For Midland High’s football program, the goals and expectations rarely change. The faces and names on the field, however, certainly do.
The Chemics will be looking to follow up a very successful 2022 campaign with plenty of newcomers in starting spots, particularly on offense. And that, said Midland coach Eric Methner, is always a challenge.
“That’s the biggest thing,” Methner said of getting his younger players prepared. “It helps when you have seniors who have had that year of getting acclimated to the speed and intensity of the varsity level, but it takes a while for the juniors to make that jump from JV speed to varsity speed – and not only the speed of the game but also the physicality.”
Indeed, the Chemics graduated most of their offensive backfield and offensive line from a team which went 10-2 overall, won a share of the Saginaw Valley League Blue Division championship, and won a district title last year before falling to Dexter in a Division 2 regional final.
Among those key losses are quarterback Jason Davenport (over 1,400 yards of total offense and 17 total touchdowns), running backs Mason Weaver and Colin Coffey, All-State lineman Caden McPhillips, all-region lineman Lincoln Danner, fellow linemen Hunter Blackhurst, Dean Wolfe, and Logan Ware, and tight ends Hudson Gerstacker and Gabe Malace.
Taking over behind center for Davenport will be 5-foot-11, 190-pound senior quarterback Isaiah Henderson, who saw time at QB in mop-up duty in several games last season.
“Isaiah’s been doing a great job as a leader throughout the summer and even in our winter workouts,” said Methner. “He’s a vocal leader, and he’s an intense guy. He’s one of the hardest workers on the team.
“He’s worked hard on his mechanics and his throwing. He’s had a really good summer throwing the football, and we know he’s a very capable runner as well,” Methner added. “He ran our scout team last year and just did a great job of giving our starting defense a good look every week (in practice).”
Sharing time at tailback for the Chemics for the time being will be juniors Noah Wall (5-10, 170) and Noah Grachek (5-10, 175), while senior Merrick Hocking (5-9, 220) and juniors Zach Bushlen (5-11, 195) and Zack Steger (6-0, 190) will rotate at H-back.
Senior Jarrin Duemler (5-8, 150) and junior Liam Heinz (5-11, 175) will be at the wide receiver spots, and Wall and Grachek will also line up wide in certain packages.
“Last year, we ran more of a bunch formation,” Methner noted. “This year, we’re going to spread it out a little more.”
Midland’s returning O-linemen with the most experience at the varsity level will be junior left tackle Max Stoecker (6-2, 265) and senior center Eli Clever (6-0, 220). New to the line will be junior right tackle Brett Faccio (6-1, 215), junior guards Cayden Nieto (6-0, 190) and Charlie Sabin (6-2, 190), and sophomore guard Eamon Murray (6-1, 215).
Steger will handle kickoff duties, while junior Craig Hurst will be the Chemics’ placekicker.
Regarding his decision to run more of a spread offense, Methner explained, “It’ll be stuff we’ve run in the past, and it kind of fits our personnel. I’ve always felt that you have to adapt a little bit to your people. We certainly did that last year, and this year we’re going to try to do what’s best-suited for the guys on this year’s team.
“We’ll probably throw the ball a little bit more, and I think we have some capable receivers,” he added. “The bottom line is that we’ve got to establish the run. If you can run the ball, there are a lot of other things you can do in play-action and taking some shots down the field. But we’ve got to get a relatively inexperienced offensive line adjusted to the speed and physicality of the game so that we can run the ball effectively.”
The strength of Midland’s defense will undoubtedly be its linebacking corps, which is led by returners Hocking (75 tackles, all-region), Buschlen (57 tackles, 14.5 for loss), and junior Colter Mahabir (6-0, 215).
“The experience and leadership from Hocking, Buschlen, and Mahabir have been evident in our preseason,” Methner noted. “Those guys are the leaders of our defense.”
Also returning on defense are Wall and senior Nick Moody (5-7, 170) in the secondary, as well as Stoecker and senior Tommy Miller (5-8, 165) on the line. Junior Evan Woodruff (5-10, 225) will bring a lot of bulk – and plenty of energy – to the defensive tackle spot.
“Evan was injured all of last season, and he’s chomping at the bit and pretty excited to get out there,” Methner said.
Grachek, Heinz, and junior Dylon Anderson (5-9, 140) are expected to be the other defensive backs, while Buschlen will return as the punter.
“I think we have three pretty good linebackers and a couple of guys up front who we think are also good players,” said Methner. “We’re going to be physical, and I think we’re pretty fast. The emphasis will be on playing fast and recognizing formations and getting lined up quickly and just going and executing.
“ … Offensively and defensively, we try to play fast. That’s something we emphasize,” he added. “Getting the right guys out there who can play fast is important to us.”
Methner said that his team has gotten bigger in the offseason, while adding that defending the SVL Blue title won’t be easy.
“We’ve got guys coming up who really worked hard in the weight room and put on some mass and gained strength. I think they’re capable,” he said. “We’ve just got to continue to get better each and every day in practice and be a better team each week.
“ … It’s going to be tough. Mount Pleasant played a lot of juniors last year, and they have their quarterback back and three or four guys back on their offensive line, so they’re going to be tough,” he added. “And then you’ve got Dow and (Bay City) Western and (Bay City) Central and the Traverse City schools. It’s a tough league.”
Summing up his own team, Methner noted, “I like our overall team speed. Our leadership has been terrific. … We have a nice mix of senior veterans and some very talented juniors.
“ … We are like everyone else – we need to avoid the injury bug,” he added. “We have some depth, but, currently, it is not a strength of ours.”
Methner said, too, that his Chemics’ goals “never change.”
“We want to have a winning record and qualify for the playoffs and play in some big games, some meaningful games, and have a shot at winning the league title,” he said. “And if we’re fortunate enough to make the playoffs, we want to try to make a run.”
Aug. 24 – at Cadillac
Aug. 31 – MOUNT PLEASANT
Sept. 8 – FLINT CARMAN-AINSWORTH
Sept. 15 – at Bay City Central
Sept. 22 – TRAVERSE CITY CENTRAL
Sept. 29 – at Traverse City West
Oct. 6 – at Bay City Western
Oct. 13 – LAPEER
Oct. 20 – at Dow (Midland Stadium)