By John Raffel
MaxPreps.com
Football kicks off this weekend and no team is as eager to get going as defending Division 4 state champions Marine City.
Head coach Tony Scarcelli's team hoisted the state title trophy at Ford Field last November after beating Detroit Country Day 21-7
Scarcelli hopes to get off to a better start than last season despite being a state champion. Marine City lost its opener to Melvindale, then won 13-straight for a 13-1 record.
“I knew we were good. We lost to a very good team,” Scarcelli said. “Our best player, our quarterback (Brendon Kay), who ended up getting a full ride to Cincinnati, did not play. He had a pulled hamstring. We lost 13-7 to a very good team without him. I knew we were a good team. It was a great game.
"We had a very good secondary,” Scarcelli said. “We defended the pass very well all year. We had an excellent fullback in Joe Wesley, a three-year starter. We were just a very balanced team. We could run and throw the pass well. I thought we were as well-balanced of a team as we could have been. We had a great quarterback who could make big plays for us.”
Wesley is at Akron with a track scholarship.
“He's probably among the top pole vaulters in the country,” Scarcelli said.
Plenty of talent returns, especially offensively, to fuel the optimism heading into this fall.
“We've got eight starters back on offense, our whole offensive line,” Scarcelli said.
Running backs Chad Alleman and Jamel Abrams will be key parts of the offense this season
Marine City is at Sterling Heights to open the season this weekend and then is at Marysville next weekend.
More Football
Grand Rapids South Christian's 27-year head coach Bob Blacquiere guided a state championship team in 2002 in Division 4 and state runner-up squads in 1984, 1986 and 1999. But the veteran coach doesn't recall seeing as powerful of a lineup as he does this season in the Grand Rapids area.
South Christian was 8-3 last season, losing to Zeeland West in the second round of the playoffs.
“I think we're going to have a competitive team,” he said. “We're a little bit small. We lost some size on defense. We're pretty thin in numbers. The league that we're in (O-K Gold) is pretty tough. We're kind of declining in enrollment. In our conference, Caledonia is back in and Wayland is really strong. Catholic Central and Ottawa Hills is in. This is the toughest league, from top to bottom that I've ever been in. We're hoping we're competitive. According to our scrimmage, we have a ways to go.”
The strength of his team should be the offense.
"We have a lot of returning people there," Blacquiere said. "(Quarterback) Brent Geers started as a sophomore. Now he's a senior. We have a couple of offensive tackles, plus one guard back. We are small but have some very quick athletic receivers. We're running the spread. A lot will depend on our offense, whether we can control the ball. If we're three and out we're in trouble. The strength will have to be our offense.”
Throughout the Grand Rapids area, Blacquiere sees a wealth of talented football teams.
“Grand Rapids Christian is going to be really good this year. They have a lot of skill coming back and a lot of talent,” Blacquiere said. “In our league, Wayland will be strong. Ottawa Hills will be strong. You know that Coopersville is always going to be there. Zeeland West too.
“There's also East Grand Rapids, Hudsonville and Lowell. There's a lot of good teams this side of the state.”
Volleyball
Cadillac proved to be a volleyball power last season in Class B in northern Michigan. The Vikings advanced to the semifinals before losing to eventual state champ Pontiac Notre Dame Prep. Cadillac's season ended at 52-12. Coach Michelle Brines has an eight-year record of 306-133-21 at the school.
“The third game we lost (in the semifinals) was 25-23,” Brines said. “The previous season, we had lost in the quarterfinals. I had a lot of my team back.”
The 52 wins was a new school record.
"We were pretty excited about that,” Brines said. “We had a lot of experience back. We had five seniors back. One of them (Kristen Agren) had been on varsity three years. She was one of my setters. We had a middle hitter who was outstanding. She delivered when we needed her to. We had a good core group of kids. We had been there before. They did a really good job of playing as a team.
“We never overpowered anybody offensively. It was basically our defense and passing that got us as far as we did.”
Brines doesn't see 2008 as a rebuilding season.
“We lose five seniors who had a fair amount of time on the floor,” Brines said. “We don't look at it as rebuilding. We try to keep things going. We had good quality kids coming back. Kristen's sister Janelle Agren is back setting. I have another junior who is back (middle hitter Abby DeWitt) and has been on the varsity since ninth grade. She'll be our main offensive weapon.
“We have another player back who played all-around last year, Betsey Coon. We have some athletic kids but they don't have the experience we had in the past. We look for some good things; it may take us awhile to get into the rhythm.”
Brines said her team can go just as far as it did last season.
“It will take a lot of hard work on our part. This is a very athletic team,” Brines said. “I would maybe even say they might be more athletic than last year. We have young kids coming up from JVs. Going from JV to varsity is a drastic difference.”
In northern Michigan, Petoskey and Traverse City West could also have strong seasons, Brines said.
“Alma, who we beat in the quarterfinals last year, is where we were. They have five starters back,” Brines said. “I suspect they'll be a team that's a force. Reed City should be pretty good as well in Class B. They have good size.”