Trio of local squads looking to make playoffs again this season
A trio of local teams begin their football seasons on Friday evening. Three of those teams — Centreville, Colon and Mendon — are each looking to get back into the playoffs for this season. Here’s a quick look at each team prior to kickoffs on Friday.
Mendon (10-3 in 2022, lost in 8-player state championship)
Many of the youngsters from last year’s state finals team return to Mendon for this year. The Hornets were defeated by Powers North Central, a program that piled up three consecutive undefeated seasons. This year, Mendon has aspirations of getting back to the Superior Dome and contending for a state championship once again.
“I think it was good for a lot of our kids to be a part of that trip and that playoff run,” Mendon coach Bobby Kretschman said. “Our sophomores and juniors from that team gained experience and those kids know what it takes now to get to the finals.”
Mendon graduated quite a bit of size up front. The Hornets will once again be playing in the MHSAA’s 8-player football division and will have to find a way to run the football effectively without all that beef. Kretschman said this year’s squad has quite a bit of speed, which surely can help.
“Overall our team speed has improved, that’s where we feel the most confidence with this team right now,” Kretschman said. “We are flowing to the football well defensively. We have scrappy kids that are hungry for more, but we have a lot of work ahead of us.”
Mendon will open the season on Friday night at Bangor. The Vikings were just 3-6 last year and lost 53-0 to the Hornets. Mendon had a great off-season, coaches said, and the workouts with returning players were solid.
The group appears to have a good camaraderie. Leaders have emerged with Nick Stiver and Grant Crotser. Jack McCaw and Dylan Cupp will also be counted on for leadership on the defensive side of the football.
McCaw will also spend quite a bit of time with the football in his hands. The Hornets will run some Wildcat packages, but also utilize quarterback Mason Wilczynski as well. Wilczynski led the junior varsity program to better than 15 wins the last two seasons and Kretschman said the Hornets are looking forward to him being able to help run the offense.
“Those guys won a lot of games down there, so they’re used to winning and they expect to win,” Kretschman said of the JV players that will be up on varsity this season. “But, they also know it just doesn’t happen. There’s a process and we’re starting to see that as we head into the season.”
Centreville (6-4 in 2022, lost in districts)
Centreville will look to utilize its physicality this season. The Bulldogs have some solid size and athleticism up front on both sides of the football and now they are hoping the extra work pays off as they head into the season.
The Bulldogs were scheduled to play on Thursday night at Union City in the season opener, but that was moved because of the excessive heat warning. The two teams will now play at Union City on Saturday with kickoff set for 6 p.m.
Centreville head coach Jerry Schultz said his team put a lot of work into the offseason.
“This will be a very strong team for us. We really bought into the weight room this summer,” he said. “It’s nice to have a strength and conditioning coach with Justin Wells. That was a nice addition for us and our kids have bought into what he’s been showing us.”
Centreville is only a couple of years removed from the state championship. That team finished undefeated at 11-0 in the COVID-strange season and surrendered only 29 points all season, 14 of which came in the victory over Reading in the playoffs. Schultz and the Bulldogs feel they have a good defense again this season, maybe not as good as the state title one, but a strong one.
“There has been a great effort so far, no complaining and our guys are buying into the team bond. They really love football,” he said. “Not to say in other years our guys didn’t love it, but these kids are all football players and it’s nice to have that and see the team effort.”
Kam Wells will be the quarterback. It’s no surprise that Centreville will run the football a lot and the physical offensive line in front of Wells and the bevy of backs should mesh well. Centreville will have quite a few running backs with the ball in their hands this year.
The opening trip to Union City will be a tough one as the Chargers return quite a bit of talent from a team that won seven games last year.
“I want to see us battle through when things don’t go our way. Last year we struggled with that a bit and we can’t be afraid to go down a touchdown,” Schultz said. “When things go bad, you have to move on to the next play and keep going. We’re taken that mindset and are working on that.”
Mental toughness has also been an emphasis for the Bulldogs. Schultz said his team has done well at that so far this preseason and the Bulldogs are looking to make an impact early. Carter Cartier has made big strides, Schultz said, and has been a solid team leader in keeping the team morale high.
“It’s awesome to see him get better every day,” Schultz said. “As a team, we’re getting better every day as well. We need our guys to continue to come every day with good attitudes.”
Colon (10-1 in 2022, lost in regional finals)
There’s a new sheriff in town with the Colon Magi football program. Former head coach Robbie Hattan left the program for Battle Creek Pennfield, now Kevin Bennett and the Magi are looking to form their own path.
The culture is something to build on for the Magi.
“This group needs to continue that championship culture and I believe we can do that,” Bennett said. “I want to see us get that sense of competitiveness. We’re gonna have to go out and earn everything we have. We want to make a statement for this group in the program, nothing is given to us, we are not entitled.”
The Magi graduated a pair of multiple All-State players at key positions. Both Simon Vinson and Justin Wickey are gone, now the Magi look to maybe not fully replace them right away, but have a solid team effort to continue to get better.
The quarterback will be Maverick Downs. He’s been in the program for a handful of years and did see time at the QB spot previous to this year. Bennett said Downs gives Colon some versatility with his footwork and athleticism.
The Magi will run a spread offense but also want to be balanced in running and throwing the football. There are plenty of younger guys coming up through the program and many of them could see the field this season as the program continues to grow.
“We’re looking to get our younger guys some more reps, more practice time out here on the field,” Bennett said.
The offensive line should be a strength for Colon. The Magi return all three starters from last year in Johnny Greenwald, Hunter Jones and Wyatt Downs.
“Those guys have a camaraderie already, we’re happy to have them staying as a unit,” Bennett said.
Kaleb Thaxton and Owen Wilson will also be key pieces on both sides of the football and Kyle Muntian returns as well for the Magi.
“I’m a spread guy, that’s nothing new, we’re definitely gonna spread defenses out,” Bennett said. “We’ll see what we can do in the air and on the ground.”
Colon hosts Martin, the defending state champions in Division 1 for 8-player, on Friday night. Following that, the Magi hit the road for a second-week contest against Mendon.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Trio of local squads looking to make playoffs again this season
