Ohio State QB commit leads Oak Park vs Utica Eisenhower in season opener

DETROIT – Two weeks before school begins, the football teams from Oak Park and Utica Eisenhower will start their studies early.

The state powers will meet 4 p.m. Thursday at Wayne State in the high school football opener that should serve as a stern test for both.

“That’s the point of playing a team like Oak Park,” Eisenhower coach Chris Smith said. “They’re going to find your weaknesses. You’re going to learn lessons about yourself, win or lose.”

Oak Park went 9-3 and advanced to the regional finals last year, and the Knights boast a roster loaded with some of the top recruits in Michigan.

Eisenhower went 11-1 and also reached the regional finals a year ago. The Eagles have won 21 straight regular-season games and haven’t had a losing record since 1984, according to the website michigan-football.com.

“Eisenhower is a great program,” Oak Park coach Greg Carter said. “They haven’t lost a league game in the last two years. We have the utmost respect for them.”

Oak Park and Eisenhower met last season, with the Eagles posting a 24-7 victory. This is a different year with different players, though both squads have several returning starters.

Six starters return on both sides of the ball for Oak Park, led by senior quarterback Dwan Mathis, who has committed to Ohio State.

“He does everything well,” Carter said. “He’s maturing as we speak. He has a grasp of our offense. He has the intangibles. He has all the tools, but there’s more than that to playing quarterback."

Mathis has impressed his coach by taking charge of the weight room and off-field activities for the Knights.

“He’s providing the leadership we need,” Carter said. “They’re a lot of young players who look up to him. He’s the perfect example of what a football player should be.”

Mathis has plenty of protection up front, thanks in large part to 6-foot-4, 300-pound lineman Justin Rogers. He is the state’s top-rated junior recruit, according to Rivals.com.

Shelby Givens, a three-year starter, joins Rogers on the offensive line.

“They present a lot of challenges,” Smith said. “They’re really big up front. They have a very physical offensive line.”

At 6-foot-5, wide receiver Maliq Carr, another highly touted junior, provides a tall target for Mathis. Senior running back Torriano Richardson, the brother of Los Angeles Rams rookie John Kelly, heads up the ground game.

Cornerbacks Corrion Montgomery and Enzo Jennings, the state’s No. 3 junior according to Rivals, lead a defense that recorded five shutouts last year en route to a share of the Oakland Activities Association White Division crown.

“We want to be super-competitive,” Carter said. “We want to represent our school and city the right way.”

Eisenhower must replace 35 seniors who graduated from last year’s Macomb Area Conference Red Division championship team. But the Eagles bring back nine starters on offense and three on defense.
Junior Blake Rastigue takes over at quarterback for Max Wittwer, who graduated and is now at Michigan.

“He’s looked great in the preseason,” Smith said. “He throws the ball well, and he runs the offense well.”

Rastigue will have help from senior running back Caleb Oyster, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season.

Zachary Petkoff anchors the offensive line, and receivers Ian Kennelly and Massimo D’Aristotile also are back.

Defensively, Kennelly leads an experienced secondary, and two-year starter Jai-Javante Reid returns at defensive end.

“They have an explosive offense,” Carter said. “We have to be ready.”