Did you expect anything less? Did you expect anything else except an overflow crowd, an intense game and another fantastic finish in the state's best rivalry? That is exactly what the latest installment in the Brother Rice-Catholic Central rivalry was on Saturday night, and maybe there will be another meeting later in the year in the Prep Bowl. It was a classy move by Catholic Central to honor Al Fracassa before the game and obviously a first-class game with plenty of individual standouts. But Kosmo is only going to pick three of them, so here you go. Third star Patrick Sparks, Brother Rice - Sparks doesn't have a bad points to catches ratio, does he? His second reception of the season not only produced six points, but ended up being one of the most thrilling touchdown receptions in the history of the rivalry when he hauled in a 35-yard touchdown pass from Alex Malzone in the final minute that gave the Warriors the win. Great to see a kid like that get rewarded. Second star Sean Birney, Catholic Central - Kosmo was wondering who would play quarterback for the Shamrocks this year, but Birney has shown the K-Man that the position is in good hands with Birney around. He ran for nearly 100 yards and also made some plays in the passing game. He will be hard to stop this year and CC can go a long way with him as the signal-caller. First star Brian Walker, Brother Rice - Kosmo isn't sure where Walker has been the last three weeks, but he re-emerged at a good time on Saturday, rushing for 164 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. He is a bulldozer when he runs well and the Brother Rice offense is so much better when he is on the field.

We are now over halfway through the season for most teams, and as far as the number of quality games go, this week probably was the best week of the season. There were countless playoff-type games already, which made for a lot of excitement and great performances. Kosmo will do his best to narrow it down to three and he'll have some more after Saturday's games, so stay tuned late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. Third star Anton Skupin, South Lyon - Kosmo was happy to see that Novi and South Lyon had lots of meaning again, and obviously it had a lot of meaning to the Lions. Skupin, a junior quarterback, led the way for South Lyon, accounting for four touchdowns (3 rushing) in a surprising 36-13 rout of a Novi team that had won three straight. Very impressive performance indeed in a big game. Second star D.J. Zezula, Clarkston - As Zezula correctly pointed out, Clarkston can indeed throw the ball a little bit. Zezula might be making a case for the most improved player in the county, as he threw for 198 yards and two touchdowns against a good Stoney Creek secondary. The result was a 42-7 win over the Wolves, who might have the state's best offense when Ian Eriksen returns. First star Matt Sokol, Rochester Adams - The K-Man figured this would be a playoff game between Adams and Oxford, and it was exactly that. In what wasn't a surprise, the game went down to the wire, but Adams prevailed thanks in large part to Sokol, who ran for 129 yards on 19 carries to keep Adams very much alive for a playoff spot.

Believe it or not, we are almost halfway done with the football season, although maybe it isn't so hard to believe with how chilly these mornings are in Kosmo's cave. He can almost hear the bears gearing up for hibernation, so the K-Man better be careful. Anyway, before worrying about bears here are some random thoughts on how the season has shaped up. The battle of Birmingham could be he biggest ever - Mark Oct. 18 down, and not solely because Lake Orion plays at Clarkston that day. It is also what could be the biggest game ever between Seaholm and Groves. Both are unbeaten and have a good chance of being unbeaten going into that game, which would be monumental for the Birmingham community. Stoney Creek is for real - Kosmo isn't predicting that the Cougars will win at Clarkston on Friday yet (see his predictions later in the week). But any team that crushes Lake Orion at home is no fluke. This team is fast, balanced and worthy of being ranked. There is still for Country Day - Kosmo thought for sure Country Day would breeze to the Division 4 title game, but a shocking 0-3 start put that in jeopardy. However, with a soft schedule the rest of the way, Country Day could easily get to six wins and then make a run once it gets into the playoffs. Koz doesn't know how Drake Wilkins does it at Madison - It's been another sensational coaching job by Wilkins, who has his Madison team 4-0 after lopsided win at previous unbeaten St. Clair Shores South Lake. The Eagles should be ranked higher than they are in Division 6. Waterford Kettering is the best feel-good story of the first half - Not many predicted the Captains to have a renaissance this year, but they are now 3-1 going into the opening of its newly renovated field on Friday. Kettering is not only winning, but it is exciting to watch since it is scoring lots of points. If Kettering can somehow knock off Walled Lake Western, then that will really turn some heads.

Kosmo originally felt bad about not coming out with his 3 stars for Friday's games, but he is now happy he didn't. Koz just had a feeling special things were going to happen on Saturday, and Kosmo hopes a major upset and a Hail Mary play to end the Brother Rice-De La Salle game was enough. But with the weekend over, Kosmo is happy to unveil his 3 stars for Week 4. Third star Justin Allor, Stoney Creek - My, how about that performance by the Cougars? There might have been a few that saw a Stoney Creek win over Lake Orion. There couldn't have been ANYBODY that could've forseen a 36-7 blowout of the Dragons. Allor was the a huge reason why, amassing over 200 yards of total offense at quarterback and scoring two touchdowns. Second star Ross Williams, Birmingham Groves - Maybe Kosmo should just etch Williams as a star every week. There certainly isn't a player on fire any more than Williams, who rushed for 248 yards and four touchdowns in a huge win over Avondale to help the Falcons improve to 4-0. This just in: Groves is for real. First star Nick Krummm, Walled Lake Central - Kosmo was waiting for Ike the Vike to finally put it all together. It was surprising that it took four weeks of the season to do so, but the Vikings finally played to their potential in a 63-34 win over Waterford Mott. Krumm certainly will remember the game given he had 387 total yards and 8, count them, 8 touchdowns.

Kosmo is not pretending to be a weatherman here on a Friday morning in his cave, although maybe he should because in what other forecasting business can you still be wrong all the time and keep your job? Anyway, all kidding aside, your seer is looking at the radar for tonight and, well, let's just say the ducks will be happy. Not only is lots of rain in the forecast tonight, but thunder and lightning as well, which would put tonight's games in serious jeopardy of being completed. The same scenario existed in the first week of the season when several games were postponed due to thunderstorms and had to be resumed on Saturday. Odds are very good that would be the case again tonight, so the K-Man is just encouraging schools to just simply postpone the games to Saturday before the fact. Don't make teams go on bus rides and fans on road trips just to sit there in the rain. Don't open up stadiums and waste electricity just to have to be delayed. Don't allow players and coaches to get fired up and in mental preparation for a game, only to bring them back down emotionally. It's better to be safe than sorry, and with a good forecast in place for Saturday, just move the games to Saturday afternoon. Hopefully Kosmo is wrong and the weather turns out to be better than what it appears it will be at the moment. It won't be the first time a weather forecast didn't turn out to be true, but let's not take any chances just in case.

Kosmo has a confession to make in that so far this season, he has somewhat ignored all the other sports despite football on this blog. It's not that he doesn't care about other sports, it's just that with volleyball just recently starting league games and there being nights with lots of non-league soccer games, things haven't really seemed to have gotten going in the other sports. Well, your seer is here to stop ignoring though. Tuesday was an active night of preps action, and the K-Man in honor of that presents his best performances from Tuesday night. Here are his 3 stars Third star Kunal Tangri, Troy boys cross country - The OAA Red Jamboree was supposed to happen last week, but hot weather delayed a week. There was no runner blazing a trail in the cooler weather like Tangri, who won the individual title in a time of 16:31. Second star Catelyn Girard, Walled Lake Central volleyball - It seemed like Central's three-game sweep of rival Walled Lake Western took hours, because they were three LONG games in what had to have been an intense atmosphere. But Central's captain was a big reason why her team got it done, as she finished with 18 kills for the match. First star Marc Hebekker, Troy Athens boys soccer - There aren't many bigger regular season soccer games than the one Athens and Clarkston played on Tuesday since both teams were unbeaten in OAA Red play. Athens was unbeaten going in and left that way also thanks to Hebekker, who scored the game's only goal with over two minutes remaining to give his team a 1-0 win and the inside track for a league title.

Boy, did it ever turn from summer to fall in a hurry, didn't it? One day, Kosmo is living like a caveman with no clothing in his cave because it is so hot, the next he is like someone in an igloo trying to huddle up for warmth. Despite the cool weather, there were some hot performances (how's that for an awful analogy) on the football field on Friday. Here are the best of the best in your seer's eyes. Third star D.J. Zezula, Clarkston - So you think Clarkston is solely about Ian Eriksen on offense? Against a decent Rochester team on the road, Zezula showed that teams better account for him as well, throwing for three touchdown passes and 125 yards in the first half alone to lead the Wolves to a nice win. Second star John Kelly, Park Park - It sounds like this was quite a slugfest over at Adams. Kosmo figured it would be, but the Knights ended up ruling the night thanks to Kelly, who ran for 139 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries to lead the Knights to a 36-30 win. Your seer can't wait for next week's showdown with Southfield. First star Mark Zanders, Orchard Lake St. Mary's - Kosmo admits he had no idea who Zanders was before Friday's action started, but he does now. The Eagles put up 72 points in a win over Detroit Consortium and Zanders was the biggest reason why, rushing for 296 yards and five touchdowns on just 15 carries for St. Mary's. That's a pretty gaudy per carry average to be sure.

How about those Waterford schools? For the first time in many years, there appears to be some legitimate excitement at Kettering and Mott after each recorded road wins at Walled Lake rivals on Thursday to improve to 2-1. That was the highlight as far as teams go for Thursday's games, but your seer is mainly here to offer his individual highlights. In honor of the NHL starting up, here are Kosmo's 3 stars for Thursday's football games. See you back later tonight or at this time tomorrow for Friday's stars. 3rd star Jack Mentag, Birmingham Seaholm - Talk about a tough, versatile football player. It was another key OAA Blue game for Seaholm and another gritty performance by Mentag wherever he was on the field, as he had 100 yards rushing and a touchdown on offense and an interception on defense to help Seaholm earn a 30-8 win over the Raiders. 2nd star Jevon Shaw, Farmington Hills Harrison - It was indeed a coming out party for the junior quarterback Jevon Shaw, who will definitely give the Hawks another big weapon if he continues to play like he did in a 28-25 win over Oxford. Shaw ended up with 223 total yards of offense and scored two touchdowns. He used both his feet and arm brilliantly. 1st star Dakota Kupp, Waterford Mott - Look, another touchdown. Sorry, the actually is over. It is just force of habit given how much offense there was in this incredible shootout, won 61-58 by Waterford Mott over Walled Lake Northern. Kupp probably won't see another stat line like this again, completing 23 of 34 passes for 376 yards and six touchdowns. It was certainly a night to remember for the junior QB and the rest of Mott's team.

Two days ago, Kosmo listed the teams that were his most pleasant surprises after two games of the season. Now in the spirit of that Frank Costanza character on Seinfeld, your seer is here to air his grievances against teams he thought would be better. Don't fret though, Kosmo knows there is still plenty of season left and these teams can easily turn things around. The K-Man is certainly rooting for them. Walled Lake Central - Kosmo thought for sure this would be a rebound year for Ike the Vike, but it has been a rough start with road losses to Saginaw Heritage and Livonia Stevenson. Maybe being at home will help the Vikings this week against Waterford Kettering. Ferndale - The Eagles are a team that might not have a lot of depth, but they have good athletes and should be a thorn in the side for opponents in the OAA Blue. All of which makes a loss to Livonia Clarenceville in Week 1 and a blowout loss to Royal Oak last week all the more shocking. Hopefully the Eagles figure things out quick, because the schedule gets tougher starting with Birmingham Groves this week. Country Day - Granted, there shouldn't be any panic with Country Day because it still will be favored it all of its remaining games, except maybe Week 9 against Brighton. But two straight losses with all that offensive talent is not how Kosmo thought the Yellowjackets would start this season. Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes - Hopefully being at home will make a difference for the Lakers, because they are already in a big hole having lost two games on the road to start this season. There's too much talent in place for this team not to at least have a winning season. Hopefully Kosmo doesn't turn out to be wrong on that. South Lyon East - Coming off its first ever playoff appearance last year, Kosmo thought the Cougars would still be successful this season since 10 regulars returned on defense. Unfortunately, that veteran defense is off to a rough start, having given up close to 100 points already this year in two games.

It is only two weeks into the season, but even though there are still seven more weeks remaining, Kosmo figures he has nothing else to do and might as well come up with his most surprising teams so far. By surprising, Kosmo means in a good way. He'll be back in the blogosphere tomorrow or Wednesday to offer his most disappointing teams thus far. Walled Lake Northern - Not only is Kosmo somewhat surprised that Northern has won tough games at Livonia Churchill and against Salem, he is down right blown away that the Knights have already scored 126 points already to start the season. Wow. Guess even your seer could play quarterback in that system and do well. And that's not meant as an indictment on current players that are doing well. It's high praise for the system because even an athletically-challenged Kosmo could perform in it. Birmingham Groves - Your seer just simply got used to the fact that the Falcons would get off to slow starts. Well, not this year. Groves is already up close to 100 points on the season thanks to blowout wins over Bloomfield Hills and Hazel Park. At 2-0, it appears as if Groves is establishing itself as a factor in the OAA Blue. Madison Heights Bishop Foley - Kosmo wonders if there are any baseball players on the football team, because the magic of three straight state titles on the diamond might be rubbing off on the gridiron. The Ventures are 2-0 under first-year head coach Sean Cobb following wins over Hazel Park and Warren Michigan Collegiate. Well done by all on the Ventures so far and it sure is a better start than Kosmo thought, especially since Nate Grys decided not to play football this year. Novi - First-year coach Jeff Burnside is already doing a nice job in the paper-bag eyes of Kosmo. After 1-8 record last year, the Wildcats nearly won at Brighton in Week 1 before recording a stunning, 17-0 shutout of a good Lakeland team last week at home. Good to see the Wildcats back on the prowl.

There were no weather delays or anything else on Friday, thank goodness. Instead, just more great football played around the county and more great individual performances. It was a hard choice but Kosmo is here to narrow it down. Here are your seer's 3 stars for Friday night. 3rd star Josh Holloman, Auburn Hills Avondale - So this is why Holloman impressed the likes of even Alabama over the offseason. Holloman might be the Miguel Cabrera of high school football players in the area because he is a home-run threat. He had TD runs of 66 and 98 yards and ran for 213 yards in the FIRST HALF against Seaholm. Impressive, even in defeat. 2nd star Juan Johnson, Madison Heights Madison - Kosmo is happy to see Johnson back and healthy because he might get close to 2,000 yards this season if he stays healthy. He was awesome again in a win over Warren Fitzgerald, collecting over 200 yards of total offense. 1st star Jay Darish, Troy - Boy, Darish is certainly playing like one of the area's best senior quarterbacks to start the year, isn't he? After a great game last week against Romeo, Darish helped deliver a badly-needed win over Rochester, completing 19 of 29 passes, two of which for touchdowns, for the Colts.

It's time for your all-knowing one to have some fun, and have fun meaning adding some fuel to what should be the hottest topic throughout the season in high school football. That topic is more like a question, as in, who will replace Al Fracassa at Brother Rice? Kosmo is here to give his best guesses, although before he does, a few disclaimers. Actually it is the same disclaimer over and over again, but Kosmo needs to make himself as clear as his Krystal ball. The following are just Kosmo's GUESSES as to who would be good candidates. Kosmo HASN'T HEARD ONE WHISPER from ANYBODY IN THE ENTIRE WORLD that these men are candidates or are even interested. Please don't accuse Kosmo of starting any troublee, because again, your seer HASN'T HEARD RUMORS OR TALK AT ALL about Fracassa's successor. Again, this is simply for fun and just Kosmo's best GUESSES and OPINION as to who would be good replacements. There is NO EVIDENCE your seer has that indicates any one of these people will be the next Brother Rice football coach. This is all to HAVE A LITTLE FUN. Got it? Thanks so much. Without further ado, here is the list. Scott Merchant, Chippewa Valley - A former player for Fracassa, Merchant is relatively young in his early 40's and is presiding over a large program that is a traditional power. It sounds like he has good credentials and Brother Rice does like hiring people within its family of alumns. Merchant is somebody who might fit a lot of what Brother Rice is looking for. Tony Patritto, Rochester Adams - A Catholic League guy since he used to coach at Bishop Foley, Patritto is one of the top coaches in the state who gets as much out of his players as anyone. He has the full respect of Fracassa and Brother Rice, given the battles the two schools have had over the years in the playoffs. Adams beat Brother Rice in the 2003 D2 state final and in a 2007 district final and suffered a narrow loss in the 2005 semifinals to Brother Rice. Kosmo has a feeling Brother Rice knows how good of a coach Patritto is. Kyle Zimmerman, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep - Might seem like a reach given Zimmerman is only in his early 30's. But he has shown by building Notre Dame Prep into a Division 4 powerhouse that he is one of the state's top young coaches. And also, Kosmo knows that about 45 years ago, Brother Rice took a chance on a rising coach at a smaller Catholic school, Royal Oak Shrine, by hiring him as its new football coach. His name? Al Fracassa. How did that work out? Dave Sofran, Fracassa's top assistant - If Brother Rice wants to go in-house to find a replacement, this good young coach would be the best candidate. Greg Carter, Oak Park - A coach with lots of state championships under his belt? Check. A coach with a ton of experience who used to coach in the Catholic League? Check. A coach that can groom future college players and will make sure talented players still come to the program? Yep. Jim DeWald, Birmingham Seaholm - Another coach who gets a lot out of his players, DeWald is just up the road and familiar with the area. Having success at Pontiac Northern, getting the most of a small roster at Andover and leading Seaholm to an 8-2 record last year has shown he can coach also. John Bechtel, Farmington - If Brother Rice favors an experienced, no-nonsense coach who flat-out gets it done wherever he goes, then there are few better than Bechtel. Another coach who gets a lot out of his talent and would do a lot with Brother Rice's talent. Dan MacLean, Country Day - Probably more of a reach since MacLean is an AD at one of the most affluent schools in the state in addition to being the football coach. But he is a former player of Fracassa and you never know. Thomas Wilcher, Cass Tech - Another long reach given all he means to Cass Tech, but again you never know. Wilcher is a confident individual who might relish taking over one of the top programs in the Midwest. And no doubt, talented players would come to Brother Rice to play for him. But Kosmo guesses there is a 99 percent chance he sticks with Cass Tech for a long time. Tom Mach (Catholic Central), George Porritt (St. Mary's) and John Herrington (Harrison)- OK, Kosmo has gone too far and is having too much fun. No way anyone of these three will be the next Brother Rice coach. But hey, why not end trying to be funny? After all, this is all just for fun.

Originally Kosmo had hoped to hand out his 3 stars on Friday night or early Saturday morning, but of course, Mother Nature decided to heap a monsoon on the area Friday night that forced some to come back on Saturday and finish games. So that means your seer is back on Sunday morning to hand out his 3 stars for Friday and Saturday's football games. Enjoy and hope the barbecuing is good on Sunday and Monday. 3rd star Ben Bellestri, Clarkston Everest Collegiate Many probably missed this on Saturday night, but Everest Collegiate made its debut as a program in grand fashion, winning 31-0 over Auburn Hills Oakland Christian. Bellestri was a big reason why, rushing for 131 yards on 16 carries for the Mountaineers. 2nd star Ross Williams, Birmingham Groves Kosmo knows Williams is in store for a big year, and that point was solidified by what Williams did in a season opening over Bloomfield Hills. Williams was unstoppable, rushing for 233 yards in a lopsided Groves win. Don't be surprised if he flirts with 2,000 yards this season. 1st star Alex Malzone, Birmingham Brother Rice Kosmo actually can't remember the last time the Warriors had a "star" quarterback. Well, that figures to change this year, because the junior proved he is ready to become a big-time player in an upset win over Ohio powerhouse Cleveland St. Ignatius. Malzone went 25 of 35 passing for 285 yards to lead the Warriors to a 29-20 win.