CALEDONIA, Mich. — Last fall Caledonia became the first division one school on the west side of Michigan to make it to Ford Field in 14 years.
As we begin 2023, the Fighting Scots will be in division two, back where they normally had been.
Cal certainly lost some really good players, Mason McKenzie, Carlo Aybar, Tyer Burd, and Theren Sanders just to name a few, but returning experience stands out for this group.
Two, four-year varsity players in Brock Townsend and Derek Pennington Jr. lead the way.
"Being in a different division we are going against whole new teams besides conference play," Townsend said. "I think it's do the same work we did last year and add on to that to be even better than we were and I think our team this year has really been inspired of last year's results, and I think it is going to push us even further."
Linebacker Blake Herron and offensive tackle/defensive end Jaxon Engelberg will be three-year starters.
"There is a group of kids that were big contributors that feel like it's unfinished business and want to have another great year," third-year head coach Derek Penningston Said. "But we just try to take it one day at a time, get better one game at a time. To start talking about long term goals, it's not a great idea, we are just trying to get better right now."
The Fighting Scots will have to figure out who is replacing McKenzie at quarterback, he was a major contributor for three seasons on varsity.
"I know we're going to put together a great offense and we are going to score points," Pennington Jr. said. "It's just a matter of time. Mason was a great dual threat quarterback, we are going to return some guys."
Herron is also a quarterback and could be the answer, but they also have a junior in Brody Betser and coach Pennington really likes his ability to throw it.
Cal opens the season at the Big House, Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor against Romeo on August 25th at 3:30.
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