DAVID COOK
Sports Scene
With the type of size along the offensive and defensive lines typically found at Division 1 and 2 schools, there is no doubt that the St. Louis Sharks will be looking to muscle their way to some wins this fall.
The Sharks, who went 3-6 overall last season and 2-3 in the league, not only have plenty of size and strength this season, but they also bring back plenty of experience.
St. Louis also brings in a new coach this season in Ben Brock who brings with him over 20 years of coaching experience in the mid-Michigan area at Shepherd, Grayling and Carson City-Crystal.
“We have some great kids and they have been learning a lot,” Brock said. “It’s really a band of brothers. It’s really a group of kids who have been very successful at wrestling and other sports when they’ve been disciplined and had consistency in working in that sport. That’s what we’ve seen with football as these kids have come in. We’ve got nearly everyone coming in for the weight room sessions and the learning and skill sessions. Took a team camp up north to Kingsley and everybody came.”
On the offensive side of the ball, the Sharks feature a large, veteran offensive line anchored by Xander Brock (6-3, 310), a four-year varsity starter at offensive tackle who will be playing college football next year.
“We definitely at tackles we have two pretty big kids,” said Xander Brock. “We’ve got some big dudes. I’m looking forward to it. Defensively, our defensive line is about five times better than our offensive line and our offensive line is pretty good. We want to win the JPC 2 (Jack Pine Conference 2) and make a run in the playoffs. We haven’t made the playoffs in a minute.”
Fellow senior Tiger Russell (6-4, 265) is another four-year varsity player who is primed for a big season. Russell will also be playing college football at Alma College. Senior Ryder Siefka (6-0, 205) also returns up front.
“Our offensive line will be a strength,” said coach Brock. “Normally we don’t have this kind of size at St. Louis so this is unique.”
The St. Louis backfield also boasts big-school size starting with 6-foot-6, 195-pound senior quarterback Drew Challender who brings plenty of experience to the position.”
“I see us looking really good on offense,” Challender said. “We’re going to be pretty dominant on the offensive side of the ball unlike past years. A lot of things have changed on offense and we should be pretty good this year. We should have a good mix of running and passing.”
Lining up behind Challender at fullback is freshman Merrick Brock who is 5-foot-11 and 250 pounds.
“I’m excited, I’m ready,” said Merrick Brock. “We just want to go in positive and do what we haven’t done in the past.”
At the wide receiver spots the Sharks return even more experience in seniors Michael Borie (5-11, 185), Parker Wonch (5-9, 170) and Laythan Hayworth (5-8, 160). Borie is in his fourth year of starting for the Sharks and is also looking to play college football.
“We have a completely different system this year,” said Borie. “Last year, basically, all we did was run the ball. We ran a double-wing set, so it was all just running the ball down the field. This year we are going to have a mix. We’re still going to run the ball but we will also have a lot of play action and we also have spread which we can run as well.”
Playing Division 8 football, most of the Sharks play on both offense and defense. Along the defensive line the team is looking for Xander Brock and Russell to anchor the line at the tackle spots with Merrick Brock and Challender walling things off at the defensive end positions.
“As a team our first goal is week one,” said Russell. “We start out with Ithaca, the biggest game right there. That will be the test that we are here to play.”
The linebacking crew is led by Borie and Siefka.
“Our goal is perfection,” Siefka said. “I’m not saying we are going to be perfect, but our goals are that we are going to go farther than anybody knows. We’ve been working for the past six seven moths for this. I don’t think anybody sees us coming. I can’t wait. It’s going to be fun.”
In the secondary, the Sharks return Hayworth and Wonch.
A senior, Hayworth likes the way the team is coming together this season.
“The chemistry of our team has come up a lot,” Hayworth said. “The timing between all of us has gotten a lot better. I feel like in previous years when adversity came up, we didn’t adapt to that well and I feel like now we’re mixing things up and adapting well and we are going to push ourselves to the next level.”
Like Hayworth, Wonch is also looking forward to hitting the field with his teammates and making some history.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” Wonch said. “I think this is the most impressive our team has ever looked with 7-on-7s and stuff. I’m really excited to get into the season. I think our defense is pretty strong too.”
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