Back to TopFinnerty shakes 'boo-boo kid' moniker, pushes Cardinals to key win ST. IGNACE – Logan Finnerty has come a long way for the Johannesburg-Lewiston football team. "On the JV, he was known as the boo-boo kid," coach Joe Smokevitch said. Finnerty decided to change the perception his coaches have of him over the summer. It's paid off so far this fall. The junior running back rushed for a career-best 173 yards and two touchdowns, including the winning score on 7-yard run to open the third quarter, to help the Cardinals beat host St. Ignace 34-22 in a Northern Michigan Football League-Legacy game Friday. J-L (3-1, 2-0 Legacy) hosts rival St. Mary (1-2, 1-1) for another conference game Friday, Sept. 21. "Over the summer, I started getting in the weight room more, put in more effort and wanted to show the team that I can put my best into this and show them that I'm worth (playing running back)," said Finnerty, who carried 19 times. "Back in freshman and sophomore years, I didn't have the motivation that I have now. "I just want to show everyone that that's not me anymore. (This season) has really given me confidence, and it helps getting into the weight room and getting all the support from my O-linemen. I've put on 25 pounds and getting bigger has helped. It's all been great since this summer." The Cardinals nursed a 7-6 halftime advantage until Brett Crandell (17 carries, 87 yards) scored a 4-yard rushing TD at 10:34 in the third. Shortly afterward, Finnerty broke open a 62-yard score to add to the Cardinals' lead. "We were able to run the buck sweep with him," Smokevitch said. "We hooked the end, and got around the outside. Finnerty just had a great game. "We ran the buck sweep, and both guards pinned the inside. Both guards got around the end, and he'd just bust big plays open with his speed." Kevin Gehringer, J-L's bell-cow rusher, was limited to just 29 yards on 13 carries, as the Saints worked to take him out of the game plan. Smokevitch said he apologized to Gehringer after the game, but the sixth-year coach said Gehringer responded by saying, "It's not a problem, coach. As long as we get the win, that's all I care about." That created running lanes for Finnerty, who gave a lot of credit for his success to his offensive line. "I like to run outside and get behind my blockers," Finnerty said. "Usually I can cut back, but I just pretty much ran hard today. Hard-nosed running. (Today's game) felt great, but I give all the glory to my linemen, honestly. "I just got out there and had great blocks to run behind." Tyson Claeys hauled in a 10-yard TD reception to give J-L an insurance touchdown in the fourth quarter. The senior also fell on a fumble in the end zone during the first to give the Cardinals their initial 7-6 edge. Crandell led the defense with 10 tackles (seven solo), while Sheldon Huff, Tanner Shimel and Gehringer recorded eight apiece. Claeys finished with two sacks, Lance Upplegger reeled in an interception and Finnerty recovered a fumble. The Cardinals are in the driver's seat to compete for a conference title. Now they know they have another running back like Finnerty to rely on as their schedule continues to get tougher. "I told him the first day of practice, 'You can't be a boo-boo kid here anymore,'" Smokevitch said. "He hasn't disappointed us yet. He's fast. He's one of our fastest kids. He used to (sit out during games) because he was the kind of kid who just wanted that attention. "He's overcome that and has matured. He's turned into a great athlete." And Finnerty has helped the Cardinals turn into a great football team with conference-title hopes. Cardinals' offense opportunistic in 42-0 win over East Jordan EAST JORDAN – The Johannesburg-Lewiston football team marched down the field on its opening drive and found Tyson Claeys for an easy touchdown catch. East Jordan used a shorter defensive back on the 6-foot-5 tight end. Claeys reached over the top of the defender and plucked the catch out of the air to give the Cardinals an early 7-0 lead Friday at Boswell Stadium. After that, the Red Devils (0-3) used their best athlete, Jackson Raymond, to guard Claeys, ultimately taking Raymond away from the ball on most plays. The Cardinals took advantage of it, downing East Jordan 42-0 in their Northern Michigan Football League-Legacy opener. J-L (2-1) visits St. Ignace (2-1) for another conference game Friday, Sept. 14. "That No. 18 (Raymond) is a really good athlete, and they have good ballplayers," J-L coach Joe Smokevitch said. "They used him to match Tyson, height-wise, and he could jump. That took away Tyson for us, so we looked at our other players. And they stepped up." Logan Finnerty (74 yards), Kevin Gehringer (104 yards, two TDs) and Brett Crandell (77) each rushed in touchdowns for the Cardinals, who led 35-0 at halftime to kick start the running-clock rule in the second half. "They took away Gehringer a bit in the first quarter, so we had to do things to make adjustments," \Smokevitch said. "We made adjustments at the line on the fly instead of waiting for halftime, which is something we haven't done since (2015)." Another chief beneficiary of Raymond being distracted with Claeys was quarterback Tanner Shimel, who put together the best passing performance by a Cardinals player since Smokevitch became head coach six years ago. Shimel was 6 of 8 passing for 157 yards and threw TD passes to both Claeys and Finnerty. Finnerty led with three catches for 68 yards receiving. The Cardinals finished with 492 yards of total offense. "We still have some work to do (passing), though," Smokevitch said. "We had Tanner open up the wrong way on one pass play, and I messed the thing up with some poor play calling that got us into a bad situation once. We checked the wrong way. But he (Shimel) looked good, and I was really happy with how we looked throwing the ball." Patrick Kennedy and Shimel each came up with an interception on defense, while Claeys recorded one sack. Sheldon Huff head a team-high seven tackles (three solo).
JOHANNESBURG – Last week, Brett Crandell texted Johannesburg-Lewiston defensive coordinator Cody Proctor and asked for permission to miss the football team's breakfast Friday morning. Crandell had to pick up his truck from the mechanic during that time. While Crandell asking for permission doesn't sound newsworthy, it actually shows just how far the senior has come since last season. "In the past, that would have been something he would have just blown off, so it's huge," coach Joe Smokevitch said. "Total attitude adjustment. Total leader on the team this year. It's been great. He's taken on a huge role this year." Crandell showed glimpses of being a stellar running back for the Cardinals last season. But he was too unreliable. He'd loaf in practice at times, miss weight room lifting sessions or not make it to practice altogether. A switch flipped during the off-season, motivating him to become a leader on the team. And so far this season, the Cardinals have benefited from his improved effort. Crandell scored two touchdowns during J-L's 35-6 route of Mancelona in the home opener Friday. "It's senior year. I decided to get serious about things," Crandell said. "I decided to show the team what I can do." Kevin Gehringer (16 carries, 145 yards) remained the bell-cow for the Cardinals, but Crandell (39 yards) joins Gehringer and Logan Finnerty (69) in becoming the team's first three-headed monster rushing attack since 2015. "He's become a big leader," said captain Tyler Madej of Crandell. "He showed a lot of improvement tonight. He's one of my best friends, and he came up big for us this week and last week. I think it's just his last year, so he wants to come in, be strong and make a difference." Added Smokevitch: "He (Crandell) has gotten a lot bigger, he's gotten a lot faster. He likes to hit. He's a great lead blocker for us when we have to use him for that. It's been a great total turnaround for him. It's been nice. I wish he would've been that way last year." Against Mancelona, the Cardinals trailed only momentarily. Tanner Shimel escaped pressure and hit Lance Upplegger with a 45-yard TD pass to knot the score 6-6 late in the first. Crandell scored the next two TDs on runs of 3 and 8 yards, respectively, in the second to ensure J-L a 20-6 halftime lead. Crandell, whose goal is to rush for 1,000 yards this season, said this game gave him confidence. It'll motivate his play going forward. "Oh yeah, for sure," he said. "Not having any success (at the end of last season) actually motivated me even more. That's why I got into lifting this summer. We were lifting three days a week, and then conditioning started, and that was five days a week (to get me prepared)." Finnerty opened the second half by getting around the edge for a 7-yard TD in the third. In the fourth, a 62-yard run by Gehringer set up Shimel with a 1-yard QB keeper at 8:39. "Kevin was able to break some runs," Smokevitch said. "They (Mancelona) started doing a little bit of an adjustment, so we moved some guys around, and that helped us out, too, obviously. It allowed us to throw the ball and get the quick pitch working." The starting line of Madej, Garrett May, Tommy Runyan, Dan Runyan and Matthew Davidson appreciated how successful the running backs were. "It's huge," Madej said. "We've worked a lot in practice and hit the sled. We worked on moving our feet and holding our blocks, and it worked out great for us this week." Mancelona scored an easy TD in the first. A botched punt attempt allowed the Ironmen to quickly tackle Upplegger, the punter, at the 20-yard line. Moments later, Devan Letts plunged in for a 2-yard score to give his team a 6-0 advantage. Madej led J-L's defense with 13 tackles (nine solo), while Sheldon Huff had 12 (nine). Cardinals want to beat East Jordan for 3rd-straight year • The Cardinals (1-1) visit East Jordan to open NMFL-Legacy action Friday, Sept. 7. The Red Devils (0-2) are coming off their third-worst loss in school history, as they fell to Elk Rapids 62-0 last week. But they narrowly lost to Harbor Springs, which is 2-0 to start the year, in the season opener. They last gave up 62 points in a game in 2014. “We came out flat, and we couldn’t recover from it,” East Jordan coach Greg Kitson told the Petoskey News-Review this week. “That’s the kind of practice we had this week. The urgency wasn’t there. We have a lot of soul-searching to do. “They can be as good as they want, but it’s not going to change without work. You can’t play flat. Football is an emotional game.” The Cardinals haven't lost to East Jordan since the two joined the same conference three seasons ago. They'll have to focus on stopping East Jordan's star player Jackson Raymond, who came up with a pair of interceptions against Harbor Springs and also hauled in four receptions as a receiver. Receiver Chandler Bartig is also another playmaker J-L's defense must slow down. East Jordan at a glance 2017 Record: 1-8 (0-5 NMFL-Legacy) 2017 Finish: Missed D7 postseason. 2018 Record: 0-2. Key Players: DB Jackson Raymond, WR Chandler Bartig, QB Cooper Stevenson Worth Noting: J-L hasn't lost to East Jordan since the two joined the same conference three years ago. Cardinals beat Mancelona in home opener Mancelona struck first, but the Johannesburg-Lewiston football team struck often. Brett Crandell scored twice, and the Cardinals downed the visiting Ironmen 35-6 in their home opener Friday. J-L (1-1) visits East Jordan to open NMFL-Legacy play Friday, Sept. 7. The Cardinals trailed only momentarily. Tanner Shimel escaped pressure and hit Lance Upplegger with a 45-yard TD pass to knot the score 6-6 late in the first. Crandell scored the next two TDs on runs of 3 and 8 yards, respectively, in the second to ensure J-L a 20-6 halftime lead. Logan Finnerty opened the second half by getting around the edge for a 7-yard TD in the third. In the fourth, a 62-yard run by Kevin Gehringer set up Shimel with a 1-yard QB keeper at 8:39. Mancelona scored an easy TD in the first. Miscommunication along the line allowed the Ironmen to quickly tackle Upplegger, the punter, at the 20-yard line. Moments later, Devan Letts plunged in for a 2-yard score to give his team a 6-0 advantage. Power outage, fumbles plague Cardinals in season opener MANTON – Johannesburg-Lewiston football coach Joe Smokevitch is bringing buckets of water to practice this week. "Before every snap, the ball is going into the water," he said. "We got to get better at holding onto the ball when it's wet and slippery." The Cardinals fumbled fives times during their 29-22 loss in the season opener Friday at Manton. Fumbles aside, however, when Manton's football stadium lost power for 30 minutes, Johannesburg-Lewiston lost its momentum. Jacob Haun rushed in the winning touchdown late in the fourth, helping the Rangers earn the comeback win. Three separate outages delayed play in the third. The Cardinals' offense couldn't regain their mojo when the game resumed, even fumbling once in the end zone and allowing a safety. "It was poor offensive coaching on my part," Smokevitch said. "When we fumbled, that safety gave them a huge momentum. We put the ball on the ground way more than we normally do. We had fumbles all over the place. "Turnovers, fumbles and crazy penalties killed us. Even when we recovered the fumbles, it's still a wasted play." Logan Finnerty intercepted two passes, returning one 75 yards to set up a Tanner Shimel rushing TD, and made two touchdown-saving tackles. "I thought the defense played great," Smokevitch said. "They played hard. They stepped up and did a good job shutting them down. "I know they gave up 27 points, but they got two picks on Manton's kids and played great the whole time. Manton got inside the 2, and due to penalties and tackles for loss, they didn't score, so they played great. Other than a few big plays, they did awesome." Kevin Gehringer rushed for a 26-yard TD on J-L's second possession. Brett Crandell punched in the 2-point conversion on Shimel's 2-yard TD to ensure the Cardinals a 16-14 halftime lead. Shimel left the game briefly with cramps. Patrick Kennedy stepped in at quarterback and rushed for a 10-yard score in the third. "We just need to fix the little things offensively, and we'll be fine," Smokevitch said. "We need to make sure those wet balls won't hurt us." Haun threw a 25-yard TD pass to Isaac Raden with 3:51 left in the first to trim Manton's deficit to 8-6. Haun threw another TD pass, this one for 45 yards, to Nick Dunham in the second. Raden was the one who fell on the safety before Haun scooted in for the winning score. The Cardinals host Mancelona (1-0) for a non-conference game Friday, Aug. 31. "There are just a lot of little things that need to be fixed," Smokevitch continued. "That won't take long to fix. We're just going to drill the heck out of the things we do and get better."
MANTON – When Manton's football stadium lost power for 30 minutes, Johannesburg-Lewiston lost its momentum. Gavin Somers rushed in the winning touchdown late in the fourth, helping the Rangers earn a 29-22 comeback win over J-L in the season opener. Three separate outages delayed play in the third. The Cardinals' offense couldn't regain their mojo when the game resumed, even fumbling once in the end zone and allowing a safety. "It was poor offensive coaching on my part," coach Joe Smokevitch said. "When we fumbled, that safety gave them a huge momentum. We put the ball on the ground way more than we normally do. We had fumbles all over the place." Logan Finnerty intercepted two passes, returning one 75 yards to set up a Tanner Shimel rushing TD, and made two touchdown-saving tackles. "I thought the defense played great," Smokevitch said. "They played hard. They stepped up and did a good job shutting them down." Kevin Gehringer rushed for a 27-yard TD on J-L's second possession. Brett Crandell punched in the 2-point conversion on Shimel's TD to ensure the Cardinals a 16-14 halftime lead. Shimel left the game briefly with cramps. Patrick Kennedy stepped in at quarterback and rushed for a 15-yard score in the third. The Cardinals host Mancelona (1-0) for a non-conference game Friday, Aug. 31. Cardinals hoping to snap losing streak to Manton in season opener JOHANNESBURG – The Johannesburg-Lewiston football team's two-game losing streak against Manton could come to an end this week. The Cardinals visit the Rangers to open the season Friday, Aug. 24. Manton returns just five starters – three on offense and two on defense. It also has a new coach in Chris Salani, who wants to open up the offense and play a 4-3 defense. "They back to the offense they ran the first time we played them, the spread," said J-L coach Joe Smokevitch, referencing his team's 35-32 win over the Rangers in 2015. "They got athletic ability, but they don't have the quality of linemen they've had in the past. "But they do have some athletes, so a big thing will be limiting their big plays." Fortunately for the Cardinals, Manton graduated most of the players that have burned them in the past. Gone are Jaden Perry, Hunter Ruell and Ethan Ancick, who helped their school finish 4-5 a year ago. The players who are carrying the load this year are unproven. "We are behind the eight-ball as far as talent this year, but we've got some kids coming up," Salani told the Cadillac Evening News during the summer. "We've just got to be disciplined in what we do and be ready every game." From an offensive standpoint, Smokevitch says J-L will have opportunities to break open big plays. "During their scrimmage last week, their defense lined up as a 6-1, but it's more of a 4-3 that looks like a 6-1," he said. "They (Manton's opponents) just pounded it on them. The other teams they played ran the spread, but they were able to run the ball between the tackles. "That'll be our biggest thing, is to run the tackle holes and open things up for our fullback. Teams also had success throwing the ball against them in the scrimmage, too." J-L returns a wealth of talent this season. Tanner Shimel is back as a second-year starter at quarterback, while Patrick Kennedy will be his backup. The Cardinals will have a host of running backs, but they should get plenty of mileage out of Kevin Gehringer, Brett Crandell and Kennedy. Crandell had one of the best offseason's on the team, Smokevitch said. "He's huge now, and he's gotten a lot better," Smokevitch said. "He's got a great attitude now. It's noticeable. Last year, his attitude wasn't great, but this year it's been fabulous. You never knew if he was going to be at practice or if he was going to give you a good effort. "It's been a total 180 this year. He's leading drills, and it's a total turnaround. He'll be in the mix at the running back spots as one of our top kids coming back. He's gotten really good at blocking, too." Tyson Claeys and Sheldon Huff will play tight end. Claeys is already being recruited by Division I schools to play in college. The most underrated position group on the team is the offensive line. Tyler Madej and Garrett May will be the veterans along the line, but Tommy Runyan, Dan Runyan and Matthew Davidson will step in to bolster it. Other guys like Gabe Law and Ryne Bennett should rotate in as well. "We're not going to be the biggest on the line, but we'll be nasty," Smokevitch said. "Losing guys like Noah Vermilya, Leland Stephens and Devin Koscielniak kind of hurt us, and we don't have those kinds of bigger kids this year. "So we're going to have to throw the ball more and do things to get teams out of the box. With the groups we've had in the past, we did a lot more jet (sweep) stuff. We weren't huge also, but we were pretty big and we had physically strong kids. We'll see what we have this year." Defensively, the Cardinals should be sound with Claeys returning to play defensive end, Gehringer and Crandell playing outside linebacker, Shimel playing safety and Madej and Huff playing inside linebacker. "Every other job is up for grabs," defensive coordinator Cody Proctor said. Proctor must replace Koscielniak at nose tackle, who had a great career with the Cardinals before graduating last school year. Tommy Runyan, Dan Runyan, May, Law and Justin Polzin will try to replicate his play on the line. Kennedy, Logan Finnerty and Lance Upplegger will play defensive back alongside Shimel. The Cardinals finished 6-4 last year after losing to Lincoln Alcona in the Division 8 postseason. They're not using that loss as fuel this fall, per se, but they do want to make sure they put in the work to make a return trip to the playoffs. "We haven't talked about the playoffs yet," Smokevitch said. "The biggest thing is you're one of 11 on this team. If you do 1/11th of the work, good things will happen. If you don't do your 1/11th, you'll let everyone down and hurt your team. "We've had kids in the weight room like crazy. But we've also had kids who haven't done anything, and that shows. That hurts themselves and will hurt us down the road. But the kids are excited about playing football, and no matter what happens, the kids are going are going to be excited to be here." Manton at a glance 2017 Record: 4-5 (1-4 Highland) 2017 Finish: Missed D7 postseason. Key Players: RB Grant Bunge, DE Gavin Somers, RB Casey Shively, WR Cole Regnerus Quick Fact: New coach Eric Salani played football at Central Michigan from 1997-2000. 2018 Season Outlook 2017 Record: 6-4 (4-1 NMFL-Legacy) 2017 Finish: Lost to Lincoln Alcona 28-12 in D8 pre-district Key Losses: DB Kyle May, DT Devin Koscielniak, LB Jacob Marsh Key Returners: TE Tyson Claeys, QB Tanner Shimel, LB Sheldon Huff Roster: No. - Name - Grade - Pos. - Height - Weight 1 - Sheldon Huff - 10th - TE/ILB - 5-10 - 185 6 - Patrick Kennedy - 12th - RB/DB - 5-8 - 155 7 - Tyson Claeys (Captain) - 12th - TE/DE - 6-4 - 230 9 - Brett Crandell - 12th - RB/OLB - 5-9 - 155 12 - Tanner Shimel (Captain) - 12th - QB/S - 5-11 - 155 17 - Hayden Claeys - 10th - TE/DE - 6-2 -180 20 - Anthony Gentz - 11th - RB/DB - 5-6 - 140 32 - Kevin Gehringer (Captain) - 12th - RB/OLB - 5-6 - 150 34 - Lance Upplegger - 12th - TE/DB - 6-0 - 140 36 - Logan Finnerty - 11th - RB/DB - 5-11 - 175 40 - Austin Carroll - 11th - RB/DB - 5-9 - 150 50 - Ryne Bennett - 11th - DE/DT - 5-10 - 170 54 - Gabe Law - 12th - OT/NG - 5-11 - 240 59 - Dan Runyan - 11th - OG/DT - 6-10 - 170 60 - Tyler Madej (Captain) - 12th - OG/ILB - 6-1 - 215 66 - Garrett May - 11th - OG/OLB - 5-10 - 165 67 - Matthew Davidson - 11th - OT/DT - 6-0 - 205 73 - Justin Polzin - 11th - OT/DT - 5-10 - 270 74 - Ethan Neal - 11th - OG/DT - 5-9 - 190 76 - Tommy Runyan - 10th - OC/DT - 5-8 - 230 Cardinals' Shimel finding confidence following travel baseball season JOHANNESBURG – When Gaylord Baseball Club wrapped up its travel season last week, first-year coach Dwain Koscielniak said the most-improved player on the team was Johannesburg-Lewiston senior Tanner Shimel. And that's saying something because Koscielniak is an assistant coach at rival St. Mary. Shimel improved his defensive fielding, developed a more fluid batting stance and, most importantly, became more confident in his athletic abilities. That should pay dividends when Shimel takes the field as J-L's quarterback this football season. Last year, the Cardinals, who went 6-4, graduated a slew of senior leaders and some of their best athletes. They'll need Shimel to be on top of his game while running their offense. Shimel can no longer be just a role player. His summer baseball experience should be a boon for the Cardinals in making him a star. "It does translate to football," J-L coach Joe Smokevitch said. "Baseball was a good experience for him. "He's turning into a better leader. He's not a vocal leader – and if you get two words out of him, that's a lot – but he'll look good (playing QB back there)." Shimel took over the starting QB duties from Brandon Huff last season. He didn't run as much as Huff, nor did he have as strong of an arm, but he showed he's competent in running the offense and making the right reads when he's asked to. He's capable of rushing for a first down when the down and distance favors his skill set to tuck the ball and get a yard. He's excited to see what he can do after such a great summer. "I feel confident right now, and I definitely was confident at the end of the baseball season," he said. "Baseball was a lot of fun, and I got a lot better. "Now with football, we're coming along. Everyone is going to have to be a part of the offense, and it feels good (being a leader). This year, I'm trying to teach the younger kids because we're a younger group, but it's a pretty good feeling at practice right now." It'll help Shimel having a Division I recruit like tight end Tyson Claeys catching his passes. Claeys holds offers from Cornell University and Michigan Tech already. "I was very happy to see Tanner did well during baseball season, and I really hope he continues to improve," Claeys said. "Last year, it was his first year playing varsity QB, and I know it can be nerve-wracking. "But he's evolving, getting bigger, better and faster, and you can see that in camp. He's faster and making plays. You can definitely see more kids following him this season. The kids follow him because he's being a leader. And that's important to this team." The Cardinals open the season Friday, Aug. 24, at Manton. Claeys' recruiting heats up as Cardinals prep for new season
By Brandon Folsom - Gaylord Herald Times Sports Editor JOHANNESBURG – Tyson Claeys is putting the recruiting trail behind him. The high school football season is here. He's made his college visits. He has his offers (Cornell University and Michigan Tech). Now it's time to go win games with his Johannesburg-Lewiston teammates and put enough film together to reel in some more offers in the fall. The Cardinals, who were 6-4 but lost to Lincoln Alcona in the Division 8 playoff opener last fall, open the season Friday, Aug. 24, at Manton. "I really just want to win games," said Claeys, who is being recruited by Division I and II schools as both a tight end and defensive lineman. "I don't care how we do it, where we do it and when we do it. I just want to win all the games we can. "I want to see our guys have as much fun as we can this year. We enjoy having fun, and that's what it takes to win games, too." Claeys visited several Ivy League schools on the east coast this summer. While Cornell has already offered, a few more want to see some of his senior highlights before they pull the trigger on the 6-foot-4 senior. "They've all expressed a lot of interest and say that I could fit in on their rosters," Claeys said. "It's just a waiting game right now, especially with the other Ivy schools. You got to wait for some of the admission stuffs to take care of itself. They're all high-academic schools. It's just a waiting game now." Claeys has put a full-court press on football since the basketball season ended in March. He's been to camps and 7-on-7s. He's even been helping some of his Cardinals teammates in Johannesburg. He's adding to the abilities that he already has and working on his weaknesses. "(A lot of the colleges) like that I'm as big as I am, but I can also move well, too," he said. "I'm not overly fast, but I'd like to think that I play faster than I show at camp or at a combine or in a drill. I just work really, really hard on the field, and they can see that on the tape." That extra training has paid off, too, and several people have taken notice of it. During a 7-on-7 against Mio, the team kept calling him "high school Gronk" after New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. "He's got that big body and when he gets it into space, he runs people over," J-L coach Joe Smokevitch said. "We need to run him outside more and get fade passes to him. That's what they did in that 7-on-7 league in Saginaw, and we need to do that, too. "He'll be a mismatch nightmare. We're looking to get him free and clean down the field. We're going to work on stuff within our passing game to get him open." While Smokevitch didn't reveal any secrets, he's going to make alterations to the passing attack with quarterback Tanner Shimel. "The normal stuff we used to do was just predictable with our pass routes," he said. "We want to switch it up so the same guys aren't always running the same routes all the time. We need to get our QB to look for (Claeys) a lot. He's 6-4, for God's sake." Claeys doesn't have a timeline for when he'll pick his college. But, for right now, he's hitting pause on all the recruiting talk. It's time to have fun with his friends. 2018 Season Outlook 2017 Record: 6-4 (4-1 NMFL-Legacy) 2017 Finish: Lost to Lincoln Alcona 28-12 in D8 pre-district Key Losses: DB Kyle May, DT Devin Koscielniak, LB Jacob Marsh Key Returners: TE Tyson Claeys, QB Tanner Shimel, LB Sheldon Huff
JOHANNESBURG-LEWISTON VARSITY FOOTBALL ARCHIVES VARSITY FOOTBALL 2017
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