GRIDIRON GAMEDAY WEEK 4 PREVIEW
Andrew Hanania | Wednesday | September 14, 2022 | 11:59pm
On Friday night, the Walled Lake Western Warriors (3-0/3-0 LVC) will take on the South Lyon East Cougars (3-0/3-0 LVC). Both teams will try to remain undefeated this season.
The two teams have faced off six times in their history. Former Farmington HC Kory Cioroch is in his 2nd yr at the helm for Walled Lake Western. The Warriors have taken all six of the matchups in a series that began in 2012. South Lyon East and 2nd yr HC Jacob Topp will attempt to put an end to East’s losing streak against Walled Lake Western. Last season, his Cougars dropped a tight decision to WL Western (21-14).
The WL Western offense is balanced, dynamic and features one of the state’s best QB/RB duos. Darius Taylor (Minnesota Commit) led the Warriors to a Week 1 win over last yrs Div 2 Semi Finalist, South Lyon. Taylor (784 rushing yards on year) had a school record 345 yrds rushing and 6 TD’s in the Warriors (47-26) opening week win. Drew Viotto (6’4, All LCV) is the strong-armed senior signal caller and future Golden Gopher teammate/roommate of Mr. Taylor. The Canadian born QB has been efficient, tossing to a 55% clip with 3 TD/475yrds.
The Warrior 4-3 defense has also been effective this year. They have nearly cut their points against total in half in back-to-back weeks. The heart of the defense is ILB Michael Bailey. The secondary is solid as well with transfer CB Darrell “Hollywood” Jones. The secondary also features speedy 2-way star Darius Taylor (All LCV) at FS to keep anything deep under wraps.
The visitors from South Lyon East (3-0) come into this game riding the best start in program history. SLE’s offense is led by their explosive senior WR Jordan Newbill (9 rec 210yrd 5 TD) and his reliable QB Nico Campo. The 6’2 Campo has shown great accuracy (26-37) and command of the offense through the first few games. He has 7 TD passes on the season, including 3 TD passes last week in the Cougars impressive 42-19 win over Waterford Mott.
South Lyon East features a 3-4 defense that has limited opponents to just 9ppg this year. LB Jayden LaPerna is a 2 time captain and is coming off a solid 6.5 tackle performance last week vs Mott. The secondary will be tested against a potent WLW passing attack. The Cougars feature a secondary that is littered with returning All LVC performers. Jordan Newbill doubles as a lock down cornerback and leads the team with 2 Ints. The safeties are skilled as well, with SS Caleb Gash (son of former NFL and Super Bowl Champ (FB) Sam Gash) and FS Drew Moyer (All LVC in basketball and football in 2021).
The game will be played at Walled Lake Western High School on Friday and coverage will begin live on The Prep YouTube and NFHS at 6:45 with a 7:00 kickoff.
