Saline Hornets Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Record The Last 5 Seasons</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2017</strong>: 7-2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2018</strong>: 11-2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2019</strong>: 8-2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2020</strong>: 8-2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2021</strong>: 9-1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Head Coach</strong>: <strong>Joe Palka </strong>enters his 12th season as the head coach of the Saline Hornets. He has done a terrific job at Saline and has lead them to the playoffs 10 times. He has now won the SEC-Red conference 8 straight times and will look to add another one this year in 2022. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Key Matchups</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Aug. 25th- </strong>Home vs Hudsonville</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sep. 1st-</strong> @Ann Arbor Huron</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sep. 16th</strong>- @Monroe</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Oct 14th- </strong>@Dexter</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Key Returning Players</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Roman Laurio | WR | Senior</strong> | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/9771152/62e4a9d2a681c00e5c4107a9"><strong>Hudl</strong></a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Laurio was very productive last year for the Hornets. He is a guy who always finds a way to get open and make plays. Above I linked footage of him recently competing at a 7 on 7. He had a great catch in the back of the end zone where he made an outstanding adjustment to turn his body and go up high and come down with the catch. Laurio's ability to stop his body quickly and work back to the football was on full display as well. He is a great natural hands catcher of the football and will be a go-to receiver once again for the Hornets. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Garrett Baldwin | DB | Senior | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/9771081/617e954634531601789f3b79">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Baldwin is certainly a key returning player for the Hornets defense. He is a guy who knows how to create takeaways for his team and his play last year earned him 1st team All-State honors. Baldwin not only is a star on defense he is also very good on the offensive side of the ball. I love how good Baldwin is at working through traffic to make tackles. He does a great job of staying in an athletic position to break down and make a successful tackle.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='300675' first='Sullivan' last='Mills'] | LB | Senior | </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mills is a very athletic linebacker who can do just about anything the coaching staff asks of him. I love his ability to rush the quarterback between the tackles. Mills does a great job in coverage and can break on the ball very well. It is going to be very exciting to watch him and <strong>Garrett Baldwin</strong> make big plays for the Saline Defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='77217' first='CJ' last='Carr'] | QB | Junior | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/9771096/6181cec532e6c50148ee8b8d">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Carr is arguably the best football player in the state of Michigan. He has outstanding pocket presence and is very calm and cool under pressure. Carr's talent was on full display last season as showed the conference just how dominant he can be. Saline is eyeing a state title run this season and Carr will definitely play a big part in helping the team achieve this goal. Carr enters only his Junior season in 2022 and looks to take another step in his development as a quarterback. He is currently committed to Notre Dame University. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Final Thoughts</strong>: Despite losing many talented seniors last season, Saline returning many key pieces to a team that finished the regular season undefeated. I expect them to win the conference again and make a deep run in the playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->