Dan Stickradt
For Sports Scene
Dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
DETROIT — It’s nothing new for Detroit Cass Tech to begin the prep football season with a target on its back. As a quality program, the Technicians are annually one of the teams to beat.
That target has now grown by enormous proportions.
For the first time, Cass Tech opens the season as a defending state champion and ranked No. 19 nationally by USA Today. The Technicians stunned state powerhouse and favored Detroit Catholic Central 49-13 in last season’s Division 1 final at Ford Field in Detroit to become just the second PSL team to capture a state title in football.
Detroit King won the Division 2 crown in 2007.
“We always have a target on our backs,” admitted Tom Wilscher, Cass Tech’s head coach since 1997. “We’re fine with that.
“Last year, we opened with really high expectations and rankings. We fell off a little bit with a couple of losses, and then we put it all together in the end,” he continued. “We didn’t play well early in the season.”
Cass Tech, which has spent plenty of time in the top 10 during the past decade, played its best when it counted most last season.
The Technicians finished 5-0 in the postseason after wins over Livonia Churchill (35-6), Dearborn Fordson (33-7), DeLaSalle Collegiate(6-0), Eisenhower (6-3), and Catholic Central in the title match.
In 2010, Cass Tech marched all the way to the state semifinals with a 12-0 record. In the semifinal game, the Technicians drove down inside Lake Orion’s 3-yard line with less than two minutes to play, before a fumble quickly dashed their dreams of playing on the season’s final day.
Lake Orion held on for a 24-21 victory in that game at Troy Athens and went on to win the Division 1 state crown with a 21-13 victory over Plymouth. Cass Tech’s football program was left with a bad taste in its mouth.
“I think that motivated us a little bit last year,” recalled Wilcher. “We learned from that loss.”
Cass Tech also learned that high expectations don’t automatically result in wins. Last season, multiple publications ranked Cass Tech in the top five to start the season, and the team had a roster full of college prospects.
The season opener was a dud, as the Technicians were blasted by fellow power Farmington Harrison, 43-7. Cass Tech also lost its Week 6 contest to Detroit Crockett (6-0) and again lost in Week 8 to Crockett (14-9) in the PSL finals.
“I think we were a different team in the playoffs,” admitted Wilcher, who is 101-56 in his 15 seasons as head coach at Cass Tech. “We were more focused.”
Staying focused is one of the themes for this season. Cass Tech is again ranked high on everyone’s preseason list — and rightfully so. As many as 15 players are considered Division I or Division II college prospects at this time, including four who have already committed to D-I schools.
David Dawson, a towering offensive lineman/nose tackle (6’4″, 290 pounds), and defensive back/running back Jourdan Lewis (5’10”, 160) have already sent their orals to the University of Michigan. Kenton Gibbs (6’3,” 285), who plays offensive guard and defensive tackle, is headed to Illinois, while free safety Delano Hill (6’1″, 195) has notified Iowa that he will be coming aboard in one year.
Despite losing several key players from last year’s team, the cupboard is far from bare. There is a legion of other rising stars who will end up on college rosters in the next few years.
“We have them spread out in all grades,” Wilcher commented. “We have some good players coming up, seniors, juniors, and sophomores. I also think we have a couple of good freshmen.”
On the list of the other top prospects who will don the Technicians’ uniform are sophomore quarterback Jayru Campbell (6’3″, 180), senior OT/DT Dennis Finley (6’7″, 285), junior LB William White (6’0″, 215), senior LB Deon Drake (6’0″, 210), junior RB Gary Hosey (5’11”, 225), junior FS/CB Loren Rodgers (6’0″, 175), senior FS/NB Erron Enoex (5’10”, 175), senior FS Kendall English (5’10”, 175), junior SS/CB Damion Webb (6’0″, 175), junior CB Dejuan Rogers (6’0″, 175) and senior SL/CB Daquan Pace (5’9″, 165).
What I really like is their attitude,” offered Wilcher. “They have the right attitude. They know the expectations, and they are working really hard, pushing each other.”
The last team to repeat in Division 1 was Macomb Dakota, which pulled off the trick in 2006 and 2007. No team from the PSL has ever repeated as a state champ.
Could this be the year?
(Dan Stickradt is a freelance writer for High School Sports Scene. He is also senior editor for digital daily www.northoaklandsports.com andThe Real Deal sports and coupons magazine. He can be reached by email at dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com . Follow on Twitter @LocalSportsFans.)