Speaking of Sports Column Archive

Speaking
of
Sports

by
Bernie
Fratto

Home Sweet Home

11/6/04
Who’d a thunk it? Naw, not that the Crazy Cats would win their 3rd straight District Championship. Not that the Crazy Cats would “upset” the undefeated Canton Chiefs. I believed from the get go they would cause chaos.

I’m talking about their upcoming opponent. Not only will Novi get the opportunity to compete for their 2nd straight Regional Championship, they’ll square off against a very familiar neighbor, the South Lyon Lions.

The Lions have been impressive since Novi toppled them at their own Homecoming game back on Oct 1st. They finished the season strong by scoring 37 points against always-tough SEC representative Saline, and then outscored their two-playoff opponents, Brighton and Ann Arbor Pioneer, by a combined 67-34.

On the other side of the coin, Novi’s offense has been a machine! After putting up 86 points on cross-town rival Northville the last couple of weeks, they ran through and they ran around Canton’s vaunted defense scoring 20 points, (the most Canton had given up all year). But most importantly, they moved the chains, had great success on 1st down and 3rd down, and they executed with real precision.

So, why do I think Friday night’s game will be a defensive struggle? South Lyon comes to town with an impressive defensive resume. This season they have managed to pitch 5 shutouts! Walled Lake Northern, Milford, Howell, Lakeland, and Pinckney, never crossed the goal line against the stingy Lions this year.

Meanwhile, the Novi Wildcats had two shutouts of their own. One was against Canton in the District Championship. Canton had scored over 440 points in their previous 10 games, and when you add the fact the visiting Cats did it on Canton's home turf, it makes it that much more impressive.

And the other shutout?… You guessed it - it was at South Lyon back on October 1st.

Jump to the present… The Novi Wildcats were extremely impressive as they garnered their 9th win of the season Friday, and they may be peaking at just the right time. And, as you know, Cats have nine lives, but Wildcats have at least 10 lives; maybe more.

I like Novi 14-7 in this Friday’s Regional Championship match-up vs. South Lyon.

We’ll see you at Wildcat Country Friday night, one more time, so be ready to go, have your game face on, make lots of noise, and get there early! GO CATS!

In other words, don’t get shutout…

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Bernie Fratto is a freelance writer, radio personality, and motivational speaker. His passion for sports comes in part from his experience as a former Cincinnati Red farm- hand. "Behind every sports story lies the hearts and minds of real human beings" said Fratto. "These athletic endeavors often serve as a metaphor for the game we call life."

Bernie is also the voice of Novi Wildcat Hockey and host of Wildcat Face-off, a local radio program dedicated to youth sports in Novi.