Yesterday, Kosmo chimed in with three reasons why both Clarkston and Catholic Central will win Saturday's Division 1 state football final. Now, it is time to give 3 reasons why Brother Rice will win its third straight state championship against Muskegon on Friday in what will be head coach Al Fracassa's last game. 1) The Brother Rice offense will score. With the way Alex Malzone has developed this year, the Brother Rice offense is as balanced as its ever been and definitely better than during last year's title game with Muskegon. Shon Powell and Brian Walker spearhead the running game for an offense that won't be stopped. 2) Jason Alessi. Simply put, Brother Rice has him and Muskegon doesn't. Whether it is providing sensational defense in the secondary, field position with great returns on punts and kickoffs and with big kicks, Alessi is the best player on the field. 3) The fitting end has to happen, right? By a show of hands, how many think the Warriors will send Al Fracassa into retirement with a loss? Kosmo doesn't see many hands. His certainly isn't going up either.

There are 3 teams left from Oakland County for this week's state football finals, and before Kosmo worries about whether he wants to eat light or dark turkey for Thanksgiving, he will break down the chances of each team. Since two are playing each other in the Division 1 final, Kosmo will start there. He will get to Brother Rice in a day or two, but for now he will get to 3 reasons why Clarkston will win and 3 reasons why CC will win. 3 reasons Clarkston will win 1) More college bound talent. Typically, talent wins out and Clarkston has more future Division I college players than CC. 2) Line play. As solid as CC is up front, Clarkston in the trenches, particularly on offense, is plowing over people right now. 3) Balance on offense. Pick your poison if you are CC. If you stack the box to stop Ian Eriksen, quarterback D.J. Zezula will torch you. Play the pass and here comes Eriksen. It's a good thing CC is a devout Catholic School because praying for Clarkston turnovers might be the only way to stop the Wolves. 3 reasons Catholic Central will win 1) They have been here before. While Clarkston will be new to Ford Field and the state finals, CC has been there the last two years. That could be a big problem for Clarkston, especially early. 2) The CC staple. CC usually wins with a power running game that grinds down opponents, and that will be a problem for a Clarkston defense that is vulnerable. More possession time for CC means less time for Clarkston's explosive offense. 3) Motivation. CC has felt the sting of losing in the finals the last two years and is determined to not let it happen again. As for Kosmo's prediction, well you will have to wait a couple days for that. Happy Thanksgiving.

My, what a Saturday of preps that turned out to be, wasn't it? If the state swim finals and having three volleyball teams from the county at the state finals in Battle Creek wasn't enough, all three of our remaining football teams all won and advanced to Ford Field. So many individual performances occurred to the point where Kosmo HAD to change his 3 stars to 5 stars. Without further ado here they are. Fifth star Brian Walker, Brother Rice football - The senior bulldozer was at it again, rushing for 97 yards on 16 carries in a lopsided win over Detroit Martin Luther King to lead Brother Rice to its third straight appearance in the state finals. Fourth star Zach Bock, Catholic Central - Bock and the Shamrocks sure played like they were upset about what happened to them the last two years against Cass Tech, didn't they? Kosmo wrote the other day that he felt CC had a chance, but he certainly didn't expect 28-0. Bock was a big reason why, rushing for 110 yards and playing lockdown pass defense at cornerback. Third star Katherine Carlson, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Kosmo had a good feeling all year Notre Dame Prep would win it all in Class B for the first time since 2007, and that is exactly what happened. The Fighting Irish capped off a dominant year and Carlson was at it again in a four-game win over Grand Rapids South Christian, collecting 25 kills. Second star Mollie Pulte, Birmingham Marian swimming - Kosmo can't even swim 10 feet without getting tired, so the K-Man has a lot of respect for elite swimmers. Pulte sure showed why she is one of them on Saturday, setting state records in the 200 freestyle and the 100 freestyle. She also was a part of Marian's 200 free relay team that set a state record. First star Clarkston football's offensive line - Ian Eriksen got a lot of the headlines by rushing for an incredible 355 yards, 6 TD's and 5 two-point conversions, but you don't do all that, score 61 points while passing just once and never punt without total annihilation up front by the offensive line. The whole state will get to see just how good this unit is next week at Ford Field.

The rematch of the last two Division 1 state football finals is upon us with Catholic Central once again facing off against Cass Tech, this time in a semifinal game on Saturday at Troy Athens. Cass Tech easily beat the Shamrocks the last two years and is favored to win again, but Kosmo feels CC has a shot for the following reasons. You might think Kosmo has sniffed something funny in his cave or paper bag, here your seer out. Motivation There are few programs more proud than Catholic Central, and being embarrassed two straight years is something that doesn't happen often or sit well with the Shamrocks. Meanwhile Kosmo isn't sure the hunger level of Cass Tech having own two titles. The game is not in Detroit As spies Keith Dunlap and Scott Burnstein pointed out in their picks show online, this game is not in Cass Tech's backyard like it was at Ford Field the last two years. Cass will have to make a bus ride just like CC and won't draw from the emotion of walking its home streets to the game. Slow starts Cass Tech hasn't exactly gotten off to good starts in the past two games, as it trailed Macomb Dakota by 10 points at halftime last week and struggled early against Warren Mott the week before, although QB Jayru Campbell didn't start that game. Still, getting behind CC is a dangerous proposition. Emergence of CC's passing game The last 2 weeks, QB Sean Birney has thrown long TD passes to the Bock brothers, Alex and Zach, so out of nowhere Catholic Central is showing it can score points through the air as well as with its usual punishing ground game. That balance will be needed against a big, mobile Cass Tech defense that has dominated Catholic Central the past two years. Kosmo isn't sure if all this will be enough for CC to beat Cass Tech, but one thing is for sure, Catholic Central has a better chance to win than people think.

Kosmo can sense all the anticipation from the fine folks in Clarkston, and for good reason. The Wolves are one win away from making the state championship game for the first time in school history, and many are probably already making their plans for Ford Field just because Rockford, Catholic Central, Cass Tech or some power from Macomb County isn't there. Who on Earth is Flint Carman-Ainsworth? That is probably a sarcastic question going around in some parts of town, although definitely not with the football team. Well, Kosmo is here to put the brakes on all of Clarkston's enthusiasm, because to answer that question, Carman-Ainsworth is very good and can easily beat Clarkston. The Cavaliers are lightning fast all across the field and have a terrific playmaker in quarterback/defensive back Jevonte Alexander. He could be a nightmare for the Wolves to handle. Now Kosmo isn't saying that Clarkston shouldn't be confident, especially with how well it has played. All the K-Man is saying is don't start making plans for Ford Field until after a victory on Saturday afternoon

And then there were 3. Kosmo is a little surprised that there are only 3 teams from Oakland County left in the football playoffs, but he certainly isn't surprised with those that are in the semifinals. Clarkston, Brother Rice and Catholic Central have been the three best teams in the county all year and all three will be great representatives in the state semifinals this week. But before looking ahead, Kosmo is ready to look back at this past week's regional finals and hand out his 3 stars. Without further ado here they are. Third star Alex Malzone, Brother Rice It was a workmanlike effort for Malzone on Saturday in a lopsided win over U-D Jesuit. Before being pulled early in the third quarter after the game got out of hand, Malzone threw for 180 yards and three touchdowns. He has been marvelous all year. Second star Sean Birney, Catholic Central Lo and behold, Catholic Central looks like it is becoming a passing team to Kosmo the last couple of weeks. After beating Walled Lake Western through the air in a district final, Birney did it again against Temperance Bedford, throwing for 178 yards, including a 4-yarder in the final minute to give the Shamrocks the win. First star D.J. Zezula, Clarkston Has there been a more improved player in the county this year than Zezula? Kosmo doesn't think so. He was on target again just about every time against Adams, going 10 of 11 passing for 237 yards and two touchdowns in a 56-28 Clarkston destruction of Adams.

Kosmo takes this break from his usually-scheduled football posts to break into the world of volleyball. There was so much compelling action tonight and so many stories on prep zone, Kosmo admits it inspired him to give out 3 stars for tonight's regional volleyball semifinals. There were a lot of outstanding performances but here are the best of the best. Third star Stephanie Toma, Hazel Park Rumor has it (OK, it is actually a fact) that Hazel Park had never been to a regional final before tonight, but that isn't the case anymore after a sweep of Detroit University Prep. Toma helped greatly with 14 assists. Yes, the run will end on Thursday against top-ranked Notre Dame Prep, but Hazel Park should still savor this historic run. Second star Briana Frakes, Clarkston It wasn't unexpected that the Wolves swept Athens and it also wasn't unexpected that Frakes had another outstanding game. She finished with 16 assists, seven aces, seven kills and two blocks to help Clarkston set up a regional final tussle with Marian on Thursday. First star Amanda Leonard, Lakeland All the praise is deserved for Ms. Leonard because she stepped up in not only the decisive 5th game against Brighton to help Lakeland win, but also the entire game. Leonard was downright clutch, finishing with 21 kills and 28 assists to will her team to victory. What a sparkling performance worthy of the highest star

Kosmo apologizes for the delay on his 3 stars for Friday's games, but there with the nights getting below freezing now, Kosmo had to tend to a little heating problem in the cave. Speaking of hot though, there were several hot performances from the district final round, so Kosmo here to hand out the best of the best from Friday night's action. Third star Kyle Wood, Rochester Adams - So this kid is only a freshman, huh? You certainly could've fooled Kosmo and Walled Lake Northern was especially fooled on Friday, given Wood ran for 108 yards on 17 carries in a 28-25 Adams win. Now, Wood and Adams will next set their sights on Clarkston. Again. Second star Juan Johnson, Madison Heights Madison - The stat sheet says that Johnson only had 67 yards rushing in a 27-20 win over Flint Beecher, but there's more than just the stat sheet. Playing injured, Johnson had two fumble recoveries and an interception on defense as well as the game-winning touchdown. This small player has the biggest heart around. First star Maurice Ways, Birmingham Detroit Country Day - Without question, this is the Country Day team Kosmo thought he would be seeing the whole year. After an 0-3 start, the Yellowjackets are rolling now, especially Ways. He showed the way in a 49-27 win over Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, catching nine passes for 189 yards and three touchdowns. Committed to Michigan, this probably was a big bright spot in an otherwise rough week for U-M coaches

Kosmo is starting to look ahead to the second round of the playoffs this weekend but he still can't help but look back at one result from last week's first round. The K-Man is just as shocked as anyone that Seaholm beat Southfield despite the fact Southfield had about 12 future college players and Seaholm probably has none, but while tons of credit has to be given to Seaholm's players and coaches, it goes to show once again that having college-bound players can be a problem for any high school team regardless of the sport. Once players get those scholarship offers and accept, it is so easy to just simply be done with high school. Motivation to not get seriously injured can take over a player so much to where they can't wait for the high school season to be over. By then also, dreams of dorm rooms, getting out on their own and playing on a bigger stage is all that consumes players, not playing for their high school student bodies. Kosmo isn't sure this is the exact reason Southfield lost, but he wouldn't be surprised if it played a major role.

What did Kosmo tell you and for that matter, what does Kosmo tell you every year the playoffs roll around? Someone is goin'down is what Kosmo says, and it happened again during Friday's first round of the playoffs. So much for this being Southfield's best chance at a state title because it couldn't even get past OAA Blue champ Seaholm. Lake Orion was at home and was eyeing a second round game against one of its top rivals but turned the ball over 6 times against Romeo and lost. But Kosmo isn't here only to say he told you so. He is also here to hand out his top performances from Friday night. Here are your seer's 3 stars. Third star Brendan O'Donnell, Walled Lake Northern It never can be easy for a backup to come in and perform when the starter gets injured, and especially in a playoff game. But O'Donnell did just that, leading the Knights to a pair of touchdowns that was the difference in a 28-14 win over Kettering. Second star Connor Holton, Novi Detroit Catholic Zach Bock is a tremendous player, but Holton has really started to emerge as a force for the Shamrocks this year. If you don't believe Kosmo, then maybe the 172 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries in a 35-14 win over Northville will convince you. First star Ian Eriksen, Clarkston Just how far can the Wolves go with Eriksen now fully healthy? Anyone heard of Ford Field? The sky is certainly the limit for the Wolves, who survived a tough Oxford team thanks in large part to the senior running back, who had 196 yards on 22 carries.