Season begins this Thursday

TRI-CITY AREA — The wait is almost over with.

The 2024 season begins this Thursday with Almont visiting Marysville, Imlay City going to Hazel Park and Capac hosting Caseville. Those matchups list 7 p.m. starting times.

The next day sees Dryden kick off their campaign at home against North Huron. That battle is scheduled for 7 p.m.

At Almont, James Leusby enters season number 10 as the Raiders’ head coach.

The perennial powerhouse is coming off a 12-2 overall campaign, including a pacesetting 7-0 Blue Water Area Conference standing.

When the postseason began, Almont enjoyed a succesful run. It was there the Raiders rattled off wins over Clintondale (35-8), Warren Michigan Collegiate (40-38 in overtime), Detroit Edison (49-24) and Ovid-Elsie (45-21).

Those outcomes landed Almont a spot in the Division 6 state finals where they went up against Kingsley. That battle drew to close with Kingsley up by a 38-24 count.

Ayden Ferqueron (linebacker/runningback), Noah Campbell (center), Yousif Abu Joudeh (offensive line and defensive line), Lucas Mantini (safety) and Isaiah Bankston (guard) were Almont’s biggest losses due to graduation.

Chase Battani (runningback/linebacker), Dylan Taylor (offensive line and defensive line), Cole Willard (offensive line and defensive line), Luke Winkler (runningback/defensive back), Chase Davedowski (quarterback), Brent Corneau (tight end/defensive line), Cohen Ferqueron (tight end/linebacker) and Matthew Bacholzky (running back/defensive back) are Almont’s top returnees.

Almont enters the upcoming season as the odds-on favorite to win the BWAC title.

“Multipe teams can win the BWAC and it wouldn’t surprise me if the title holder has one loss this year,” Almont Coach James Leusby said. “It is definitely going to be a tough conference and it should make for some great games,” he noted.

Almont kicks off their 2024 campaign this Thursday with a road trip to Marysville. The non-league battle is scheduled for 7 p.m.

In Imlay City, Dave Brown starts his third season as head coach for the Spartans.

His squad will look to best last year’s 3-6 overall mark. That included a 1-6 Blue Water Area Conference showing, good for seventh place.

To achieve that goal, Imlay City will have to overcome the graduation losses of Travis Dupont (wide receiver, defensive back), Kade Vanderploeg (tight end/linebacker), Brady Redd (fullback/linebacker), Nick Chind (offensive line/defensive line) and Danny Newsom (wide receiver/defensive back).

Matt Evans (quarterback/defensive back), Tanner Land (runningback/defensive back), Andrew Cezik (wide receiver/kicker/punter), Aiden Furgerson (tight end/linebacker), Jaydin Hall (offensive line/defensive line), Jerry Zheng (offensive line/defensive line), Travis Bush (offensive line/defensive line), Brody Spreeman (offensive line/defensive line), Isaac Stimson (offensive line/defensive line), Brian Patrick (wide receiver/defensive back) and Travis Tramontana (runningback/linebacker) are Imlay City’s top returnees.

Brown opted not to single out any team as BWAC title favorite.

“Everyone in the league has an opportunity to win it,” Brown said. “It is a very tough league top to bottom,” he noted.

Imlay City opens the season this Thursday when it travels to Hazel Park. The non-league encounter is slated to get underway at 7 p.m.

At Capac, Bill Nestle and Troy Schneider begin the season as co-coaches.

They take over the job from Rob Novy, who stepped down at the completion of last season.

Capac will be aiming to improve on last year’s 3-6 overall mark. That included a 1-6 record versus NCTL Stars Division counterparts, good for seventh place.

Wyatt Hurley (tight end/defensive end), Carlos Uribe-Arce (quarterback/defensive back), Travis Tice (defensive line) and James Meadows (offensive line) were Capac’s biggest losses due to graduation.

Sam Schneider (running back/defensive back), Alan Uribe-Arce (quarterback/defensive back), Peyton Frankowiak (runningback/linebacker), Brian Canelo-Rodriguez (offensive line/defensive end), Joe Dalessandro (split end/defensive back/kicker), Matt Grant (runningback/defensive line), Seth Turner (split end/defensive back) and Brody Tesnow (quarteback/defensive back) are Capac’s top returnees.

Nestle and Schneider also expect varsity newcomers Wiley Roose (tight end/defensive end), Zach Stroup (offensive line/defensive end), Boston Vock (split end/defensive back) and Gabe Peters (runningback/defensive back) to have an impact.

They list Deckerville, Kingston and Brown City as possible league title contenders this fall, with Capac possibly battling it out for that spot as well.

Capac kicks off their 2024 campaign this Thursday when it entertains Caseville. The non-league matchup lists a 7:30 p.m. starting time.

In Dryden, Hunter Gall is back for season two as the Cardinals head coach.

Dryden will look to improve on last year’s 2-7 overall mark. That included a 0-7 showing versus NCTL Stars Division foes, good for eighth place.

Mason Stofchek (center) and Josh Harris (runningback/linebacker) were Dryden’s biggest losses due to graduation.

Gianni Coscione (quarterback), Santiago Perales (wide receiver/cornerback), Sonny Coscione (wide receiver, cornerback), Owen Gall (linebacker), Preston Kuligowski (offensive and defensive line), David Insley (tight end and defensive end) and Drew Raymond (offensive line and defensive line) are Dryden’s top returnees.

When asked, Dryden Coach Hunter Gall opted not to list a favorite for the league title.

“This season is our second season back as a program,” Gall commented. “Last year we made a lot of growth and that is definitely showing so far this year,” he noted.

“We look prepped and ready for a great year of competitive football. I think we are a much improved team from last year. Our players have a full season under their belt now and we feel like we are trending in the right direction.”

Dryden begins the season this Friday when it entertains North Huron. That matchup lists a 7 p.m. starting time.