HARPER WOODS — Every day, Harper Woods dedicates a special period in practice to tackling, blocking or staying mentally focused in high-pressure situations.
The players can thank their 29-20 loss to Chelsea for that. Harper Woods (7-1) struggled with all three, especially in the second half of its season opener.
That loss has kept Harper Woods under the radar despite a loaded roster featuring four players rated as at least three-star recruits by 247Sports.
Neither did the team’s demolition of all five Oakland Activities Association Blue Division opponents help its cause.
Harper Woods had no statement wins on its résumé. Until now.
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After dominating unbeaten Clarkston, one of Michigan’s top Division 1 teams, 28-13, Harper Woods is about to get plenty of fanfare.
“When we lose, we are the worst team in football,” Harper Woods coach Rod Oden joked. “But other teams are allowed to be good, too. So us being under the radar, that’s a pat on the back for us. It means we aren’t allowed to lose.”
Judging by how Harper Woods played, Clarkston never stood a chance.
Clarkston fumbled on its opening series and played catch-up the rest of the way.
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If it wasn’t five-star Dakota Guerrant, the senior receiver committed to Oregon, making a play, someone on defense was recording a sack, breaking up a pass, blocking a field goal or forcing a turnover on downs.
Guerrant caught a 6-yard TD pass from Austin Mitchell for a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter, and Harper Woods never looked back.
Guerrant rushed 12 times for 146 yards and a TD, caught two passes for 12 yards, threw an 18-yard pass to James Jefferson and wreaked havoc on defense against Clarkston quarterback Alex Waszczenko.
Waszczenko, a Ferris State commit, finished 16 of 29 passing for 182 yards and an 18-yard TD to Julien Mohr. Much of that production came in garbage time after Harper Woods went up 28-6 with 5:55 remaining.
Harper Woods dominated every facet of the game, holding Clarkston to a punt or turnover on seven of nine possessions.
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Doing that against a Clarkston team ranked No. 6 in The Detroit News’ Super 25 means it’s time to start talking about Harper Woods again.
“I feel we should stay there — keep us there, “ Guerrant said about being overlooked because of Harper Woods’s loss to Chelsea. “We’ll just keep making plays. Week 1 humbled us and brought us back to where we need to be for the season.”
That opening loss also might have hurt Guerrant’s chances of winning MVP honors or Michigan’s Mr. Football award.
Over the summer, especially after committing to Oregon, many in the media pegged him as the favorite to finish as the state’s best player.
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That favorite has since become Detroit Catholic Central safety Gideon Gash, who has helped keep the defending state champions undefeated through eight weeks.
For now.
Guerrant is making waves, too.
Mere seconds after Gash, a four-star recruit committed to Texas Tech, returned his sixth punt for a TD to set an MHSAA single-season record during Friday’s 42-0 win over Toledo St. Francis, Guerrant delivered a highlight of his own.
On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, Guerrant took a wildcat snap 76 yards down the near sideline for a TD that made it 21-6.
“Pound for pound, Dakota is the best player in the Midwest — at least,” Oden said. “But Gideon is great, too, and so are some of the other really talented kids around here. But what Dakota has done in all three phases, I don’t think any kid is doing that right now.”
Maybe more people would be paying attention if Harper Woods had won its opener and stood at 8-0.
But after a statement win against a top-10 team like Clarkston, all eyes should be back on Harper Woods, just as they were during the offseason.
And maybe that special practice period will help keep the spotlight there.
“Being under the radar right now feels great,” Oden said. “The spotlight hasn’t been on us, and we know those times are coming, and we’ll be prepared for when they show up.”
Other games
Detroit Community 60, Detroit Leadership Academy 12: RJ Logan had 145 yards rushing and two touchdowns to lead Detroit Community (7-1, 5-0 Charter Silver). Marcel Smith threw two touchdown passes in the win, a 35 yarder to Calvin Ward and a 40 yarder to Paul Lewis. De’ante Brown had eight tackles with a pick six, while Jalen Gainer and Kaden Mahan combined for 30 tackles. Detroit Leadership Academy moves to 2-6 and 1-4 in conference play.
Farmington 29, North Farmington 6: Christian Gillings threw for 334 yards with four passing touchdowns to lead Farmington (2-6, 2-5 Lakes Valley). Brandon Johnson had 159 yards receiving with two scores, while Dwayne Haynes and Myles Smith each added a receiving touchdown in the win. North Farmington is 5-3 and 4-3 this season.
Riverview 40, Grosse Ile 26: Keagan Lavack rushed the ball 18 times for 222 yards and two touchdowns for Riverview (5-3, 4-3 Huron League). Pierre Robinson also had 144 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown in the win. Grosse Ile falls to 2-6 overall and 2-5 in the Huron League.
Warren Woods Tower 49, Eastpointe 36: Evan Hammons had 124 rushing yards, 25 receiving yards, four total touchdowns and a two-point conversion for Warren Woods Tower (2-6). Dharion Liner added 190 yards and two rushing touchdowns, while Jack Syrocki ran for 20 yards and a score in the win. Tesmer Tyburski went 5/5 passing for 78 yards and a touchdown. Eastpointe falls to 1-7.
bfolsom@detroitnews.com
@folsomwrites
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Harper Woods football is done flying under the radar after downing Clarkston