Coach Ryan Gilbert is counting on a tough, talented core of players to lead a small and inexperienced Blissfield girls basketball team through what will prove a challenging season.
Blissfield varsity football coach Ron Estes doesn’t measure his team’s success in wins and losses – and that may be just the reason why the program has thrived under his direction. This year, as every year, Estes plans to build a team of tough, disciplined and unified athletes.
A more prepared, older and athletic Patriot football team is poised to take the field this year. A team with “no excuses” which is their mantra for the year.
Visiting teams to the Whiteford High School football field are in for a big surprise when they go to take the field this year: the seniors on Whiteford’s team are going to be looking down on them.
First-year Britton Deerfield varsity volleyball coach Tim O’Brien said fans can expect to see a quicker offense when watching Patriot volleyball this fall.
Blissfield cross country coach Al Navarro has a young team of girls to work with this fall, and the boys are three runners shy of the minimum number required to compete as a team.
A young but energetic team is what first year Britton Deerfield Patriot cross county coach Jay Yockey believes he has in the seven girls and four boys running for the Patriots this year.
If there’s one thing that can be said about the Whiteford cross country head coach it’s that he’s definitely determined to keep his team on top. Last year, coach Jim Hojnacki led the team all the way to states and is looking to repeat the accomplishment this season.
Britton Deerfield basketball coach Darren Shiels knows it could be tough sledding for his Patriots team to start the season.
“With only two players returning there will be a learning curve. I know there will be a big improvement from the first 10 games to the last 10 game,” said Shiels, who coached BD last season and the Britton team for the four years prior.
Forrest Grosteffon is all that remains of last year’s “fab five” Whiteford varsity basketball team. Last year’s team won thrilling games in run-and-gun fashion, but couldn’t quite nail down the Tri-County Conference title and lost a heartbreaker to SMCC trying to defend its district title.
New Blissfield High School wrestling coach Andrew Ford wants to see the Royals’ grapplers build on the success they’ve had in recent years. Ford, a 2006 graduate of Blissfield who is graduating this month from Adrian College and seeking to begin a career as a teacher, believes several Blissfield wrestlers have a chance to go to the state finals this year.
Last year, head coach Katelin Smith took two basketball teams, Britton and Deerfield, and made them one. In its first season as a joint team, Britton Deerfield battled hard but had difficulty overcoming the lack of depth and couldn’t sustain defensive pressure over a full game. Still, what the team lacked in lungs and legs, it made up for in heart and hustle. And in her second year as coach of the BD varsity girls team, Smith expects her team’s character to shine.
Whiteford’s Lady Bobcats basketball coach Jay Haselschwerdt was a little concerned after losing top scorers Abby LaRoy and Caitlin Granata from last year’s squad. But the more he sees this year’s varsity hoops crop, the more he likes it.
Last year, Whiteford was 10-10 overall and fifth in the Tri-County Conference with a 6-8 record.
Blissfield competitive cheer team coach Amber Spotts expects a great season, based on experience, talent and a large squad.
“We have five seniors: Lauren Yates (captain), Brittany Holdridge (captain), Brittany Taylor, McKenzie Knapp, and Jennifer Sell. They are all returning from last year; two juniors: Bailey Pickles and BriAnna Olivarez — both have been on the team previously; four sophomores: Miranda Strack, Jessica Borrmann, Taylor Cambal, and Nina Lepaus.
