LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – The 6 Sports activities two-a-days tour rolls into the Jackson space with a take a look at the seasons forward for the Jackson Lumen Christi Titans and Parma Western Panthers.
Jackson Lumen Christi moved up from Div. 7 to Div. 6 in 2024 and nonetheless received the state championship for a 3rd straight season. The championship was this system’s 14th all-time, breaking the MHSAA document.
It will be a a lot completely different Titans crew taking the sphere this fall. Lumen Christi has to switch 10 of 11 starters on offense, with senior offensive lineman Antwon Baker the one returner.
Junior Ben Gaston will take over at quarterback and Amarion Clay will lead a steady of operating backs seeking to fill the footwear of Kadale Williams, who is continuous his soccer profession at Toledo after operating wild for the Titans the previous few seasons.
Regardless of the litany of recent faces, there may be nonetheless loads of expertise on the Lumen Christi roster and a deep sense of buy-in to the tradition head coach Herb Brogan has created.
Brogan has been the Titans head coach since 1980 and his 421 profession wins are the third most in state historical past.
One instance of the buy-in amongst the gamers is the sight of shaved heads throughout the observe discipline. Whereas not a requirement, most Lumen Christi gamers have taken to the custom of shaving their heads the evening earlier than the primary observe.
“We got 99 percent of kids out there have got the shaved heads which has just been a thing ever since my dad went here,” stated senior linebacker and fullback Sean Walicki. “Obviously, no one prefers to have a shaved head but if everyone’s there together it just shows that we’re a team.”
“I think culture’s the key word,” he stated. “I mean they come in here, they understand what needs to be done to get the job done. They’ve worked really hard in the offseason. We’ve had a great summer and so, you know, I think regardless of what the record ends up, I think we’re going to be confident that we’re going to play hard and that we’re going to have a good group of kids this year.”
Lumen Christi’s dominance in latest seasons has made filling out a schedule of prepared opponents more difficult.
This 12 months, the Titans will open up in opposition to Lombard Montini, a crew from Illinois that additionally received a state championship final fall.
Lumen Christi will face Pontiac Notre Dame Prep in week two, the crew that received the Div. 5 State Championship in 2024 and handed Lumen Christi its solely loss within the common season.
“We don’t get a warm-up,” stated Walicki. “We have to be ready right from the jump and they’re teams that’ll be as good or even better than the teams we’ll see in playoffs. That’ll just make playoffs that much easier for us.”
In week three, a matchup with perennial energy Grand Rapids Catholic Central awaits earlier than the Titans soar into Catholic Excessive College League – AA play.
Their different non-conference video games later within the season embody a battle with a crew from Canada in Newmarket Huron Heights and matchups with Traverse Metropolis St. Francis and Heart Line.
“It’s a real gauntlet but I think unlike some programs we welcome the challenge,” stated Brogan. “If we’re successful that’s great. If not, we’re going to give our kids a chance to do something great.”
Throughout city, the Parma Western Panthers enter 2025 with a brand new head coach in Cody Bentley.
Bentley had been the defensive coordinator beneath earlier head coach Nick Rulewicz for the final 4 seasons.
He brings a ton of ardour and power to his practices and desires his gamers to understand the blessing of every day they get to play.
“Energy, that’s the big thing around here,” stated senior cornerback and vast receiver Jack Barnes. “He loves the high energy and he loves being loud and I think we respond well to that and I think it’s just like a perfect match.”
Bentley’s gratitude and keenness for the sport had been bolstered two years in the past when he continued to educate with the Panthers after being recognized with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
“I think it would’ve been a lot harder to give up football, you know?” Bentley stated wanting again on the 2023 season. “We had a great group coming back, kids that were here when I first got here. I didn’t want to let them down and so I learned a lot about myself and what I could accomplish through that. But I also learned a lot about leaning on other people. The community was great to me. The players were great to me. We had a great experience, won a district championship. Those are times I’ll never give back and I’m in remission two years, so things are still going pretty good.”
Barnes and a few of the different seniors on this 12 months’s roster had been on the 2023 crew and bear in mind rallying round Bentley in his most cancers battle.
“It’s bigger than just a team thing,” stated Barnes. “Soccer is sort of a household factor and he relied on us to do what he needed and we relied on him. It actually confirmed us how shut a soccer crew can get when one thing goes dangerous.”
Bentley inherits a program that has reached the postseason yearly since 2017 and has received three district titles in that stretch.
Solely a handful of starters return on both facet of the ball, however that was additionally the case final season, and the Panthers nonetheless posted a 6-4 document.
“A lot of new guys, a lot of opportunity,” stated Bentley. “With opportunity breeds hunger and with hunger breeds our version of football. We know we’re going to have guys that are flying around, playing fast, playing violent and doing the right things. That’s what I’m excited about. They want to learn. They’re hungry for it. I always want to create opportunity within a program because that’s how we get teams that are built on competition.”
Parma Western opens the 2025 season at house in opposition to Jackson on Aug. 28 at 7 p.m.
