Independents
School: Tawas Area
Nickname: Braves
Coach: Tim Webb, eighth year
2012 record: 1-8
Players lost: Matt Krumm, Hunter Walker
Players returning: Justin Kirinovic, Jacob Morgan, Erik Thatcher, Dan Howell, Cameron Ellis
Coach’s comment: “So far it’s been a lot of fun. Our numbers are good and the attitudes and effort have been outstanding. The chemistry on this team seems to be good, but we haven’t played any games yet, so it’s easy to get along right now.”
School: Standish-Sterling Central
Nickname: Panthers
Coach: Paul Walderzak, 31st year
2012 record: 7-4
Players lost: Jacob LeClair, Dan Miller, Isiah Doremus
Players returning: Seth Malcolm, Clay Walderzak, Matt Crawford, Tyler Walker, Jimmy Spencer, Anthony Prohaska, Kyle Blakley
Coach’s comment: “Our biggest chore is rebuilding our offensive line. We lost tackle to tackle, so we have to fill those positions. Also, on the defensive line, we lost two of our starting defensive lineman, so we have to replace those and our inside linebackers. We have some good candidates there, it’s just a matter of getting the right person to the right place and having some depth there. If we put those things into place, I think we’re a pretty balanced team. We have some kids that can run with decent speed, and I think we could put together a pretty solid team.”
School: Pinconning
Nickname: Spartans
Coach: Ben Tomke, third year
2012 record: 0-9
Players lost: Garrett Rezler, Gabe Kolbiaz, Tyler Perrou
Players returning: Dylan Staevler, Brandon Craven, Travis Thomas, Jacob Backus, Brenden Vieau, Josh Fiebke, Tyler Zinke, Jake Sylvester
Coach’s comment: “We’re excited for a couple reasons. We return 60 percent of our offensive line from last year. We are excited because I feel we have more team speed, we’re a little more explosive than we have been in the last couple years, and we’re excited we have two junior quarterbacks, and it’s been a nice competition for them.”
School: John Glenn
Nickname: Bobcats
Coach: Jeremy Werner
2012 record: 2-7
Players lost: Ryan Leiterman, Quentin Thomas
Players returning: Derek Clyde, Austin Bublitz, Garrett Krager, Tyler Robbins, Ryan Schofield