Mendon Hornets 2017 Football Preview

City / County: Mendon / Saint Joseph

School Mascot Name: Hornets
2016 Record: 8-3
Conference/Division: Southwest 10 Conference
2017's Expected Division for Playoffs: Division 8
Record last 3 seasons: 23-10
Record last 5 seasons: 45-12
Record last 10 seasons: 105-16

Head Coach: Bobby Kretschman
Head Coaching Experience: 12th Season (2nd Year as Head Coach)
Assistant Coaching Staff:
Glen Samson Offensive Coordinator
Mitch Ulrich- Wide Receivers/ Defensive Line
Bob Critz- Offensive/Defensive Line
Lincoln Klinger- Head JV Coach/ Offensive Assistant
Skyler Ford- JV Defensive Coordinator/ Defensive Assistant
Ron Friel- JV Assistant
Casey Oatley- Junior High Coach
Brandon Wenzel- Junior High Coach
Captains: TBD
Returning Starters on Offense: 8
Returning Starters on Defense: 7
Returning Key Players:
Wyatt Cool RB/DE 2018
Hunter Lovell QB/OLB 2018
Mikki Feister OG/ILB 2018
Kaden Frye OC/DE 2018
Corbin Weinberg TE/OLB 2019
Austin Rensi FB/ILB 2020
Noah Slaughter OT/DE 2020
Emmett Bingaman OG/DT 2020
Upcoming Players:
Arjun Vorster TE/DB 2018
Jake Allison OT/DT 2019
Sam Cleveland WR/DB 2019
Lincoln Crotser WR/DB 2019
Chris Rios RB/DB 2019
Justin Mathews OT/DT 2019
Team Strength(s) for 2017:
- We return 4 out of 5 offensive lineman as well as our backfield.
- Our running game will be a team strength.
- Defensively we return all four linebackers as well as 3 defensive lineman
- Our younger kids will need to fill spots in the secondary but they are very athletic and capable of doing so.
Biggest Shoes / Holes to Fill in 2017:
Secondary on Defense is going to be a work in progress. We lost all 3 to graduation last year and will need to focus on developing in those areas.
2017 Season Outlook:
We have a good core group of players returning and should be able to move the football with an experienced offensive line and both of our leading rushers back. We will need to keep healthy and develop our passing game as well as the defensive secondary to make a run in the playoffs.
Outlook on Conference/Division:
We are in a new league (Southwest 10) We will play 6 new opponents so we will need to be sharp week in and week out. Cassopolis went to the semi-finals last year and Decatur joins our league after playing in a tough division in the SAC. I also look for White Pigeon to have a good group.

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