By BUTCH HARMON
Change is in the air for the Corunna football team this season. Not only have the Cavaliers graduated a plethora of talented football players, but they will also be playing in a new conference.
After playing in the Capital Area Activities Conference White Division since 2007, the Cavaliers have moved to the Genesee Athletic Conference Red Division. The switch moves Corunna from a Lansing-area league to more of a Flint-area league.
“We’re excited,” Corunna coach Chris Curtiss said. “We are coming out of a very, very tough CAAC league with a lot of tradition to a new league that is not any easier. The GAC is a very tough league. Teams like Montrose, Goodrich, Lake Fenton, and Beecher are in the playoffs every single year. The big thing for us is it cuts down the travel. We are going to be making half-hour trips as opposed to one hour and twenty minute trips. Our community is also more of a Flint-area community.”
Plenty of new faces will be making their debut for Corunna, as only two starters are back on offense and two on defense.
The Cavaliers are excited about their new quarterback. Senior Marshall Walters (6’3″, 195 pounds) has 4.6 speed in the 40-yard dash and can throw the ball as well as run it. He has a pair of talented receivers in twins Cory and Spencer Moore.
Up front, the Cavaliers return sophomore Brandon Blair (6’4″, 230). “Brandon started five games for us as a freshman,” Curtiss said. “He was the first freshman in 50 years to start a football game for Corunna.”
The Cavaliers also return senior Tristen Betts, who is moving from tackle to guard this season.
On defense, Corunna returns senior middle linebacker Josh Frosty (5’11”, 190), who had a big off-season and who is being looked on as a key member of the defense.
Walters also returns at outside linebacker, where he is a very physical defender. Taylor Jackson (6’1″, 175) is a sophomore who is surprising at outside linebacker.
Junior defensive lineman Elijah Gould (6’0″, 180) came up at the end of the season and played every down in the playoff game. He has estabished himself as a key defensive player this year.
“We have pretty good team speed this year,” Curtiss said. “In our defense, you have to be physical and aggressive, and if the young kids do that, we have a chance to stop people.”