Article - High School Sports Scene

OK Gold

Catholic Central

Nickname: Cougars

Coach: Trip Gallery

2012 Record: 10-1

Players lost: Joe Craven, Nate Hollern, Noah Sullivan, Ryheem Stokes, Dominic Paiz

Players returning: Joe Nixon, Nick Marosi, Austin Gordon, Colin Moran, Luke Ens, Jake VanderWal, Calvin Bischoff, Daniel Drummond

Coach’s comment: The Cougars will again have a potent air attack led by senior quarterback Joe Nixon and talented junior wide receiver Nick Marosi. The Cougars also have a pair of talented running backs. The key to success will lie on the defensive side of the ball.

Hastings

Nickname: Saxons

Coach: Fred Rademacher

2012 Record: 6-4

Players lost: Kenny Cross, Jon French, Michael Eastman, Stefan Horvat, Eric Hart

Players returning: Stephen Shaffer, Jason Slaughter, Taylor Horton, Nate Powoski, Logan Clements, Miguel Arjona, Zach McMahon

Notes: The Saxons play rugged, hard-nosed football and this year will be no exception. Hastings will not “wow you” but they will again have a solid squad.”

Thornapple Kellogg

Nickname: Trojans

Coach: Chad Ruger

2012 Record: 3-6

Players lost: Addison Schipper, Danny Dykstra, Pete Westra, Aaron Ordway, J Bronkema, Cole Gahon

Players returning: Garrett Harris, Connor Collier, Dan Yates, Clay Francisco, Devin Sloan, Kamryn Kidder, Jacob Nelson

Coach’s comment: “I love our chemistry. This is a young, but passionate and united, group of guys.”

Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills

Nickname: Bengals

Coach: Chuck Ruffin

2012 Record: 3-6

Players lost: Quinton Pulley, Jordyn Guy, Eric Reyes

Players returning: Rodney Davis, Sam Beal, Keshawn Wilkerson, Rajamon Watkins, Greg Epps, Elijah Townsend, Jeffrey Hudgins

Notes: The Bengals have plenty of talent. Offensively, they feature plenty of speed and game-breakers. Strong line play and defensive improvement will dictate how strong a season they will have.

South Christian

Nickname: Sailors

Coach: Mark Tamminga

2012 Record: 11-3

Players lost: Brandon Kuiphof, Andy Grasman, Jason Miller, Seth VanEngen, Jordan Sundelius

Players returning: Jon Wassink, Travis Steenwyk, Sam Heyboer, Todd Postma, David Boomsma

Coach’s comment: “We have got a good core nucleus back from the state championship team, and that starts with Jon Wassink. We also have an offensive line that is coming along well.”

Wayland Union

Nickname: Wildcats

Coach: Jerry Diorio

2012 Record: 0-9

Players lost: Taylor Winger, Jerry Janson, Taylor Collins

Players returning: Trevor Clausen, Quentin Sweeney, Dominic LaHuis, Mike Miklusicak, Mike Schanedorf, Colton VanDyke, Justin Eastman, Jack Phillips

Notes: This is coach Diorio’s second season of his second tenure at Wayland. The Wildcats have loads of experience and anyone looking for an easy win against the Wildcats will go away licking their wounds.

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OK Black

Kenowa Hills

Nickname: Knights

Coach: Scott VanEssen

2012 Record: 5-5

Players lost: Cody Ritsema, Dylan Smith, Luke VanEssen, Chad Meister, Mike Pickart

Players returning: Travis Breuker, Zach Evans, Sean Beachnau, Eric Orsinger, Josh Fransted, Chase Dunneback, Malik Swain, Jared Zczesny, Derek Smith

Coach’s comment: “We lost a lot of offensive skill players that we have to replace. The kids have been working hard in the off-season, and I know who we put on the field will play hard.”

Mona Shores

Nickname: Sailors

Coach: Matt Koziak

2012 Record: 4-5

Players lost: Darnell Longmire, Alek Jend, Brandon Stafford, Collin Sullivan, Chris Bradford, David Bloom

Players returning: Tyree Jackson, Marquan Sargent, Diante Moffitt, Cody Schneider, Jake Workman, Hunter Broersma

Coach’s comment: “We have a lot of skill kids back and a lot of talented skill kids. If we can get our offensive line to be just average, we can be really good because we can really get the ball on the perimeter.”

Muskegon

Nickname: Big Reds

Coach: Shane Fairfield

2012 Record: 12-2

Players lost: Antoine Billings, Quincy Crosby, Shandar Ricks, Noah Tozer, Sherman Hodges, Jalen Smith, Ronald Jenkins

Players returning: DeShaun Thrower, Javauntae Thomas, Caleb Washington, John Hall, Justin Foster, Malik King, Ken Finley, Will Hunt, Jacob Sims, John Hall

Coach’s comment: “We have seven starters back on defense. They all played in 14 games last season, and to have the mental toughness to play 14 games and the leadership they bring is a big strength.”

Reeths-Puffer

Nickname: Rockets

Coach: Kyle Jewett

2012 Record: 3-6

Players lost: Johnderius Betts, Marquis Livers, Kyle Kolbe

Players returning: Garrett Blanshine, Julian Munday, Dereko Riley, Buck Tottingham, Matt Hoover, Corey Plichta, Steve Hanson, Jake Balkema, Josh Buie

Coach’s comment: “We have pretty high expectations. This is my second year with the program, and I think everyone has a better grasp of the offense and the defense, and I think we will be that much better.”

Grand Rapids Union

Nickname: Red Hawks

Coach: Tommie Elliott

2012 Record: 1-8

Players lost: Devon Baker, Aaron Wright, Jalen Vasser, Javon Burns, Deseean Herrera

Players returning: Paul Brown, Jacquiese Rogers, Juwan Sterling, Anthony Rios, Jakar Key, Alanta Brown, Taimu Nhytro, Cedric Pennamen, Robert Arrington

Coach’s comment: We have a lot of new faces on defense. We are going to be very aggressive and get after people. We will use our aggressiveness to cause opposing offenses problems.”

Zeeland East

Nickname: Chix

Coach: Derek Pennington

2012 Record: 9-1

Players lost: Michael Custer, Andrew Bouwman, Josh Blauwkamp, Patrick Banks

Players returning: Spencer Viening, Corey Westra, Jacob Compagner, Bud Cliffman, Gordon Hoonhorst, Josh Hart, Devin Butler, Jacob Gregory, Jadin Hunderman, Seth Nyberg, Austin Bellis, Travis Jacobs

Coach’s comment: “I think defensively we return more kids. We are probably further ahead there then we are on offense.”

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OK White

Caledonia

Nickname: Fighting Scots

Coach: Steve Uyl

2012 Record: 9-4

Players lost: Ryan Zoet, Isaac Andrusiak, Garrett Hubbell, Heath Hoogerhyde, Tanner Ellens

Players returning: Matt Delaney, Zach Zoet, Tagg Huver, Jake Vanderveen, Eddie Kelly, Landon Tompkins, Kobe Wilson, Jon Hubbell, Michael Andrusiak, Logan Soule

Notes: The Fighting Scots reached the state semifinals last season as they flew under the radar after turning in a 6-3 regular-season mark. The Fighting Scots may not be the biggestteam around but they are rugged and well coached.

East Grand Rapids

Nickname: Pioneers

Coach: Pete Stuursma

2012 Record: 4-5

Players lost: Gunner Elder, Jahaan Brown, Marcus Hall, Chris Dickow

Players returning: Carter Masek, Conor Conaboy, Troy Gotch, James Eerdmans, Stephen Gillispie, Mikey Roth, Tre Fields, Colin Grogan

Notes: The Pioneers suffered their firsrt losing season since 2000 and also failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2000. With a number of key returnees back East is poised for a bounce-back year, but playing in the rugged OK White will not make things easy.

Forest Hills Central

Nickname: Rangers

Coach: Tim Rogers

2012 Record: 5-4

Players lost: Justin Chopp, Spencer Nehls, Collin Schlosser, Nick Lamica, Chris Bosscher, Hunter Folkertsma

Players returning: Zach Walker, Patrick Donovan, Alex VanVossen, John Nutter, Brett Miller, Parker Tillman, Josh Lamica

Notes: The Rangers missed out on the playoffs for the first time in three years last fall. This year’s team returns a good core led by running back Zach Walker but six wins will be hard to find playing in the OK Red.

Grand Rapids Christian

Nickname: Eagles

Coach: Don Fellows

2012 Record: 13-1

Players lost: Alex VanDeVusse, Christian VanDeBerg, Davaris Collier, Zach Crouch, Alex Korhorn, Matt Hall

Players returning: Drake Harris, Tommy Doles, Dwayne Barfield, Sammy Kuiper, Jack Bates, Qi’Ante Ewing, Mitch Damstra, Juwan Jarnegan

Notes: The Eagles won the D3 state title last season and are poised to make it two in a row. Wide receiver Drake Harris is a once-in-a-lifetime athlete. The Eagles also picked up a huge transfer in Jenison quarterback Kyle Sigler who has a world of tools to work with.

Lowell

Nickname: Red Arrows

Coach: Noel Dean

2012 Record: 8-3

Players lost: Dan Dyer, Pierce Watkins, Ryan Schaffer, Shannon Massey

Players returning: Kyler Shurlow, Alex Kaminski, Jeff Houston, Zach Kaywood, Josiah Buys, Matt Ritsma, Ben Bigham, Kyle Blough, Josh Colegrove, Jake Stephens, Dillon Brower

Notes: The Red Arrows suffered heavy graduation losses but that is nothing new for a program that reloads instead of rebuilds. The Red Arrows have a solid core of players back and plenty of depth and are poised for another big season.

Jenison

Nickname: Wildcats

Coach: Todd Kolster

2012 Record: 0-9

Players lost: Collin Nyboer, Connor Blanch, Alec Withrow, Austin Duval, Kyle Chestnut, Logan Johnson, Ian Koziateck

Players returning: Darian Dismukes, Ben Deritter, Timmy Jirtle, Luke Diekevers, Jake Bailey, CJ VanTimmeren, Brett Bethke

Coach’s comment: “We are a work in progress. We are doing things differently than the way they were done in the past.”

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OK Red

East Kentwood

Nickname: Falcons

Coach: Ryan Gallogly

2012 Record: 4-5

Players lost: Houston Glass, Ricky May, Alex Browley

Players returning: Kyle Friberg, Mike Ivy, Colin Calloway, Kevin Smith, Elliott Jordan, John Keenoy, Donte Nelson, Gabe Ramirez, Sammy Ryans

Coach’s comment: “So far it’s been a pretty smooth transition. We are trying to install a new offense and defense as quickly as we can.”

Grand Haven

Nickname: Buccaneers

Coach: Mike Farley

2012 Record: 3-6

Players lost: Matt Mulcahy, Mike Penland, Conner Moynihan, Jeff Olson

Players returning: Isaak Newhouse, Dakota Juarez, Abe Westerman, Aaron Gordon, Wade Wilson, Cody Jonas, Tyler Tippins

Coach’s comment: “We have good team speed this year. We are able to run and be physical, and if we do that, we have a chance to have success.”

Grandville

Nickname: Bulldogs

Coach: Mike Lapciuk

2012 Record: 4-5

Players lost: Andrew Vavere, Jessie Perez, Utah Bartholic, Dylan Jolliffe

Players returning: Ryan Fischer, Austin Schuur, Jake Schmid, Zak Koster, Brian Cappiello, Danil Young, Daniel Schanley

Coach’s comment: “This is the third year of our system, and things are a whole lot better. We are looking to take things to the next level. We won four games last year, and we want to qualify for the playoffs this year.”

Hudsonville

Nickname: Eagles

Coach: Dave Lidgard

2012 Record: 2-7

Players lost: Cody Brower, Justin VanDam, Louis Diaz, Jake Bull, Dustin Cole, Nate Kaboos

Players returning: Mason Opple, Dakota Prince, Mark Dieterle, Curt Doornbos, Dustin Tripp, Jack Ellermets, Mitch Laninga, Evan Akins, Zach Reynolds

Coach’s comment: “We are very excited and optimistic. We are going back to playing strong, fundamental football with an emphasis on the off-season program.”

Rockford

Nickname: Rams

Coach: Ralph Munger

2012 Record: 10-3

Players lost: Connor Darby, Sam Reinke, KC Zenner, Kyle Short, Jared Johnson

Players returning: Austin McKellar, Brent Showers, Randy Garvin, Josh Olson, Zach Sargent, C.J. Farmer, Jimmy Scales, Jarett Sobkowiak, Jimmy Olewinski, Trevor Coughlin

Coach’s comment: “We have a lot of inexperience, but we also had a lot of guys working hard in the off-season. We will have to see what happens. This is a fun group to work with.”

West Ottawa

Nickname: Panthers

Coach: Rory Zegunis

2012 Record: 8-3

Players lost: Trevor VanTubergen, Ato Condelee, Nate Colvin, Seth Mika, Miguel Correa

Players returning: Jared McNitt, James Lacey, Christian Rodino, J.D. Otteman, Mason Dekker, Alex Zimmerman, P.J. Trammel

Coach’s comment: “We are very experienced on defense. We have a good core group and a lot of experience coming back, and that has created a lot of excitement.”

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One of the premier rivalries in Mid-Michigan takes place Thursday Aug. 29 when the Owosso Trojans host their crosstown rivals the Corunna Cavaliers.

Owosso has held the upper hand in the rivalry in recent years as the Trojans have won the last three contests. Owosso won last year’s matchup 49-28 as they opened a big season that resulted in a playoff berth.

This year Owosso faces some rebuilding as graduation took a heavy toll. The Trojans look to have a solid run game this season led by tailback Brody Eddington and fullback Josh Pouillon.

Corunna, on the other hand, returns a number of veterans off last year’s squad. Senior running back MJ Myles is a returning all-conference player and will line up behind all-conference fullback Frankie Ardelean. The Cavaliers also return a veteran quarterback in Grant Renwick along with tight end Robert Compton (6-3, 255) along with big-play receiver Mykhail Myles.

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One of the best opening-night games in 2012 was Charlotte at St. Johns. The host Redwings scored a touchdown and added the two-point conversion late in the game to escape with a 21-20 win and fuel a regular-season run that ended with a playoff berth.

This year St. Johns makes the trip to Charlotte on Thursday Aug. 29 and the host Orioles will be looking to snap a seven-game winless streak against St. Johns.

The visiting Redwings were hit hard by graduation and will be breaking in several new starters. St. Johns does return senior running back T.J. Havens who paced the Redwing ground attack last fall.

Charlotte returns a host of players from last year’s squad but must replace three-year starting quarterback Ryan Bartolacci. The Orioles return a trio of all-conference linemen up front and have a defense with a pair of all-conference linebackers back in Colton Walser and C.J. VanAlstine.

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TVC Central

School: Swan Valley

Nickname: Vikings

Coach: Ken Bourbina

2012 record: 10-3

Players lost: Travis Bell, Tyler Branch, Brad Boehler, Mike Sielinski

Players returning: Alex Grace, Alex Dils, Taylor Reaume, Ben Finzel, Brock Notter, Nick Call

Coach’s comment: “The guys have worked pretty hard. It’s getting the new pieces of the puzzle in and getting them up to speed. We have skill players coming back and a good core of kids. [Running back] Alex Grace is bigger and faster. We are anxious to see how he does. We are coming back with experience from that long playoff run, and the guys know how hard it was to get there. We have strong leadership back.”

School: Freeland

Nickname: Falcons

Coach: Kevin Townsend

2012 record: 6-4

Players lost: Chris Graebner, Mitchell Noack, Shane Flattery, Matt Schauman, P.J. Luebbert, Mitchell Whitting, Aaron Townley, Alex Green, Eric Sheffield

Players returning: Kyle Guster, Josh Schlak, Ryan Richter, Charlie Ferens, Drew Mojica, Spencer Trimble, Zach Reimus, Keegan Reimus, Noah Steburger, Will Schwartz, Dustin Leslie

Coach’s comment: “We are young, real young, with 22 juniors. We have seniors that played a lot last year and are ready to go. Our quarterback is a junior, our running back is a junior, and we have three juniors on the offensive line. Our incoming juniors went undefeated last year. They averaged 58 points and gave up an average of six. They know how to win. But they are young, and we have to get them to handle adversity when we run into some.”

School: Hemlock

Nickname: Huskies

Coach: Bruce Bendix

2012 record: 9-2

Players lost: Chase Wiechmann, Aaron Mathias, Reese Engel, Ryan Hagarty, Dylan Honsinger, Mitch Menard, Matt Jesse

Players returning: John Kaufmann, Logan Mulvaney, Ethan Apsey, Austin York, Alberto Flores, Ben Lange, Tony Speckhard

Coach’s comment: “We won nine games with a pretty successful senior class. We don’t have a lot of starters back, but the kids got experience from injuries and when games got out of hand. We had a good summer. We are not lost on talent. We have a little size and speed, and we’ve learned to win over the past couple years despite being the smallest school in the conference. Depth is an issue. We need to stay healthy, and if we do, I think we can be competitive.”

School: Shepherd

Nickname: Bluejays

Coach: Nathan Ferency

2012 record: 1-8

Players lost: David Hiner, Nate Casper

Players returning: Brandon Stressman, Justin Shufelt, Nick Sponseller, Tim Kirby, Skylar Neyome

Coach’s comment: “We are a really young team, but the kids are working hard. They know the expectations, and that 1-8 is not acceptable. They are working toward that and we will meet that. We are going to get this program turned back around. We are a run team. We want to establish the run and open up the pass.”

School: Bullock Creek

Nickname: Lancers

Coach: Jon Danna

2012 record: 5-4

Players lost: Zack Reed, Tyler Miller, Jason Kreucher

Players returning: Parrish TerBurgh, Tim Sensabaugh, Jacob Kissane, Kenan Degley, Christian Terwillegar, Z Michael Westley, Nate Bartosek, Caleb Somerville, Jaylin Henderson

Coach’s comment: “We need to go as hard as we can every single play. We have 20 kids and five are seniors, so we’re young. Running the football and stopping the run are our strengths.”

School: Chesaning

Nickname: Indians

Coach: Jason Gray

2012 record: 3-6

Players lost: Derek Bocek, David Yeager, Alex Devota

Players returning: Alex Forsyth, J.T. Gross, Colton Vrable, Justin Sloan

Coach’s comment: “Chesaning is a pretty proud program, winning state titles in 1998 and 2001. They were very competitive, and we are looking to get back to that. But I tell the kids that we have to crawl before we can walk. We need to learn how to block and learn how to tackle. We’ve got 30 juniors and seniors on varsity, and that’s good participation. That’s almost twice as many as last year. That’s a positive, and we are excited to get going.”

School: Alma

Nickname: Panthers

Coach: Jeff Ingersoll

2012 record: 5-4

Players lost: Brett Green, Mitch Mott, Vinny Costanzo, Tyler Brecht, Aaron Gilbert

Players returning: Curtis Doyle, Austin Coleman, Matt Young, Clayton Carr, Bryce Patton, Shae Nelson

Coach’s comment: “This is a great group of guys. The whole off-season they’ve worked hard in the weight room, on agility drills, and in seven-on-sevens. I think we will surprise a lot of people. We’ve lost some key guys, and a lot people think we’ll be down and out, but I think we will be a surprise.”

School: Ovid-Elsie

Nickname: Marauders

Coach: Travis Long

2012 record: 3-6

Players lost: B.J. Meisel, Jacob Helms, Jacob Price, Jacob Micka

Players returning: Skyler Cramer, Eric Smith, Luke Alexander, Chris Luckhurst, Zach Swartz, Travis Delaney, Austin Loynes

Coach’s comment: “We need to get more physical. I think if we do that and we come together as a team – we are pretty young – but if we work together, my expectations are to make the playoffs. The conference top to bottom will be a difficult schedule.”

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Jeff Chaney

Sports Scene

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Drake Harris knows the importance of good chemistry between a quarterback and a wide receiver.

The Grand Rapids Christian senior wideout experienced it the last two seasons with Eagles’ signal caller Alex Van De Vusse, especially last year when the two became the state’s most prolific passing combination.

Harris, an all-stater who will be taking his talents to the University of Michigan as one of the nation’s top recruits at wide receiver, set a state record for receiving yards with 2,016. He and Van De Vusse also connected for 25 touchdowns, which was one shy of the state record.

In the Division 3 state finals, Harris caught eight passes from Van De Vusse for 243 yards and a touchdown in the Eagles’ 40-37 overtime win over St. Mary’s Preparatory.

But Van De Vusse is gone, graduated from Grand Rapids Christian and playing baseball at Lincoln Trail College in Illinois.

Harris remains for his senior year, looking for chemistry with the Eagles new quarterback Tyler Sigler, grandson of former Belding state championship coach Irv Sigler.

When asked about how things are going so far, Harris says well. “It’s been great; so far we have been working a lot throwing the ball,” Harris said. “He is very accurate throwing the ball, and we are good friends off the field, so the chemistry has been great.”

Coach Don Fellows also likes what he sees from his new quarterback, a transfer from Jenison High School, and his star receiver.

“The chemistry has been great,” Fellows said. “Drake has been dealing with some hamstring issues, so there wasn’t a lot of extra time for reps, but the chemistry has been great.”

If it is possible, Fellows says he has seen improvements in Harris’ play heading into his senior season, and that may be because he is spending more time working on his football craft.

Last year at this time, Harris was committed to play both football and basketball at Michigan State University. But he decided to back out of that, and he committed to Michigan to play only football.

“Obviously he is more focused on football now,” Fellows said. He has decided to work in the weight room more, has gone to more camps, and has really learned how to play football. He is a smart kid, but now he is a smart football player.”

That is not good news for opposing defensive backs.

“He runs more complete routes now, and he knows situations on the field,” Fellows said. “He is a complete football player now.”

Harris doesn’t think so, though. “I want to keep improving, because I know nobody is perfect,” he said. “Now I want to focus more on this team now that I have my college stuff done. My main concentration now is to win another state title.”

When asked if this year’s Eagles can do that, Harris is noncommittal. “I can’t tell that right now,” he said. “We lost some key players, like Alex and some key players on our line. But I know we have the potential to be better.”

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During the off-season, the Walsh Cavaliers lost the only head coach they’ve ever known. Jim Dennison retired from the post he has held since the program’s inception in 1995 and passed the torch to Ted Karras, who enters fresh off winning the NAIA National Title at Marian University. Karras inherits a defense that kept the Cavaliers competitive in their inaugural run through the GLIAC, where they finished fourth in scoring defense with 21.5 points per game. This group should be heavy on experience, with as many as seven seniors slated to be in the starting lineup.

Despite running the ball the majority of the time last year, the key offensive returnee is a wideout. Anthony Schrock is back after averaging more than 18.5 yards per grab last year, and that big-play ability will be important for the Cavaliers, as there will be new faces at quarterback and throughout the offensive line. Schrock’s efforts should be aided by backs Steve Smith and Justin Keith, who both saw plenty of action behind last year’s primary ball carrier Toba Olarewaju.

The schedule offers no breaks for the Cavaliers. September games against Michigan Technological University and Ferris State University will be tough tests, as will an opener with Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference foe Edinboro University. October finds home tilts against Ohio Dominican University and Ashland University sandwiched around archrival Malone University. They conclude their slate by hitting the road four straight times.

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After multiple years of going winless or only registering a single victory, Tiffin University was able to cobble together three victories in 2012, and third-year coach Gary Goff looks to parlay that improvement into some legitimate momentum in the GLIAC South. While the quarterback position remains a question mark entering the season, nine starters do return on offense. Leading rusher Dominique White is back, as is All-GLIAC receiver Marcus Beaurem. They’ll be charged with pumping up a 17.7 point per game output from a year ago that put them near the bottom of the league in scoring.

Defensively, the Dragons return two of their top three tacklers in linebacker Brian McCorkle and All-GLIAC lineman Joseph Collard. Tiffin finished in the middle of the pack defensively, which is a bit of an improvement over years past.

Tiffin has a couple of interesting non-conference games on its schedule. It will face two NAIA clubs who are transitioning to Division II, McKendree University and South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Both those games are on the road, as are games with Grand Valley State University and Ashland University. The home folks will be visited by Michigan Technological University, nearby rival University of Findlay, and in early November, Ohio Dominican University.

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OK Gold preview

OK Black football preview

O-K White football preview

OK Red football preview

Owosso, Corunna renew long-standing rivalry on opening night of football season

St. Johns, Charlotte looking to open new season in thrilling fashion once again

TVC Central Preview

Mr. Spectacular GR Christian’s Drake Harris

An Eye on Walsh University

An Eye on Tiffin University