Jonesville Football Preview

Jonesville is heading into the 2021 campaign with a ton of excitement and buzz. Despite the pandemic last year, the Comets had a great season overall and are looking to build on top of it this year. <strong>2020 Review</strong> Last year, Jonesville started hot and stayed hot all year. They started their year shutting out Bronson. They finished their regular season with 4 straight wins where they put up over 46 PPG and only gave up 9.5 PPG during that stretch. They then went into the playoffs where they won 2 games before falling short to Michigan Center at 28-22 on November 13th. <strong>Coaching Staff</strong> The Comets are led by Head Coach Frank Keller. Under Keller, the Comets are an aggressive team that likes to play fast and physical. Keller has built a team that has expectations and every year they are a threat to go deep into the playoffs with him making the calls. In a recent interview, Coach Keller said that he feels this senior class plays with a chip on their shoulder because of how things unfolded with the pandemic. He said they're ready to get back out there and are ready to go Friday. <strong>Key Players In 2021</strong> Jonesville will be relying on Cowen Keller in 2021. The Junior QB played well last year but he was still very raw. He stands at 6'0" and 185 lbs while being a great athlete. He's able to pull the ball down and make big runs. In the passing game, he's able to make most throws when he can set his feet. He's not great at throwing and when he's pressured and if he doesn't set his feet it can get ugly in a hurry. Luckily, that doesn't happen very often. Plus, with a year of development, he could be passed that issue. The Comets need him and he's going to have to step up again in 2021 if they want to make another playoff run. Owen Ryan is going to be asked to step up big in 2021. With a bunch of key players leaving because of graduation, Ryan is going to be thrust into more action. Ryan is 5'7" 150 lbs and is going to be carrying the ball more this year. Hopefully, his frame is able to hold up from the workload because he is very slender. He's light on his feed and does have great speed. He's a threat to turn the corner and hit the jets anytime he touches the ball. Curtis Knapp is going to be the leading WR for Keller. Curtis is 6'1" and 165 lbs and has great body control in the air. He's able to go up and get most balls and come down with them. He's not the best route runner and he could clean up his feet quite a bit because he can get choppy. However, he's still going to make the play when his number is called. He has breakaway speed and plays every snap like it's his last. He will also line up at FS on defense. He's better on offense, but he can fly around and make big hits and big plays. <strong>2021 Schedule</strong> Jonesville starts their season this week at home. They will be facing Hillsdale who will surely be ready to go. 2 of the better programs in the area are going to be ready for this showdown. The kickoff is at 7 PM. The following week they are on the road against Homer before returning home to face Union City. The Comets will then bounce back and forth between home and away games before they finish their year on the road on October 15th to face Hanover-Horton.