Grand Ledge junior Antonio Rush gains yardage against Jackson on September 25, 2015, at Grand Ledge.

LAST YEAR
12-1, 7-0 CAAC Blue (1st)

SCHEDULE (last year’s score)
Aug. 25 – at Hudsonville, 7 p.m. 
Sept. 1 – DeWitt, 7 p.m.
Sept. 9 – Sexton, 7 p.m. (W 34-32)
Sept. 16 – at Okemos, 7 p.m. (W 43-7)
Sept. 23 – at Jackson, 7 p.m. (W 35-16)
Sept. 30 – Eastern, 7 p.m. (W 42-3)
Oct. 7 – at Everett, 7 p.m. (W 42-14)
Oct. 14 – at East Lansing, 7 p.m. (W 31-21)
Oct. 21 – Holt, 7 p.m. (W 42-0)

COACH

Matt Bird

Matt Bird

Age: 42

Playing experience: Lansing Catholic 1989-91

Head coaching experience: Grand Ledge 2006-present

Career record: 70-33

Full-time job: Grand Ledge teacher

Assistant coaches: Blake Wegenke, Eddie Saade, Mike Rademacher, Chad Guild, Zach Hess

FOURCAST
BACK ON TOP
Grand Ledge has found itself at or near the top of the CAAC Blue frequently in recent years. The Comets continued that trend last fall and captured their first league title since 2011 last fall by going perfect in Blue play. The success in the Blue was part of what turned out to be Grand Ledge’s first undefeated regular season since 2010. The Comets this year will be in pursuit of their fifth league title in nine years.

ADDED DRIVE
Getting to the Division 1 state semifinals a year ago made for the Comets’ longest playoff run since they won the state title in 2000. But players weren’t content with their strong season — especially knowing they were a win away from getting an opportunity to play for a state title. That led to added drive for Grand Ledge players in the offseason as they’ve put in the work to try surpass their success from a year ago.

EXPERIENCE BACK
The Comets did lose some key pieces from their 12-1 team a year ago but do have 32 players returning with varsity experience. Some of the key players returning include Josh Martin, Xavier Farr, Antonio Rush, Nate LaLumia and juniors Nolan Bird and Cal Johnston. Several of the returning players stepped up during the playoff run, which included Nolan Bird at quarterback. Bird threw for nearly 600 yards during the Comets’ playoff run.

OWNERSHIP
One of the things Bird has preached with his team this fall is ownership. The Comets have harped on owning actions, owning decisions that are made and what their job is on any given play. Bird said his players have embraced doing that.

ROSTER
2 Xavier Farr WR/DB Sr.
3 Vincent Behnke TE/DE Sr.
4 Matt Vary WR/DB Jr.
5 Rashad Thompson WR/DE Sr.
6 David Pozega WR/DB Jr.
7 Jayke Houghton WR/DB Jr.
8 Ethan Auge WR/DB Jr.
9 Cal Johnston TE/DB Jr.
10 Zach Willoughby WR/DB Jr.
11 Connor Davis TE/DB Jr.
12 Dillon Ross K Sr.
13 Nolan Bird QB Jr.
14 Alex McCready WR/DB Jr.
15 Logan Techentin TE/DE Jr.
16 Alex Addai TE/DE Sr.
17 Hunter Piper RB/LB Sr.
18 David Christensen WR/DB Sr.
19 Colton Stephens WR/DB Sr.
21 Antonio Rush RB/DB Sr.
22 Iszy Ogden-Colesten WR/DB  Jr.
23 Carson Lonier WR/DB Jr.
24 Jacob Umholtz RB/LB Jr.
25 Dominic Kalush RB/DE Jr.
26 Nathan Eckhardt WR/DB Jr.
28 Dominic Guzman WR/DB Jr.
30 Jawad Haddad RB/DE Sr.
31 Blake Swearingen WR/DB Sr.
32 Cal Riggs RB/LB Jr.
33 Chandler Drake RB/LB Jr.
34 Carlos Shaffer RB/LB Jr.
35 Garrett Liddell RB/LB Sr.
36 Andrew Sada RB/DL Sr.
43 Nate Lalumia TE/LB Sr.
45 Wyatt Barker RB/LB Jr.
49 Donovan Hopper RB/LB Jr.
50 Renzo D’Alssandro OL/LB Sr.
51 Chris Ford OL/DL Sr.
52 Addison Carter OL/DL Jr.
53 Jason Huson OL/DL Sr.
54 Michael Blanzy OL/LB Sr.
55 Curtis Benham OL/LB Sr.
56 Evan Jennings OL/DL Jr.
57 Declan Beaton OL/DL Jr.
58 Jonah Hoddy OL/DL Jr.
60 Adam Agular OL/DL Jr.
61 Alec Rogers OL/DL Jr.
62 Siquio Davila OL/DL Jr.
63 Derek Perez OL/DL Sr.
64 Alex Sauers OL/DL Sr.
70 Nic Lloyd OL/DL Sr.
72 Patrick Britt OL/DL Sr.
73 Hawk Harrington OL/DL Jr.
74 Cole Johnson OL/DL Sr.
75 Brock Gilmartin OL/DL Sr.
77 Freddie Grove OL/DL Sr.
80 Nick Dionise K/DE Jr.
88 Wes Barnes TE/DE Sr.
89 Troy Beem P Jr.
90 Josh Martin  RB/DL Sr.

RETURNING STARTERS (6 on offense, 3 on defense)

OFFENSE

Nate Lalumia TE

Cole Johnson OL

Antonio Rush RB

Josh Martin RB

Nolan Bird QB

Nic Lloyd OL

DEFENSE

Cal Johnston DB

Antonio Rush  DB

Josh Martin DL

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS 

Xavier Farr WR

Jacob Umholtz RB

Dominic Guzman WR

Fred Grove OL

Brock Gilmartin OL

Addison Carter OL

Wes Barnes TE

Cal Riggs LB

Nathan Eckhardt DB

Rashad Thompson LB

Alec Rogers DL

Zach Willoughby DB