Making the list

By Christian Davis
C & G Staff Writer

Farmington, Farmington Hills football players honored by Oakland Activities Association

Farmington High football coach John Bechtel has had football players named to All-League teams before, but never a group like this.

Of the eight honorees on the Oakland Activities Association White Division All-League team, five will be back next year.

“It’s kind of crazy, but we’ve never had a team with a makeup like this,” said Bechtel, whose Falcons started eight sophomores. “They just played at a high level and got better every week. They’re gifted players. They’re there because they can play. It’s just an amazing group.”

The Falcons finished the season 6-4 and with their second playoff berth in three years. Bechtel said it was because of a total team effort.

“All the guys that started were either All-League or honorable mention. It was kind of amazing,” he said. “This occurred not because of one or two (players), but because of every starter on the field.”

The All-Leaguer honorees are seniors Colin Clark, Joe Norris and Nick Nadolski; juniors Kevin Waksmundski and Marco Iaderosa; and sophomores Dae’von Scarber, Mitch Sanders and Jason Wilson.

“Those kids are quality players that led us to a second half of the season that was probably as good as anyone in the area,” Bechtel said of the Falcons winning their final six games of the regular season.

Nadolski did his part on both sides of the ball. On offense, he started the season at linebacker and played the second half of the season at tackle. On defense, he finished with 78 tackles, even after missing three games.

“In a lot of ways, he was the guts of the team,” Bechtel said.

Norris lined up next to Nadolski at linebacker and finished with 41 tackles. He also started at guard.

Clark was a nightmare for opposing guards. The 160-pounder missed the first three weeks but still had 52 tackles on the defensive line.

“He was flat-out unblockable,” Bechtel said.

If Nadolski, Norris and Clark didn’t make the tackle, it was usually Sanders, Scarber and Waksmundski cleaning up in the secondary.

Sanders led the team in tackles with 92; Waksmundski had 80; and Scarber wrapped up 27. Scarber also had 10 interceptions.

Wilson was another player making big catches — only he did it on offense from his receiver position, finishing with 22 receptions for 495 yards.

When the Falcons did punch it in or get stalled on offense, it was Iaderosa’s turn to show why he was one of the best kickers in the division. He finished 3-for-5 on field goals with a long of 42 yards. He also booted 16 extra points.

Hawks that get high honors

Farmington Hills Harrison finished 5-4 overall and had six players named All-League.           

Honor team member are seniors Darius Davis (defensive back), Steve Pelletier (defensive back), Raymond Johnson (running back), Donnell Davis (linebacker), Leo Wilson (linebacker) and DeMario Black (defensive line).

Raiders recognized:


North Farmington finished 2-7 overall and had three players honored: seniors Brandon Bell (running back), Scott Yockey (offensive lineman) and Mike Sapick (linebacker).   

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Christian Davis at cdavis@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1062.