Meet the 2023 All-Livingston County football offense
Not every football team in Livingston County had a strong offense in 2023, but every team had at least one high-caliber player.
All five teams are represented on the all-county first-team offense.
The strengths of certain teams are readily apparent in these selections.
Howell was a run-heavy team that has both running backs and two of the five offensive linemen on the first team. Brighton, which did most of its damage through the air, has a quarterback, receiver and tight end on the first team.
The team is selected by Livingston Daily sports writer Bill Khan after taking nominations from coaches.
Grant Hetherton
Brighton, quarterback, Sr.
► Accomplishments: With 1,959 passing yards in 10 games, Hetherton ranks sixth on the county’s single-season list. His games of 343 yards and 331 yards rank third and fourth in school history. He was 157-for-259, throwing 13 touchdowns. He was Brighton’s leading rusher, running 115 times for 546 yards and a county-high 12 touchdowns.
► Coach Brian Lemons: “Grant delivered on a lot of the things we were expecting to see. He had a terrific year running the ball, throwing the ball. His combined passing and running gave us something to lean on week after week.”
RELATED: Patience paid off for Livingston County offensive Player of the Year
Aiden Horvath
Howell, running back, Jr.
► Accomplishments: Horvath was second in the county in rushing with 774 yards on 137 carries, averaging 5.6 yards per carry. He was fourth in the county with seven touchdown runs. In his first varsity start at running back, he ran 27 times for 178 yards and two touchdowns against Canton.
► Coach Brian Lewis: “He really embodies what we want in a Howell fullback, just tough, gritty. He got better as the season went on with his running and vision.”
Justin Jones
Howell, running back, Jr.
► Accomplishments: Jones led the county in rushing with 988 yards on 148 carries, falling short of the 1,000-yard plateau because of injuries. He ran for eight touchdowns. Jones, who moved from quarterback to running back early in the season, ran 24 times for 230 yards and four touchdowns in a 43-7 victory at Brighton.
► Coach Brian Lewis: “He’s a multiple-position player, just the ultimate football player. He’s an ultra-competitive person. Obviously a fantastic runner, tough, but was able to really see and feel his way through the line in our offense and did nothing but get better as the season went on.”
Sebastian Boyea
Brighton, wide receiver, Jr.
► Accomplishments: In his first varsity season, Boyea was the leading receiver in a balanced Brighton attack with 38 catches for 434 yards. He had two touchdown catches on receptions of 42 and 28 yards.
► Coach Brian Lemons: “Sebastian’s development from start to finish was as high as anybody we had in the locker room. He came into his junior season and did a really good job getting ready in the weight room, in the gym, catching balls. He put himself in a position to be one of the better receivers in our conference.”
Nolan Carruthers
Pinckney, wide receiver, Jr.
► Accomplishments: Carruthers already has more catches than any player in Livingston County history with one season remaining. With a school-record 68 catches for 637 yards and four touchdowns, Carruthers boosted his two-year totals to 123 catches for 1,409 yards and 11 touchdowns. He broke the record of 105 catches set by Brighton’s Zach Nichols from 2004-05. Carruthers is a two-time all-region and all-county selection.
Brendan Ray
Fowlerville, wide receiver, Sr.
► Accomplishments: Ray was a three-year starter, catching 59 passes for 775 yards and three touchdowns during his career. He had 26 catches for 438 yards and three touchdowns as a senior, ranking second in the county in receiving yards.
► Coach Matt Copeland: “Brendan for three years has had a tremendous ability to get open and come up with the ball. He’s not the tallest, not the fastest, not the strongest athlete, but just one of those kids who gets open and catches the football. It’s hard to explain. He’s just an athlete. He’s smart as a whip. I never had to tell him stuff twice.”
Caleb Webb
Brighton, tight end, Sr.
► Accomplishments: The 6-8 Webb made an inviting target for Hetherton, consistently moving the chains with 28 catches for 340 yards in his only varsity season. He had six catches for 82 yards in a playoff loss at Northville.
► Coach Brian Lemons: “Our quarterbacks loved having that big target out there. He didn’t play as a junior due to injury, but when he came back his senior year I thought physically he had matured. The size is very attractive to college coaches and he’s got some solid ball skills.”
Kaden Custodio
Hartland, offensive lineman, Sr.
► Accomplishments: A two-year starter, Custodio was primarily a guard but moved to tackle because of injuries. He made the all-KLAA team.
► Coach Thomas Stevenson: “He was just a very steady technician and did exactly what we needed him to do. He’s one of the smartest kids up there and could help anyone on the line and knew what their assignments were.”
Will Darish
Hartland, offensive lineman, Sr.
► Accomplishments: Darish was Hartland’s starting center the last two seasons, earning all-KLAA honors.
► Coach Thomas Stevenson: “Most of the time, not hearing about centers is a good thing. That means the snaps are good. Will was really good. Along with Caden, he did a good job anchoring that line. He’s a real tough kid, the type of kid you want to have in a football program. You want to be around good hard-nosed football players who give you everything they have.”
Hayden Lorius
Brighton, offensive lineman, Sr.
► Accomplishments: Lorius was the only Livingston County offensive lineman to make all-region, grading out at 90% in blocking. A tackle who also played defense, Lorius was a second-team all-county selection last season.
► Coach Brian Lemons: “Hayden was the anchor of our offensive line, both physically and from a leadership standpoint. Big kids like that who can move are very dangerous on a high school football team. His season highlight was Week 9 where he kind of owned the line of scrimmage against Fordson. I think he’s going to be a terrific college football player.”
Ethan Ogden
Howell, offensive lineman, Sr.
► Accomplishments: Ogden was the top lineman on a Howell unit that was tasked with run-blocking on 92% of the Highlanders’ offensive plays. Ogden rarely played last season, but became a starting right tackle behind whom many of Howell’s 2,392 rushing yards were generated.
► Coach Brian Lewis: “He decided he wanted to be a real football guy, a college-level football guy. He worked at it during the offseason, put it on display all season, moved bodies at a high level, fought through injury and played every play. He had a phenomenal season.”
Shawn Turpin
Howell, offensive lineman, Jr.
► Accomplishments: Turpin saw occasional playing time as a sophomore before becoming a starting guard this season. He was a key part of a punishing line that paved the way for Howell’s average of 266 rushing yards per game.
► Coach Brian Lewis: “He was a great pulling guard for us, tough, physical, passionate, loves the game. He’s athletic for his body size. He’s a weight-room guy, a warrior guy, absolutely loves to lift. He loves the energy he gets from the offensive line.”
Will Shrader
Fowlerville, athlete, Jr.
► Accomplishments: Shrader played at a high level on both sides of the ball in his third varsity season. He led the county with seven touchdown receptions, catching 18 passes for 372 yards. He ranked 14th with 45 tackles.
► Coach Matt Copeland: “He’s the most intelligent player I’ve seen in 20 years. You can tell he grows up and he lives the game. If there was any confusion on the field, he not only knows his job, he knows what everybody else is going to do, too. He was the emergency quarterback, emergency linebacker. Any time we had a spot to fill, it was going to be him. If your best players are your hardest workers, you’ve got a chance to have some success.”
Braeden Chiles
Brighton, kicker, Sr.
►Accomplishments: Chiles is the only Livingston County player to make the coaches’ association’s all-state team. He was 5-for-7 on field goals, kicking a school-record 53-yarder against Northville. He was 17-for-20 on field goal attempts during his three-year career, earning all-county twice.
► Coach Brian Lemons: “Braeden was as good as they get as far as high school kickers go. He was also our starting defensive end and played a few different positions on offense in special packages. The guy’s out there in the meat grinder the whole game and, ‘Hey, you have to go out there and kick a game-winning field goal.’ He has the perfect temperament to be a successful specialist in college.”
SECOND TEAM
QB, Wyatt Soli, Fowlerville, Jr.
HB, Levi Curtin, Howell, Sr.
HB, Blake Juopperi, Fowlerville, Sr.
WR, Carter Gregg, Brighton, Sr.
WR, Brayden Platt, Brighton, Soph.
WR, Braden Streight, Hartland, Jr.
TE, Brody Stack, Howell, Soph.
OL, Tanner Baidel, Howell, Jr.
OL, Grant Pennycuff, Brighton, Sr.
OL, Jack Shaufele, Howell, Sr.
OL, Brayden Stimmel, Brighton, Jr.
OL, Jacob Esch, Fowlerville, Sr.
K, Alex Hernandez, Hartland, Jr.
HONORABLE MENTION
Brighton: Connor Cox (Soph.), Jackson Johnson (Jr.), Mason Mullally (Sr.).
Fowlerville: Adam Aeschliman (Sr.).
Hartland: Nevan Anderer (Sr.), James Butzier (Sr.), Easton Culver (Jr.), Fredy Diaz (Jr.), Matt Flynn (Jr.), Aidan Lindsay (Jr.), Kyle Pies (Sr.), Connor Renaud (Jr.), Gabe Timpa (Jr.).
Howell: Preston Barb (Soph.),Bobby Kanka (Jr.), Jordan Meyer (Jr.), Jackson Pahl (Soph.), Will Stewart (Sr.), Palmer VanDeven (Fr.).
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Meet the 2023 All-Livingston County football offense
