Week 1 Matchups in the Capital Area Activities Conference-Blue

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The CAAC- Blue has a ton of interesting teams, and a lot of them start off with tough matchups right off the bat. Let's check out 3 week 1 matchups these teams are facing to kick off the 2023 season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Grand Ledge vs West Ottawa- </strong>One of the best stories last season was West Ottawa and their much improved program. The field itself was improved, as the facilities got a nice face lift that made it one of the nicest in the whole state! On the field , the program has improved vastly as well, led by a powerful running attack with their workhorse RB [player_tooltip player_id='471362' first='Kayden' last='Forbes']. It will be a tough matchup for Grand Ledge, as they travel over to that aforementioned facility to take on the West Ottawa. Grand Ledge is going to be tough up front on both sides of the ball, and will need to dominate the line of scrimmage to win this one. Grand Ledge is tough to gauge going into this season, so this will be a great measuring stick for the Comets. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DeWitt vs Haslett-</strong> One of the most underrated games last season was the Dewitt vs Haslett game at The Big House. DeWitt struggled to stop [player_tooltip player_id='249806' first='Nakai' last='Amachree'], but pulled out a hard earned 21-14 win over Haslett. Amachree could be an X factor once again, as he is liable to take one to the house every time he touches the ball. DeWitt will be looking for a huge day from QB [player_tooltip player_id='587912' first='Elliott' last='Larner'], as he has looked much improved so far this summer. I expect another close game in this one, and am interested to see which team wins the tug of war in the trenches. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lansing Everett vs Lansing Sexton-</strong> This game will definitely fly under the radar, but I would pay attention to how this one shakes out. Everett is coming off a 2-6 season, in which the Vikings struggled to score. This season could be different, as the QB position should be solid, and there will be solid weapons all around, including WR [player_tooltip player_id='603746' first='Mason' last='Chadwell'] who has already landed an offer from Marshall. [player_tooltip player_id='665532' first='Aiden' last='Greenburg'] will be a monster piece of the puzzle as well on the offensive line. Sophomore lineman Emmett Leidi will also look to take a step in the progression of his skillset, so it will be interesting to see if they are able to open the run game up a bit more. As for Sexton, I do not expect them to be great, but they should be okay, and this will be a good way to see what direction Everett will go this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As for teams other than these 3, Okemos will square off against St. Johns, East Lansing will see Portage Central, which will be tough, Lansing Catholic will head over to see Lansing Waverly, and Holt vs Mason should be a fun one, as Mason has legitimate state championship aspirations this season. This conference should be fun to keep track of all season, as it could be pretty wide open. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->