Meet the 2018 Free Press All-North high school football team

Mick McCabe and Wright Wilson

Special to the Detroit Free Press

The following are the Detroit Free Press All-North football first, second and honorable mention teams:

Farmington Hills Harrison's Roderick Heard runs for a first down against Farmington during first half action Friday, October 19, 2018 at Farmington Hills Harrison in Farmington Hills, Mich.

All-North

First team

Offense

WR: Tre Mosley

School: West Bloomfield

Vitals: Senior, 6-2, 180

The buzz: The Michigan State commit elevated his game this fall, catching 55 passes for 1,015 yards and 15 touchdowns.

OL: Rocco Spindler

School: Clarkston

Vitals: Sophomore, 6-5, 270

The buzz: The Wolves rushed for more than 2,100 yards this fall, many behind this sophomore who’s ranked 10th in his class nationally.

OL: Spencer Brown

School: Walled Lake Western

Vitals: Senior, 6-6, 300

The buzz: The future Michigan State Spartan plays with passion to match his size. Had over 20 pancake blocks on offense, and 45 tackles from the defensive tackle slot.

OL: Justin Rogers

School: Oak Park

Vitals: Junior, 6-3, 310

The buzz: A confident and consistent lineman, he’s a 5-star player ranked by 247Sports Composite as the No. 1 guard nationally in his graduating class.

More:Nominate a team for the 2019 Top Team: Fan Vote Award

OL: Maverick Hansen

School: Farmington Hills Harrison

Vitals: Senior, 6-5, 270

The buzz: This physical player served as a Hawks captain. Started both ways and shared the team lead with 69 tackles (29 solo). Committed to Central Michigan.

OL: Garrett Dellinger

School: Clarkston

Vitals: Sophomore, 6-6, 265

The buzz: The No. 2-rated sophomore lineman nationally, Dellinger has started since Week 1 as a freshman and helped Clarkston reach two state championships.

OL/TE: Evan Brunning

School: Oxford

Vitals: Senior, 6-5, 235

The buzz: Athletic with a great wingspan, Brunning is adept at either tackle or tight end. Had an 84 percent blocking rate. On defense, he had 40 tackles with 12 pass knockdowns.

Oak Park quarterback Dwan Mathis looks for a receiver against Warren De La Salle on Friday, November 2, 2018 at Oak Park High School in Oak Park, Mich.

QB: Dwan Mathis

School: Oak Park

Vitals: Senior, 6-5, 205

The buzz: Ohio State is getting a tall, pro-style quarterback who has always shown skill at throwing the ball; he developed his overall game this fall.

RB: Rod Heard

School: Farmington Hills Harrison (Captain)

Vitals: Senior, 5-10, 170

The buzz: Northwestern commit carried the load offensively in Harrison’s final year, rushing for 1,492 yards and 22 touchdowns. Scored 318 points in career with 53 touchdowns.

RB: Robbie Tracy

School: Lakeland

Vitals: Senior, 5-8, 185

The buzz: Tough to bring down with a low center of gravity, Tracy rushed for 199 yards for 1,259 yards — much of that after fighting off initial hits. Ran for 19 TDs and threw for another.

More:Meet the 2018 Free Press All-West high school football team

RB: Ian Goins

School: South Lyon

Vitals: Senior, 5-9, 175

The buzz: Elusive and shifty out of the backfield, Goins was the perfect fit for the Lions’ retooled offense, running for 875 yards and adding another 200 receiving.

K/P: Tristan Mattson

School: Clarkston

Vitals: Senior, 6-1, 160

The buzz: The Buffalo recruit connected on six field goals from beyond 40 yards and made 24 of 26 extra point attempts. His kickoffs for touchbacks are a formality.

West Bloomfield's Lance Dixon runs the ball against Oak Park on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018 at Oak Park High School.

Defense

DL: Ben Roberts

School: Lakeland

Vitals: Senior, 5-11, 255

The buzz: Will raise his level of play when presented with a challenge. Made 63 tackles (seven for loss) and led the Eagles with 11 sacks. Recovered three fumbles.

DL: Caleb Williams

School: Farmington Hills Harrison

Vitals: Senior, 6-4, 220

The buzz: Speedy interior lineman has been electronically timed in the 40 dash at 4.6 seconds. Made 23 tackles and had three quarterback hurries.

DL: Lucas Hendershot

School: Novi Detroit Catholic Central

Vitals: Senior, 6-2, 260

The buzz: The Shamrocks’ defensive captain is a very coachable player who can pick up new concepts quickly. Looking at Ivy League schools, intending to study aeronautics.

DL: Kyle Arnoldi

School: Walled Lake Northern

Vitals: Junior, 6-4, 270

The buzz: Broke his leg at a summer camp but fully recovered to put up 44 tackles (24 solo), with six for loss and five sacks. The three-year, two-way starter serves as team captain.

More:Nominate a student-athlete for the 2019 I AM SPORT award!

LB: Josh Wuensch

School: Lake Orion

Vitals: Senior, 6-1, 195

The buzz: The Dragons’ defensive MVP led the team in every statistical category. He made 85 tackles (45 solos) with four sacks, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

LB: Lance Dixon

School: West Bloomfield

Vitals: Senior, 6-3, 205

The buzz: A three-year varsity performer and Penn State commit, Dixon was one of the biggest recruits in the Midwest. Finished with 95 tackles and 4.5 sacks.

LB: Henry Van Faussien

School: Birmingham Groves

Vitals: Senior, 5-11, 190

The buzz: Check all the boxes — high football IQ, vocal leader, willingness to win. The team captain played both ways and amassed 111 tackles.

DB: Jake Newman

School: South Lyon

Vitals: Junior, 5-9, 170

The buzz: Showing good football instincts, Newman made 50 tackles, broke up 15 pass attempts and intercepted four passes. Also returned a blocked FG 96 yards for a TD.

Clarkston Josh Luther catches a pass and runs for more yardage against Chippewa Valley David Ellis who knock him out of bounds, during the Division 1 MHSAA State Championship at Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018.

DB: Josh Luther

School: Clarkston

Vitals: Senior, 5-10, 165

The buzz: All-around athlete has led the Wolves to past two Division 1 title games. A 4.2-GPA student, Luther returned back-to-back kickoffs for TDs vs. Oxford.

DB: Enzo Jennings

School: Oak Park

Vitals: Junior, 6-2, 185

The buzz: This shutdown coverage man is already drawing interest from Division 1 schools. Jennings has only allowed two touchdowns in three seasons as opponents avoid him.

DB: Damontae McCurdy

School: Birmingham Groves (Captain)

Vitals: Senior, 5-8, 165

The buzz: Made a school-record 131 tackles, guiding the Falcons into the semifinals for the second time in his three seasons. Also scored 20 touchdowns as a running back.

Coach: Jeff Henson

School: South Lyon

Record: 16-21, four seasons

The buzz: Took over as Lions’ head coach midway through 2015 after serving as team’s defensive coordinator. Turned around team’s fortunes from 1-8 to 10-1 in 2018, leading South Lyon to best mark since 1995.

Second team

Offense

WR: Maliq Carr, Oak Park

OL: Torian Belton, Ferndale

OL: Gatlin Coleman, Avondale

OL: Chris Vernon, Lake Orio

OL: David Thickston, Lakeland

OL: Hunter Chambers, Lake Orion

WR: T.J. Verver, Clawson

WR: Abdur-Rahmaan Yassen, Walled Lake Western

QB: Austin Brown, Madison Heights Madison

RB: James Donaldson, Birmingham, Brother Rice

RB: Chase Mentag, Birmingham Seaholm

K/P: Tommy Doman, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s

Defense

DL: Luke Stanton, Brighton

DL: Max Saylor, Birmingham Brother Rice

DL: Chaney Ernest, Madison Heights Madison

DL: Donovan King, Farmington

LB: Bryson Kirschenheiter, Novi Detroit Catholic Central

LB: Mitch Komorous, South Lyon

LB: Mike Nicaj, Ortonville-Brandon

LB: Terry Day, South Lyon East

DB: Ryan Birney, Novi Detroit Catholic Central

DB: Daron Gilbert, Birmingham Brother Rice

DB: Brendan Dancer, South Lyon

Honorable mention

Receivers: Marcus Hufnagel, Oxford; Ronnie Menard, South Lyon; Brendan Teal, Waterford Kettering; Sean Cleary, South Lyon East; Matt Johansson, Troy; Drake Reid, Rochester; Mike Harding, Catholic Central; Anthony Enechukwu, St. Mary’s; Alec Ward, Bloomfield; Sean Clary, South Lyon East.

Linemen: Chris Harris, Walled Lake Western; Jacob Dean, Walled Lake Western; Bryce Austin, Southfield A&T; Devin Bardwin, Southfield A&T; Alex Hunt, Walled Lake Northern; Rafael Davish, Walled Lake Central; Charlie Riddle, Groves; Cody Remick, Royal Oak; Matt Hill, Ortonville-Brandon.

Quarterbacks: Blaze Lauer, Lake Orion; Anthony Romphf, Southfield A&T; C.J. Harris, West Bloomfield; Sam Johnson, Walled Lake Western; Connor Fracassi, South Lyon; Chris Kominski, South Lyon East; Frank Potenza, Stoney Creek; Brendan Shelby, Walled Lake Northern; Greg Piscopink, Brother Rice.

Running backs: Donovan Edwards, West Bloomfield; Kobe Manzo, Lake Orion; Dakota Myers, Lakeland; Calvin Brown, Walled Lake Western; CJ Davidson, Walled Lake Central; Max Schumacher, Seaholm; Earle Weaver, Royal Oak; Derrick Hinton, Avondale; Kendall Williams, Farmington; Kobe Anthony, Avondale; Josh McCarty, St. Mary’s; Jacob Gasso, Bloomfield; Josh Winowich, Country Day.

Linebackers: Austin Schlict, Oxford; Makari Page, West Bloomfield; Isaac Kinne, Lake Orion; Larry Platt, Waterford Kettering; Vincent Rawls, Harrison; Joel Mitchell, Groves; Jordan Turner, Farmington; James DeWald, Seaholm; Connor Jackson, Royal Oak; Sam Varotti, Oxford; Bryson Kirschenheiter, Catholic Central; Jake Honstetter, Clarkston; Ethan Polselli, Bloomfield.

Defensive backs: Brendan Dancer, South Lyon; Jake Newman, South Lyon; Keimonnee Fields, Waterford Mott; Daymond Hamler, Waterford Kettering; Khalil Dawsey, Groves; Xavier Goldsmith, Harrison; Matthew Corporam, North Farmington; Darrin King, Country Day; Joe Binkowski, Royal Oak.

Kickers/punters: Aiden Jennings, Walled Lake Western; Justin Klotz, Seaholm; Max Ardwin, Royal Oak.