livonia Franklin’s season is shaking out a lot like a game of Monopoly.
The Patriots (6-0, 5-0) should be undefeated when they meet defending state champion Belleville (6-0, 5-0) in Week 8. On the line is the right to remain undefeated, the Kensington Lakes Activities Association-East championship and a chance to play in the KLAA championship (which will be a likely matchup against Brighton).
The Tigers seem almost unbeatable. Not only do they look better than last year’s Division 1 state title team but they also return a slew of future college football stars. That includes Bryce Underwood, the No. 1-ranked sophomore QB in the country, according to 247Sports.
It’s too early to rule out a Franklin upset because it is, indeed, possible of happening. Heck, Livonia Churchill was the only team to beat the Tigers a year ago, so why can’t the Patriots muster a similar kind of effort?
So how does this relate to Monopoly?
Beating Belleville will be a lot like drawing the “Advanced To Go (Collect $200)” card from the Community Chest. Doing so usually sets you up to have even more success down the road in the game.
Losing to Belleville will be a lot like drawing the “You Have Won Second Prize In A Beauty Contest (Collect $10)” card. Sure, finishing in second place in the KLAA-East is admirable. But who cares? Advancing to the KLAA championship is the main goal here.
Brandon Folsom covers high school sports in metro Detroit for Hometown Life. Follow him on Twitter @folsombrandonj .
