The opening night of the season has come and gone, and Kosmo is thrilled players toughed it out on what was a humid night out there. Still, despite the heat, the smell of football was in the air. Usually Kosmo hands out 3 stars for each night, but in honor of the first night and the fact there were so many great performances, your seer will do something special this one time and had out his 5 stars for Thursday’s prep football action. 5th star Matt Sears, Ortonville Brandon — Sears is not only a great place to shop, but Matt Sears did the name proud on the field in leading the Blackhawks to a 46-0 win. Sears went 13-of-17 passing for four touchdowns. 4th star Ross Heiman, Lakeland — Kosmo felt the Eagles could make a statement, and they did exactly that with a nice win over Northville that could really propel Lakeland to a good season. Heiman, a steady senior quarterback, was a big reason why, rushing for 126 yards and two touchdowns. 3rd star Chauncey Bridges, North Farmington — If he stays healthy, it’s going to be a special season for this talented back. He got off to a great start, rushing for 159 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries in a win over Bay City John Glenn. 2nd star Reggie Harris, Southfield-Lathrup — The Chargers might have found their quarterback for the next few years already. Just a freshman, Harris had quite debut, scoring three touchdowns to lead Lathrup to a 25-23 win over Pontiac. 1st star P.J. Kern, Walled Lake Northern — Well, how do you like this? Northern graduates a lot but still scores a million points in a game. Guess the coaches there kind of know what they are doing, don’t they? Kern showed why he will be another who excels in Northern’s spread offense, rushing for 157 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries in a shocking, 69-14 drubbing of Livonia Churchill.

We are two days from the prep football season starting, and of course this week is only the first week of nine. However, Kosmo feels it will be a very important week for the following teams, who need good starts to this season. Birmingham Groves - The Falcons have some talent, most notably in the form of senior running back Ross Williams, who should have a big year. But slow starts have really hindered Groves in recent years and have put it out of the playoff hunt by the middle of the season. If the Falcons can gain some confidence early on, there's not telling what they can do in the OAA Blue. It will all start with a win at Bloomfield Hills. Holly - The Bronchos got off to bad starts in 2010 and 2011, but still rallied to make the playoffs both of those years. However, they couldn't recover from yet another slow start last season despite another late push, finishing 5-4 and out of the playoffs. Holly needs to correct those early-season troubles this year if it has any chance of once again returning to the postseason. Orchard Lake St. Mary's/Oak Park - These is going to be a crucial game on Friday at Wayne State. The loser of this game will already be facing an uphill battle to make the playoffs. Both teams play in two of the toughest leagues in the entire state (the CHSL Central for OLSM, the OAA White for Oak Park), and the loser will have to go a minimum of 5-3 or possibly 6-2 in order to get to the posteason. Rochester Adams - Coming off its first season where it didn't make the playoffs in 15 years, the Highlanders need to at the very least compete with Clarkston on Friday. If they do that, then will make a statement that they will indeed be a factor in the OAA White and a contender to make the postseason.

Kosmo is glad a temporary scare was survived over at Pontiac. For those who don't know, the Phoenix football team couldn't practice on Monday, the first official day of football practice for teams around the state, because the school district didn't pay insurance in case of injury to players, etc. Fortunately, the issue was resolved on Tuesday morning and the team was able to take the field for the first time. As happy as Kosmo is all the kids that worked so hard over the offseason will get to play, the K-Man can't help but feel the end is ultimately near for the Pontiac athletic program. The district is so broke and it seems imminent that the high school will become a charter school. Not only that, but the district might have to institute pay-to-play policies that might drive many more athletes away if there are sports at all. Can you imagine a basketball season in the winter without Pontiac, which has been the mecca of Oakland County? As much as Kosmo doesn't want to believe it, sadly it could become reality the way things are going.

Koz is back! Sorry for the hiatus everyone, but Kosmo needed a little summer break to recharge his Krystal ball for the upcoming football season. Speaking of which, the season starts with the first official day of practice on Monday, and Kosmo is amped as anyone. There are lots of questions Kosmo has with another season coming up, but he has one he wants to address now. Which legendary coach will be the next to retire? Mike Boyd retired in the offseason from Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes, while Al Fracassa is about to start his last season at Brother Rice. Those were two of the winningnest football coaches in the state, and the K-Man is wondering if any other legend will retire soon. John Herrington at Farmington Hills Harrison? Tom Mach at Novi Detroit Catholic Central? Any other longtime coach Kosmo hasn't thought of? It's definitely something Kosmo will keep an eye out on. Welcome to another season!