Last year’s column was a big success, so this year I’ll be doing it again. I’m trimming down the column and it’ll consist of only high school sports this year. I’ll be posting this every Monday morning to recap from the previous week. Thanks for all the reads last year. Hope you guys enjoy.

1. Fraser Soccer Starts Off Strong

This is the 4th year Fraser boys soccer has been led by coach Thaier Mukhtar and they are already off to a great start. The team is now 9-0-1 after winning all 3 games at the Fraser Showcase last Saturday.

Fraser won their first two games of the day by a combined score of 10-0 as they defeated Dearborn 3-0 and Pontiac 7-0. They wound up giving their first and only goal of the showcase to Henry Ford II’s Javier Steinwascher with under 14 minutes to go in the second half of the Championship game.

Fraser would end up winning the game on a penalty kick by Austin Rassey with 4:32 left in the game. Rassey has come a long way since his neck injury last October in Fraser’s Regional Finals game vs Bloomfield Hills and has been a huge contributor on defense this year. He will be a key member of the team as the try to make another run at the State Title this fall.

Fraser seniors Jordan Hogard (4 goals), Austin Rassey (2 goals) Matt Trombley, and Nick Sharpe all scored for the Ramblers during the tournament. Other contributors were Andre Eaton, Connor Piccolo, and Nate Dubay (2 goals).

Fraser’s goalie John Steffes recorded his 7th and 8th shutouts of the year. John has some big shoes to fill this year after the graduation of Alec Sharpe, who currently owns the record for shutouts in a season, which Alec set last year. Steffes is about on pace where Sharpe was at this time last year. Through Sharpe’s first 12 games he recorded 10 shutouts, while John has 8 shutouts through 10 games.

That number could bump up to 9 shutouts as Fraser travels to Chippewa Valley tonight at 7pm to take on the Big Reds. This will be their first conference game of the year in the MAC Red.

2. Fraser Football Shutout in Home Opener

It’s been a tough year for Fraser football. After going to the Division 1 Playoffs last fall, the Ramblers have seen their previous coach, Patrick Threet, leave to coach The Lakeview Huskies (his 2nd stint with the team). They scrambled to find a new coach as the summer started and finally found one this July in Fraser math teacher Jon Skladanowski.

Fraser played their home opener last Friday after having played road games at Utica and Cousino the previous 2 weeks. They were shutout by the Norsemen of Grosse Pointe North. The offense had difficultly moving the chains and were unable to get the run game or pass game going Friday night.

Skladanowski and his team have gotten off to a horrific start of 0-3. They have yet to find many bright spots other than the emergence of the defensive line and sophomore quarterback Ian Casey. Both have played better than expected this season after losing key players to graduation last Spring.

While the defense had been atrocious the first two games, giving up a combined 74 points, there was much improvement as they only surrendered 12 points to GPN. If the defense can play like they did Friday by limiting points, big plays, and forcing turnovers, then this young team should be able to rack up a few wins.

The offense looked terrible Friday night after two solid showings against decent opponents in previous weeks. The Ramblers haven’t been shutout since September 30, 2011 when they were trounced 35-0 by Marine City. The offensive line was unable to create running lanes Friday night and had a lot of trouble when it came to pass blocking. Casey was sacked multiple times on 3rd down causing the offense to punt and give good field position to the Norsemen.

This team starts and ends with their lines on both sides of the ball and if the offensive line can’t get it going, this team won’t be putting numbers up on the board.

The team needs to improve on 3 things this year if they want to have any chance at winning games in the future.

They must fix the offensive line. You can’t win games without run and pass blocking, which is something this year’s offensive line is lacking.

Pass coverage is another problem for this year’s team. Too many times throughout the last 2 games have teams been able to pass on the Ramblers at will. Cousino was able to score at using screens and slant passes to create easy opportunities while the Norsemen took a different approach using a lot of play action and short passes to get in the ball in their receivers hands.

The most important thing though is the play calling. Coach Skladanowski has made some interesting calls during the Ramblers’ first 3 games and has already come under fire by many fans and parents. The play calling towards the end of the game against Utica was called into question when Sklad opted to kick a field goal on fourth down, down by 10 late in the fourth quarter. The field goal was missed and the Ramblers chance to make it a game had flown out the window. The shaky play calling was only further supported when the Ramblers couldn’t score vs the Norsemen. Skald must find creative ways to put points on the board when the offense is stalling. If not, this team could be looking at a winless season.

The Ramblers (0-3) will host Sterling Heights Stevenson (2-1) Friday night in a non-conference game.

3. Warren Mott Upsets Dakota 

Dakota has become a staple of excellence for public school football since entering the MAC Red in 2001. They’ve either won or shared the MAC Red title 7 times in the last 14 years, including being 3x MAC Red  defending champs heading into this season. They have yet to miss the playoffs since entering the MAC’s highest division in 2001.

Rarely have they been called underdogs over the past few years and that didn’t changed going into Friday night’s game against conference foe, Warren Mott. What did happen was shocking. Warren Mott raced out to a 26-0 lead early in the second half. Dakota would slowly work their way back, but fall short 32-27.

While some would say Dakota was outplayed by Mott, it’s obvious to see that the Cougars took themselves outta this game by throwing 3 interceptions and fumbling on a punt return. The final interception was made in the last minute of the game when Warren Mott’s, Maurice Allen, intercepted it on the Marauders own 20 yard line. That would seal Dakota’s fate and give Mott first place in the MAC Red.

4. Top 2016 Uncommitted Michigan Recruits 

Only 2 of the top 20 recruits in the state have yet to commit. Both hail from Detroit’s Martin Luther King Jr high school. Donnie Corley is #3 overall in the state (#1 Wide Receiver in the state) and is followed by fellow wide receiver Armani Posey. He ranks #20 overall in the state and #4 at the wide receiver position.

Corley has offers from 31 schools, but is nearly a lock to pick Michigan State. He recently took a visit to MSU over the weekend to watch State host the Oregon Ducks. His commitment will likely come after the season.

Posey on the other hand has some offers from The Power 5 conferences, but nobody really has a read on where he might go. He has kept quiet about each school recruiting him and is a wildcard at this point.

Posey may be a Spartan though as there have been reports both receivers will announce their decisions together. Both hold offers from the Spartans and them announcing it together makes me confident that this tandem will be heading up to East Lansing. Stay tuned.

5. Fraser Soccer Ranked 3rd in the State

Fraser soccer had quite the year last year. They finished with a 23-1-1 record. Their first and only loss came against Rochester Adams in the Division 1 State Semi-Finals. Because of that great season, the Ramblers earned a top ranking this year. They were ranked 3rd in Division 1 soccer by the Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association (MHSSCA). Only Detroit Catholic Central and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central rank above them.

The only team in their conference that is also ranked is #5 Utica Eisenhower, who they face 2 times this year. Another season such as the one last year should give Fraser the top spot in Division 1 soccer.

The rankings come out every Monday. You can find the rankings here.

Devon Schwarze-Hemelberg is the Flash Sports Reporter and Assistant Editor. He can be reached at [email protected]