Xavier Wade and West Ottawa play Clarkston Saturday.

Class of 2018

Xavier Wade  6-3  180  Jr  WR  West Ottawa: It was a perfect convergence for Wade, who in Ryan Oshnock’s two seasons as West Ottawa’s coach has thrived in the system. He’s had a career that rivals any receiver in O-K Red history. As a junior Wade put up big numbers and flashed talent. As a senior he’s a better football, quicker into top gear of that smooth, long stride, and doing it for the first district championship team in school history. He had 11 catches for 185 yards and a TD in the district final win over Rockford. Wade was also the starting point guard on the school’s first-ever district champion basketball team. One of myriad targets for QB Isaac VanDyk. Good size and ball skills who is just too big a target coming out of the slot against one-on-one coverage he can heat you up with underneath routes but also can break long and make catches on the move. Could be an All-MAC player in four years. He was the top available senior in the Lake Area before La’darius Jefferson decommitted from Central Florida.

Lake Area Top 25 Seniors

1. Jalen Mayfield  6-5  250  OL/DL  Grand Rapids Catholic Central  Michigan
2. La’darius Jefferson  6-2  210  ATH  Muskegon  Michigan State
3. Ryan Hayes  6-7  260  ATH  Traverse City West  Michigan
4. Xavier Wade  6-3  180  WR  West Ottawa
5. Nolan Fugate  6-1  190  RB  Grand Rapids Catholic Central
6. Cade Peterson  6-5  190  QB  Maple City Glen Lake  Grand Valley State
7. Jason Whittaker  6-5  200  QB  Rockford  Northwestern
8. Braeden Childress  6-4  215  TE  Big Rapids
9. Joel Wilson  6-4  205  Edge  Petoskey
10. Antwan Reed  6-7  315  OL  Muskegon
11. Susu Davenport  6-1  175  ATH  Wyoming Godwin Heights
12. Caleb Murphy  6-4  210  Edge  Dowagiac  Grand Valley State
13. Eli Jackson  6-1  275  DL  Muskegon
14. Cody Carone  6-3  295  OL  Rockford  Ferris State
15. Keontae Watson  6-5  260  OL  Muskegon Mona Shores
16. Christian Brooks  6-2  220  LB  North Muskegon
17. Jacob Wohlgemuth  6-5  300  DL  Wyoming Kelloggsville
18. Dan VanOpstall  6-6  230  DL/OL  Jenison
19. Brett Taylor  5-10  220  LB  Comstock Park
20. CJ Jefferson  6-0  175  ATH  Muskegon
21. Willie Shanks  6-2  185  DB  Muskegon
22. Marcus Remtema  6-0  185  DB  Rockford  Grand Valley State
23. Brandon Anderson  5-10  155  WR/RB  Cassopolis
24. Keyshaun Summerville  6-0  165  WR/DB  Muskegon Mona Shores
25. Darius Pruitt  6-3  185  DB  Kalamazoo Central

Class of 2019

Boone Bonnema  6-3  215  Jr  LB/TE  Zeeland East: One of two FBS prospects on defense (Chix junior D-end Adam Berghorst was recently offered by WMU) who’ll be returning in 2018 for what should be another very good Zeeland East team. Bonnema is already a three-year starter. In any high school games he’s one of the biggest, most athletic kids on the field, and he plays up to that profile. He’s best when going full throttle, blitzing and making life hard on QBs or taking on blockers. He embraces the physical confrontation not much subtlety to it whether from his middle linebacker spot or coming out from his H-back spot to hit his corresponding defenders .Best college fit may be as ted linebacker in traditional 3-4. His main value on offense is as a blocker, he runs kind of looping routes but is athletic to make plays after the catch.

Enrique Gonzalez  6-4  185  Jr  ATH  Jenison: Received his varsity baptism against an at times brutal 2017 schedule — Forest Hills Central, Mona Shores, Muskegon, West Ottawa. In this case ‘athlete’ means ‘tweener.’ He’s a safety and receiver for the Wildcats. With frame and versatility could end up a linebacker or tight end.Tends to play too upright, so he’ll face the tough task of putting on strength while increasing flexibility to get the college coaches noticing.

Bryce Stark  5-11  175  Jr  RB  Montague:  Fittingly given the surname Stark, he’s played his best with winter coming. He ran for 254 yards and four TDs in a 47-0 opening round win over Lakeview then 227 yards and two touchdowns in the 37-13 district final against Kent City. For the year Stark has 161 rushing attempts for 1,501 yards and 28 touchdowns. He’ll see his toughest defense yet in the regional with Ithaca, which is strong on all three levels. Montague spreads it out but uses a power running game with Stark the only back. He’s a quick cut-back runner with good power for his size and the speed to finish, especially at the small-school level. Will have to show coaches he can catch the ball, though to his credit Stark’s only reception this year went for a TD.