Isabella County capsules
SCHOOL: Beal City
NICKNAME: Aggies
COACH: Brad Gross
2014 RECORD: 10-3
KEY PLAYERS LOST: Alex Schafer (RB/LB), Thomas Fussman (OL/DL), Austin Cook (OL/DL), Jacob Flaugher (OL/LB), Luke Farrell (RB/DB)
KEY PLAYERS RETURNING: Tucker Gross (QB/LB), Chase Rollin (RB/LB), Ian Hoogerhyde (OL/LB), Trevor Embry (OL/DL), Tristan Smith (OL/DL), Jake Mathews (RB/LB), Brad Moore (E/DL), Kendall Flaugher (E/DB)
NOTES: The Aggies have a new coach but seem ready to be among the strongest Division 8 teams. They lost to Munising last season in the state semifinal round.
SCHOOL: Bullock Creek
NICKNAME: Lancers
COACH: Steve Miller
2014 RECORD: 3-6
KEY PLAYERS LOST: Michael Westley (QB), Jaylian Henderson (RB), Caleb Somerville (WB/LB), Nate Bartosek (C), Ben McCann (DT)
KEY PLAYERS RETURNING: Kegan Marshall, (WR/DE), Adam McCann (RB/SS), Jared Ostrowski (T/DT), Donnie Hays (RB/LB)
NOTES: Bullock Creek returns 16 varsity players from last year’s team. A lot of them played last year and received valuable experience. Bullock Creek lost several starters on offense.
SCHOOL: Chippewa Hills
NICKNAME: Warriors
COACH: Larry Jose
2014 RECORD: 8-3
KEY PLAYERS LOST: Hunter Conley (QB), Quentin Gossett (RB), Eric Russell (G)
KEY PLAYERS RETURNING: John Wixson (WR/S), Slade Todd (WR/DB), DJ Lowery (QB)
NOTES: The Warriors lost by a point to Reed City in the district final last season. They are considered among the favorites this year for the CSAA Gold Division title.
SCHOOL: Coleman
NICKNAME: Comets
COACH: Chad Klopf
2014 RECORD: 7-3
KEY PLAYERS LOST: Adam Stremlow (QB), Mitch Franklin (WR/DB), Josh Pepin (WR/LB), Tristan Cottrell (WR/DB)
KEY PLAYERS RETURNING: Ryan Yeager (RB/WR) , Elliott Murray (WR/S), Matthew Fox (OL/DL), Dylan Carbeno (QB/LB), Robert Schmidt (RB/DB), Logan Wright-Clark (OL/DL)
NOTES: Numbers are low this season, but the Comets have quality players. They are replacing all but six points scored from last season’s high-scoring offense. The Comets will look similar, but the play calling might not be as pass-oriented as it was with Adam Stremlow at quarterback. With an offensive line that averages around 6’2″ and 280 pounds, the Comets will look to run the ball and eat up the clock.
SCHOOL: Mount Pleasant
NICKNAME: Oilers
COACH: Jason McIntyre
2014 RECORD: 7-4
KEY PLAYERS LOST: Nick Burkholder (QB), Will Berry (DB/LB), Dillen Elliott (DL), Ian Marsh (OL/DL), Grant Evans (OL/DL)
KEY PLAYERS RETURNING: Kalebb Perry (WR), Hunter Buczkowski (RB), Billy Tithof (OL), Obie Ricumstrict (WR/DB), Jake Mogg (RB/DB), Sean Fitzgerald (OL), Taylor Carey (TE/DL), Zach Heeke (DB), Adam Zainea (DL), Edgar Figueroa (DL), Dan Keller (OL/LB)
NOTES: The Oilers face many challenges with a schedule that includes large schools that have had a great deal of success lately like Midland Dow, Carmen Ainsworth, Midland, and Lapeer. But the Oilers return a great deal of experience from last year’s playoff team and will need that leadership early in the season.
SCHOOL: Sacred Heart Academy
NICKNAME: Irish
COACH: Rick Roberts
2014 RECORD: 5-5
KEY PLAYERS LOST: Tomas Krepostman (FB/LB), Ben Goenner (WR/DB), Mikal Rudoni (OL/DE), Tristen Fox (OL/DL)
KEY PLAYERS RETURNING: Kyle Szymanski (TE/LB), Jacob Starry (LB), Ryan Ervin (OL/L), Christian Maloney (OL/DL), Tony Perez (QB), Kristian Gostomski (RB/TE/LB)
NOTES: Sacred Heart is the defending MSAC champion and appears to be poised for another conference title. The Irish open with Beal City, and the outcome of that game will determine if Sacred Heart will be a strong playoff threat.
SCHOOL: Shepherd
NICKNAME: Bluejays
COACH: Nathan Ferency
2014 RECORD: 1-8
KEY PLAYERS RETURNING:True Conroy (WR/C), Shane Boge (WR/C), Noah Crispin (WR/CB), Kyle Galgoci (RB/LB), Clayton Long (G/NG)
NOTES: The Bluejays hope to snap a five-year consecutive streak of 1-8 seasons. They’d like to get their first winning record since they were 5-4 in 2009.