Capital Area Rising Teams
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This past season I knew very little about Lansing-area football, but I’ve since grown to enjoy what the capital area has to offer. From the Blue, Red, and White, the Capital area has three very balanced leagues with state-championship contenders…
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Continue ReadingThis past season I knew very little about Lansing-area football, but I’ve since grown to enjoy what the capital area has to offer. From the Blue, Red, and White, the Capital area has three very balanced leagues with state-championship contenders in each one. Today I’ll be quickly going over three teams that have a chance to take advantage of high retention and upward trajectory to have a great season, hopefully.
Blue – East Lansing
I could have gone several different routes here, but East Lansing is a steady team that could compete for a league championship this coming season. With the losses of DeWitt, this could be East Lansing’s time to steal the crown.
Rising Stars include Hayden Healey Hayden Healey 6'4" | 305 lbs | OL East Lansing | 2023 MI , Donovan Patterson Donovan Patterson 6'1" | 170 lbs | DB East Lansing | 2024 MI , Seanpaul Johns, among others. This is a team that made a postseason run in 2021, and they have an opportunity to go deeper in 2022.
Red – Mason
What a run it was for the Mason Bulldogs in 2021. Nobody expected them to defeat Brother Rice, but they did just that and advanced to the state Semifinals, where champion Detroit MLK defeated them. It’s tough to evaluate what this team will accomplish, but a semifinal run will be inspiring for a long time.
Standouts include AJ Martel AJ Martel 5'9" | 180 lbs | RB Mason | 2024 State MI , Ethan Ettinger, and Kaleb Parrish.
White – Portland
A slightly inconsistent team in 2021, Portland defeated state giant DeWitt, but then fell to Marine City in the postseason. This team and Lansing Catholic will be at the top of the White, and Portland will undoubtedly be looking to make a deep run yet again, perhaps to the state championship to more than likely face off against GR Catholic Central.
Key players include Marc Nobis and Drew Miller