Dan Stickradt
Sports Scene
CLARKSTON — Few schools in recent memory have been able to match Clarkston’s rate of success the last two years.
The Division 1 Wolves are riding a 27-game win streak heading into the 2015 prep football season. For a Class A school, that is a rarity.
The Wolves have also reached the postseason 12 straight times, last missing the postseason cut in the 2001 and 2002 seasons. Clarkston also advanced to the regionals finals (elite eight) in both 2006 and 2012 and reached the postseason in 17 of the past 21 seasons.
Clarkston, however, has graduated back-to-back large classes of athletes — yet enter the campaign with a very large target on its collective back. The Wolves are the two-time defending D-1 state champs after reaching the semifinals in 1999, 2000 and 2009 without a championship.
“We don’t feel like there’s too much pressure,“ offered senior running back Nolen Eriksen, an All-State choice last autumn who saw his track season cut short with a severely pulled hamstring. He is now fully healed and amped for the season.
“It doesn’t matter if we have a long winning streak or a long losing streak. We’re still going to work hard and go out there and try to win,” added Eriksen. “We still have something to prove.”
Kurt Richardson, who is entering his 29th season at the helm of Clarkston’s program, is hoping for a 13th straight winning season. While there are holes to fill, there’s also ample opportunity for other talented players to step up.
“There are opportunities,” said Richardson. “We have a couple of kids who were hurt most of last season and some good kids who were waiting for their turn. We did graduate a ton of kids. But we have some good kids who do have something to prove.”
Senior quarterback Anthony Reiner is one of those players with something to prove, as he takes the reigns from three-year DJ Zezula. Space eaters Sam Bullen and Nathan Troutvine will anchor the lines after injuries cut short their campaign a year ago.
Clarkston, which has captured three straight Oakland Activities Association Red Division titles and has won a conference record 22 straight conference games dating back to the 2011 season, has many other players on a roster of 75 ready to keep Clarkston at least amongst the top teams in the league and Division 1.
Junior center Gregg Gale, senior inside linebacker-fullback Mitch Heaton, senior linebacker Carter Clinton and senior kicker Alex Kessman, ADivision I college prospect, al bring back valuable experience.
Eight all-league players graduated monist the 40 or so players that departed.
“We’ve learned a lot from the last few years,” said Richardson. “But we can never rest on the past. Learn from it, yes. But we have to go out there and work hard for this season. We’re not as big as we have been in the past and we have a lot of players who will be in their first season as starters. We have a lot of work to do.”
And a lot to live up to in Clarkston.