Tri Valley East
School: Birch Run
Nickname: Panthers
2011 record: 4-5
Head coach: Chris Gilliam (15th season)
Key losses: Nate McGuire, Andrew Lapak, Jeff Roe
Key returnees: Grant Childs, Taylor Ellis, Jared Elliott, Andrew Helm, Jared Burke, Preston Hogan
Coach’s comment: Hard working, we have quite a few guys that had some significant action in at least three or four games last year coming back. Even though we are still young, a lot of those guys got some playing time last year. They’re hard-working and a good attitude,that’s definitely one of our strengths.
School: Bridgeport
Nickname: Bearcats
2011 record: 0-9
Head coach: Dave Gutierrez (1st year)
Key losses: Deaon Duncan, Xavier Hopkins
Key returnees: Joe Austin, Gerald Littlejohn,Vince Motley, Bryan Spaulding, Joe Histsman, Fred Crow, Jacob Childs, Clinton Keene
Coach’s comment: “I think that the attitude has been real good. The kids are working extremely hard. We have put in a new offense, and they’ve picked it up pretty quick. The attitude and how hard they are willing to work can change the program.”
School: Caro
Nickname: Tigers
2011 record: 2-7
Head coach: Kraig Houthoofd (3rd year)
Key losses:
Key returnees: Trevoer Jaster, Matt Sauser, Jake Hall, Chad Bennett, Kendall Betteridge, LJ Shelton
School: Garber
Nickname: Dukes
2011 record: 4-5
Head coach: Jake Coquillard (3rd year)
Key losses: Travis Myers, Riley Henika, Brandon Loomis
Key returnees: Wesley Asel, Will Frye, Simeon Berry, Alex Neering, Joe Foret
Coach’s comment: “Asel will be very important for us on both sides of the ball. RB and LB. We’re very optimistic for our team this year. Our goals are always to win the conference, and if we do that the playoffs will take care of that. We haven’t been in the playoffs for a couple years now, so this team is really looking forward to making a push for that. Skill-wise, size-wise, and speed-wise we have a legitimate chance to make those happen .”
School: Frankenmuth
Nickname: Eagles
2011 record: 6-4
Head coach: Tim VanWormer (4th year)
Key losses: Doug Ham, Travis Davis, Mack Corl, Jon Drake
Key returnees: Blaine Malochled, Ian Fischer, Jothan Micho, Jesse Micho, Zach Hevyese, Alex Helpap
Coach’s comment: “We have depth, and I think that’s the biggest thing. We have lots of speed. Our first three games are going to be extremely tough. Basically our first three games we will see how good we are. We do have three home games, so that’s going to help us out a bit. Last year we had turnover issues. If we can hold onto the ball ,we can be at the top of our conference and make another playoff.”
School: Millington
Nickname: Cardinals
2011 record: 10-1
Head coach: Roger Bearss (3rd year)
Key losses: Dustin Jacobs, Connor Collins
Key returnees: Dakota Sebert, Corey Rich, Chester Green, Jeremy Johnson, Nick Hajdo, Justin Babcock
School: North Branch
Nickname: Broncos
2011 record: 4-5
Head coach: Patrick Forester (13th year)
Key losses: Trevor Marceau, Stu Fielder
Key returnees: Jacob Young, Doug Stikeleather, Garret Bradley, Travis Hill, Travis Kukkola
Coach’s comment: “We are expecting great things this upcoming season. We are installing a lot of new elements to our system that our kids have done a great job during the season adjusting to. For right now, however, Imlay City and getting better each practice is our number one concern.”