34 | APRIL 20 • 2023 

quick hits
BY STEVE STEIN 

T

he list keeps growing. 
And it’s an impressive 
list.
What list? The list of 
Division I colleges that have 
offered Birmingham Groves 
High School football star Avery 
Gach a scholarship as he turns 
the corner from his sophomore 
to his junior seasons.
“It’s cool. It’s crazy. It shows 
that my hard work is paying 
off, and if I keep working hard, 
there will be more offers,
” Gach 
said.
Groves football coach 
Brendan Flaherty wasn’t 
surprised to hear Gach say that.
“
Avery has a walk-on 
mentality. He’s a fighter. It’s in 
his DNA,
” he said.
Here’s a list of schools that 
have offers on the table for the 
6-foot-5, 285-pound offensive 

lineman:
From the Big Ten, there’s 
Michigan, Michigan State, 
Ohio State, Penn State, 
Maryland and Wisconsin. 
Staying in the Midwest, there’s 
Notre Dame.
From the SEC, there’s 
Auburn, Mississippi, 
Mississippi State and 
Vanderbilt. Alabama is 
interested in Gach but hasn’t 
made an offer.
Boston College and 
Pittsburgh from the ACC, 
Colorado from the Pac-10, 
Central Michigan and Toledo 
from the MAC, Marshall and 
Troy from the Sun Belt and 
Jackson State from the SWAC 
also have made offers.
While all those offers have 
been a lot to process, Gach has 
come up with a list of factors 

that will determine his college 
decision.
“I need to like the campus 
and obviously, getting a good 
education is important,
” he 
said. “I also want to be at 
a place where my coaches 
aren’t going to leave, I have 
an opportunity to get some 
playing time as a freshman, and 
where my parents can see all 
my games.
”
Flaherty isn’t surprised that 

Gach is getting so much atten-
tion from colleges.
“
Avery has the metrics. You 
can spot a Division I football 
player like him walking the 
hallways at school,
” he said. 
“He’s also powerful and strong 
and he plays incredibly hard. 
That shows up on film. You 
can’t teach that.
”
Staying focused on Groves 
while being wooed by major 
college football programs isn’t 

Division I colleges across the 
country are recruiting Birmingham 
Groves star Avery Gach.

Football Frenzy

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

sports
Avery Gach (74) 
blocks an Oak Park 
defensive lineman.

PHOTOS COUTESY GACH FAMILY

Aaron Radner’s 233 
Average is Highest in 
League History

They’re headed down the stretch in the 
Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson B’nai B’rith 
bowling league.
The playoff championship is on the line. So 
are the championships of two other post-sea-
son tournaments that are open to all league 
bowlers.
The regular season ended April 3 with 
Aaron Radner owning the highest average in 
the history of the 61-year-old league — 233. 
He held the old record of 229, set during the 
2019-20 season.
“It’s pretty cool to hold that record,” the 
28-year-old Farmington Hills resident said. 

“A lot of good bowlers have bowled in this 
league over the years.”
Radner has been bowling in the league 
since the 2017-18 season.
Harold Grossbart finished the regular sea-
son on a high note with a 257-256-247 —760 
series, 121 pins over his average. Brandon 
Achtman bowled a lifetime-best 285.
Six of the 24 league teams qualified for the 

playoffs.
Team Lebowski and the 600 Club won their 
division title in both halves of the season, so 
they moved right into the Final Four.
Mix-N-Match (that’s Radner’s team) and 
Hassholes each won their division title in the 
second half of the season. TheFlashDancers 
and The Gorillas were first-half division cham-
pions. Those four teams bowled April 10 to fill 
out the remaining two spots in the Final Four.
The playoff semifinals were April 17 and the 
playoff championship match, and final night of 
the season, is April 24.
Simultaneous with the playoffs over the 
final three weeks of the season are brack-
et-style and over-average tournaments. 
Bowlers must compete in all three weeks to 
be eligible. 

Record-breaker Aaron Radner (second from 
left) is joined by Mix-N-Match teammates 
(from left) Noah Cohen, Kenny Weiss and 
Brian Cohen.

GARY KLINGER

