Hear from five football coaches who showed their passion at KLAA Media Day Thursday at Northville High School.
Sixteen coaches took the podium to speak about the upcoming Michigan high school football season during the Kensington Lakes Activities Association Media Day on Thursday at Northville High School.
Here are the five best soundbites from the press event:
Belleville is ready to get back on its feet
Belleville’s perfect season came to an end a year ago in the Division 1 state championship after Southfield A&T defeated the Tigers 36-32, ending its two-year state title winning streak.
With the return of the country’s top-ranked recruit to the Tigers, according to 247Sports.comWith LSU five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood and other talented new recruits, they expect a comeback in 2024.
“We had a rough end last year,” second-year coach Calvin Norman said. “We’re going to try to fix that and get back on track.”
Wayne Memorial starts anew
The new seniors at Wayne Memorial have their third head coach in four years. But the Zebras hope he stays.
They hired former NFL and CFL linebacker Jason Lamar to rebuild the culture and develop a winning mentality. Lamar knows exactly what it means to be part of a winning team. He won the Grey Cup, the CFL’s version of the Super Bowl, with the Edmonton Eskimos in 2003.
More: Coaches predict Belleville football will win KLAA championship for the seventh consecutive year
Wayne has won just two games since 2017 and has gone nine winless seasons in the last 14 years.
“You know the story of Wayne,” Lamar said. “It is what it is… I took this job to change the culture, the behavior, everything. But I can assure you of one thing: You’re not going to see the past (culture) and what Wayne Memorial football was about. I promise you that.”
KLAA West champions? Bulldogs ready to earn it
According to the league’s preseason coaches poll, Northville will defend its title as KLAA West champions, but watch out for Brighton, which the coaches project will finish second in the division.
After finishing 5-5 and losing to the Mustangs in the first round of the playoffs last year, the Bulldogs returned this past offseason with the motto “Earn It.”
“They spent the entire offseason doing just that,” coach Brian Lemons said. “Our guys are going to be pushed to the limit on the first day of practice this year. Our preparation is going to be the cornerstone of our success. The guys that come to work and the guys that prepare to play are going to be the ones that make the biggest difference.”
Brighton returns six starters on both sides of the ball, including All-KLAA selections Reed Blake-Thomas and Jaden Rogers at linebacker and defensive end, respectively.
It wouldn’t be far-fetched to see the Bulldogs sneak into the KLAA championship with their new attitude and approach.
“Our team worked very hard in the offseason,” Lemons added. “Our guys spent a lot of time in and out of the weight room and on the field. I think the whole offseason pushed us to keep getting better and more consistent.”
Rocks finally achieve off-season consistency
What a difference a year makes for Salem.
When former coach Brendan Murphy abruptly resigned before the 2023 season, the Rocks had just weeks to find his successor and settled on assistant Landon Garrett, who took over the program just three months before the start of the season.
Therefore, it was no surprise that Salem finished 1-8 for the third consecutive year and recorded a losing percentage for the sixth consecutive season.
The Rocks should be better off in year two as Garrett has had a full offseason to work with his players and prepare for this fall. This extra time with his players has also helped him grow the program.
“For us this offseason has really been about dedication and hard work,” said Garrett, who returns five defensive starters and a handful of playmakers on offense like senior Aiden Moore. “When I first came to Salem with Coach Murphy, we had 36 kids in the entire program. That ranged from 10th grade up.”
“This year we currently have 128 children enrolled. This is thanks to the hard work and dedication of these young men alongside me who work hard every day.”
Patriots return with a lot of experience
Although Livonia Franklin graduated running back Jon Jasionowski, the 2023 Hometown Life Player of the Year, who now plays at Concordia-Ann Arbor, the program did not lose too many players.
In fact, the team has only produced 12 graduates and returns a ton of experienced veterans who saw some playing time as sophomores and juniors. This includes third-year players Owen Pittenger, Owen Phail and Mendale Broaden, as well as several other talented returnees such as Derek Hetu, Jaiden Mabins, Julian Castillo and Eric Marsh.
They’ve lost just four starters on both sides of the ball, which should help the Patriots, who were 6-4 a year ago, rebound from their Round 1 exit in last season’s postseason. Coach Chris Kelbert hopes his seniors can win another district title and get back to the regional round like they did in their younger years.
“Last year we had a lot of young guys — sophomores and sophomores — playing for us,” Kelbert said. “I’m really excited about this class. … (This year’s seniors) have been very successful. Last year we didn’t achieve the success we wanted, and I felt like we underperformed last year.”
“So our motto for this summer and the offseason was to get back to where we want to be and make this senior class one of those groups that produces championships and does things that continue our program.”
Brandon Folsom covers high school sports in metro Detroit for Hometown Life. Follow him on Twitter @folsombrandonj.
