Bills Steps Into Key Role in Hudson Backfield, Steps Up to Make All-State
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
December 11, 2024
HUDSON – Hudson has a storied football history, with tales filled with state championships, a winning streak that gained national fame and lists of all-state players.
The most unlikely all-stater of all is probably from this fall. Grayson Bills, a 5-foot-9, 160-pound junior, wasn’t even in the Tigers’ starting lineup when the season began. In fact, in Week 1, he didn’t touch the ball on offense.
“I figured I would just be playing on defense, and it was going to be a defensive kind of year,” said Bills.
The featured back in coach Dan Rogers’ T backfield was set to be Brennan Marshall. He was a 1,000-yard rusher in 2023 and was primed for a big senior season. However, at some point during the summer Marshall began experiencing headaches and blackouts. Although he was in the starting lineup in Week 1, he left the game early. It was later discovered he had a brain tumor.
With him out, Rogers turned to Bills, a player who had previously benefitted from the MHSAA rule that allows players to play in five quarters a week.
“Last year I was a five-quarter guy,” Bills said. “I would play the JV game and then usually go up and get into the varsity game. I carried the ball some of my sophomore year. I would get in toward the end of the game.”
In Week 2, Bills was in the starting lineup and responded with 130 yards on 20 carries. By Week 5, he was the top rusher in Lenawee County after rushing for 172 yards on just six carries against Blissfield – including touchdown runs of 50, 30 and 55 yards. He wore down the Adrian Madison defense in Week 6 with 230 yards and three touchdowns. He followed that up with a 211-yard effort against Clinton that clinched the Lenawee County Athletic Association championship and was still going strong when Hudson beat Union City for the District championship, as he rushed for 226 yards.
“After about Week 3, I knew that I could have a great year. It was nice to see all of the hard work pay off,” Bills said. “I just needed the opportunity to show what I could do.”
Rogers was ecstatic about the running back Bills became.
“He had a very good sophomore year for us on JV,” Rogers said. “This year, we expected him to add depth at running back. When he got his opportunity, he made the best of it.”
He finished the season with 1,784 yards rushing, averaging 9.5 per carry, and also was Hudson’s top receiver. He earned all-state honors from the Michigan Sports Writers.
“I was definitely satisfied,” Bills said. “I think I had a really good first year of starting. I know I’m going to come back next year and be better.”
Bills learned football in the backyard with his dad. He fell in love with the sport at a young age and has developed into a two-way player. He plays cornerback on defense.
While he still has a season left on the field, Rogers said Bills will forever be an example to future Hudson players to be ready when called upon.
“He waited his turn, he was patient, then when it came, he was ready for it,” Rogers said. “He was ready for the moment. We didn’t know for sure, but he was. He showed it.”
Bills already has started running and weightlifting for next season, when he will go into the season not only as the featured back, but with a target on his back from running over so many opponents this season.
If he’s being honest, Bills said, he was a little nervous at first.
“I was a little nervous,” he said. “This was my first time playing in front of the big crowds.”
Next year, Bills will be the one drawing them.
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Hudson running back Grayson Bills looks upfield while carrying the ball against Schoolcraft in their Regional Final this season. (Middle) Bills races Napoleon defenders during a District Semifinal win. (Photos by Deloris Clark-Cheaney.)
Flint Elite Beginning to See Results as Program Continues to Grow
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
September 4, 2025
Deion Wright isn’t shy about his early feelings for the Flint Elite football program he watched as a middle schooler.
“The first couple of years it was tough,” said Wright, who entered Flint New Standard Academy in sixth grade. “There were a couple times where I was begging my dad to let me transfer.”
Wright did not transfer, and as the Flint Elite Warriors – a cooperative program between New Standard and Madison Academy in Burton – came under the direction of coach Paul Carmona, Wright and his classmates have seen the benefits of sticking it out.
That started with some late-season success a year ago, and continued in a massive way this past Friday, when the Warriors defeated Erie Mason 46-20 as part of the Vehicle City Gridiron Classic at Atwood Stadium.
“It felt amazing,” said Wright, who threw five touchdown passes in the win. “It brought back memories, a lot of memories, and I’m glad I could do it one more time with my teammates. It brought back memories from Pop Warner, and from being (at Vehicle City) last year watching the games. We weren’t invited, but I went and watched. It was a great opportunity that we were presented, and we had to make the most of it.”
The win at Atwood is the first step in what Flint Elite is hoping can be a special season. The program is in its sixth year as a co-op, and second back playing a varsity schedule after some growing pains. The Warriors previously dropped to JV only and forfeited all varsity games in 2023, and had 26 freshmen on the varsity team in 2024.
But, with seven of those freshmen starting on offense alone – four along the offensive line – the Warriors showed growth through a 3-6 season, playing several tight games and going 3-1 over their final four.
Now, 11 offensive starters and nine on defense are back for the varsity, and the program has grown to the point where it has a JV team as well.
“When I came in, it was just trying to change the culture,” Carmona said. “There were not a lot of guys that realized what it takes to win in football. But we tried to change the mentality of everyone, that they’re student-athletes first, and good kids first. We’re trying to get them to be good kids – open doors, ‘Yes, sir,’ ‘Yes, ma’am,’ – and if we can win some football games along the way, I’m happy doing that. Last year was tough for us, they were learning what it took to play varsity football. But we ended last year with a couple wins, and that got us excited for the next year.”
At the heart of this turnaround are five seniors who have seen all the ups and downs. That includes Warriors quarterback Wright, receivers Jeffrey Turner, Razach Spillers and DiGion Perkins, and running back Patrick Isaacs. Some of those seniors also have been part of the basketball turnaround for Flint Elite, as the team won its first District and Regional titles this past season.
“(Wright) has been a QB his whole life, and he was here as a freshman and sophomore when things were rough,” Carmona said. “He loves Flint Elite, and loves being a part of the New Standard Academy. I’m happy for this senior group to be able to see the other side of the stick now.”
There’s plenty of work still to be done, of course, and that starts with a Genesee Athletic Conference opener Friday night at Genesee.
“We think pretty highly of what we’re trying to do around here,” Carmona said. “I know everyone says state championship, and that’s the ultimate goal, but we wanted to build it up: win a conference championship, make the playoffs, just stuff the school has never done before. We’re teaching these kids how to win, what it takes to win and the work you have to put in. We saw that the talent was there. The sky is the limit for these young men. I’ve got guys that are trying to pursue playing football at the next level.”
Wright is one of those, and this past Friday, he received his first college football offer.
“It felt great – it came as a shock,” Wright said. “I was talking to my dad and our athletic director came up and told me. It was just a shock. I saw the pride on my dad’s face once he told me. When my teammates found out, they were really hype.”
It was a special moment for Wright on a day full of them, and those have been made even more special because of what he and his teammates have gone through, together.
“It’s great that I’m still here with people I’ve known my whole life,” he said. “It’s a great feeling knowing that I’m able to accomplish things not only with my football teammates, but people I’ve grown up with. I know their whole story. We’re a family.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Flint Elite’s Phil Matthews carries the ball with a defender approaching. (Middle) Warriors quarterback Deion Wright throws a pass during warmups. (Below) Flint Elite takes a photo together after winning its Vehicle City Gridiron Classic matchup with Erie Mason. (Photos courtesy of the Flint Elite football program.)