Lelito's Work Helps St Clair Athletes Play
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
May 31, 2017
If not for sports, Tim Lelito isn’t sure he would have finished high school.
Now that he’s entering his fifth season in the National Football League, Lelito is doing what he can to make sure kids in St. Clair County don’t have to worry about that.
The Lelito Legacy Foundation has teamed with the Community Foundation of St. Clair County to grant $9,000 for county schools to cover athletic participation fees for students in need.
“I used sports as a vehicle for where I am now – to get to college and get through high school,” the 2007 St. Clair High School graduate said. “If I didn’t have sports, I don’t think I would have graduated high school at all. School wasn’t a priority; the horses that my grandparents raised were the priority, because that was our livelihood.
“Making it to college and being the first one in my family to graduate with a degree, sports was that vehicle for me to get that degree, and that really hit home with me.”
Five St. Clair County community partners were able to raise $4,500, and Lelito’s foundation matched. The funds will be able to cover participation fees for 116 students at St. Clair County high schools and middle schools during the 2017-18 school year.
The Port Huron Schools Endowment Fund, East China School District Athletic Boosters and PTOs, the Community Foundation of St. Clair County’s Youth Advisory Council and its Marysville Community Fund, and the Capac Adolescents Preventing Abuse and Crime (CAPAC) Fund were the five partners.
“It’s exciting to see someone who is not only successful and has come back to help his hometown, but he’s so humble about it,” Community Foundation Vice President Jackie Hanton said. “When we were in our meetings, it’s not about Tim. It’s that he has this vision to help kids who are like him.”
Lelito was a mauling all-state offensive lineman at St. Clair, paving the way for the team’s option attack. He was also an all-state thrower on the Saints’ track & field team.
Playing sports required a participation fee, something Lelito’s grandparents handled, even if they struggled to do so.
“When I was younger, my grandparents raised racehorses, and money was tight for a while,” Lelito said. “My grandparents put my brother and I in sports, and we always played sports. I didn’t realize how bad it was until I was older. They were pinching pennies together and taking care of us before taking care of their needs.”
Lelito earned a scholarship to Grand Valley State University, where – after redshirting as a freshman and being forced to take a medical redshirt his second year – he started 45 straight games and was named Offensive Lineman of the Year by the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 2012.
He was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2013, and worked his way into the rotation almost immediately, seeing action in 63 games during his four years in New Orleans and starting 24 games, including 13 in 2015.
This past offseason, Lelito signed a free-agent deal with the Tennessee Titans.
Throughout his NFL career, Lelito has given back, both to his hometown and his professional town. He has conducted free football camps for St. Clair County kids for the past few years.
“He’s just a young man that I’ve continued to be impressed with how grounded he’s remained,” Bill Nesbitt, Lelito’s football coach at St. Clair, said. “He understands the big picture. His success is not just in playing at that level, but in helping others. That’s his great success.”
Funds for the participation fees will be given to the school districts in St. Clair County, and the schools will be tasked with selecting students most in need. In future years, Lelito hopes to help schools purchase equipment for kids in need, and eventually he wants his foundation to reach more than just athletes.
“My foundation isn’t just for kids in sports, it’s for underprivileged youth,” Lelito said. “I think moving forward, in the next five years, I want to be able to take care of a lot of kids in a very broad spectrum – in sports and arts and other extracurricular activities.”
That will take funding, but Lelito said he has found generous donors in St. Clair County.
“That’s why I bought a house here,” he said. “I love it here. I love the people; they’ll give you the shirt off their back. That’s why I wanted to put roots down here.”
With his efforts, Lelito is doing all he can to make it an even better place to call home. Nesbitt believes the funds could be the difference in playing sports as opposed to sitting out for some students, which he hopes will have a lasting effect.
“I think it definitely can have a positive impact that way,” Nesbitt said. “Hopefully, in a larger, greater, grander sense, these kids who are participants could one day give back themselves. If they are able to go on and have some success, maybe they could remember that somebody had helped them out and do the same.”
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) Tennessee Titans offensive lineman Tim Lelito watches an athlete work out during a camp he conducts in the St. Clair area. (Middle) Lelito during his high school career at St. Clair. (Below) Lelito, middle, has worked this offseason to help pay participation fees for athletes in need of financial assistance. (Top and below photos courtesy of the Port Huron Times Herald.)
New Turf, Renewed Expectations Greet Kingsford Football as 2025 Fall Practices Begin
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
August 11, 2025
KINGSFORD — Growing up his whole life in the Kingsford community, Jack Kriegl admits the sight is surreal – and a dream.
Just before walking out Monday morning during the first day of high school football practice across the state, Kriegl and others could only beam at the community’s new addition: a gleaming new artificial field installed at the school’s stadium over the summer.
The funds for the field were raised entirely through private donations, according to Kingsford principal David Lindbeck.
“It’s beautiful,” Kriegl said. “It’s weird to see because we’ve been on a grass field our whole life. It looks awesome. “There always has been talk about getting turf forever. We finally got it, and it’s like, ‘Wow.’”
Practices began for all fall sports and 100,000 athletes at MHSAA-member high schools Monday. Kingsford's football team didn’t practice on its new field, however, because construction on the track surrounding the field is taking place. The school annually hosts the MHSAA’s Upper Peninsula Track & Field Finals for all three divisions.
But practicing on the huge and well-manicured grass field behind the stadium didn’t dampen the enthusiasm during the first practice – nor what the future holds once the track is completed and the new turf field is officially open for business in this town of just more than 5,000 adjacent to Iron Mountain on the Upper Peninsula’s southern border with Wisconsin.
“It’ll probably be the premier facility in Upper Michigan,” said Kingsford football head coach Mark Novara, who began his 27th year in the program and seventh as head coach. “It’s that next level of stuff that we’re really ultra-serious about what we’re doing around here with our athletics program.
“Our former superintendent Dave Holmes really had this vision and wanted it to be done for us. The big thing is that we can use that piece of real estate a lot more than we could before. Our baseball team, our softball team can get out there in the spring. Our band can use it, our PE classes can use it, on down the line. It’s nice.”
“Nice” has also been a way to describe Kingsford’s program in recent years. The Flivvers have become arguably the most consistent 11-player program in the Upper Peninsula, amassing a 19-3 record over the last two seasons and with a string of five consecutive winning seasons total.
Kingsford enters this year hungry after a disappointing first-round exit in the Division 5 playoffs last year. The Flivvers enjoyed an unbeaten regular season, but suffered an 18-15 loss to Gladwin in District opener. They had reached the Regional Finals in 2023.
“I’m feel like we all want to get back this year,” said Kingsford senior lineman Logan DeClark. “We want to make it far. We were all pretty bummed last year, losing in the first round after having such a great season and going unbeaten. Speaking for everyone here, we don’t want that to happen again.”
Repeating last year’s success will be a challenge for Kingsford, given the Flivvers were a senior-dominated team in 2024 and newcomers will have to adapt fast to varsity football.
The good news is that Kriegl, a three-sport athlete who has committed to play football at Michigan Tech, is back for his third year on varsity and gives the team notable experience moving over to quarterback after earning all-league second-team as a receiver and first team as a defensive back last season.
Kriegl suffered a spleen injury in practice before the regular-season finale last fall and missed the playoff game.
There are also three starters back along the offensive line – Logan and Preston DeClark and Connor White.
“We’re just trying to maintain that same mental and physical toughness and that hard-nosed brand of football,” Novara said. “I think the talk (from others) will be that ‘they lost everybody.’ But too bad. We’re reloading, and here we come.”
Even better, Kingsford will do so with its spectacular new field on display for the rest of the Upper Peninsula.
“I’m sure it will bring people into the games,” Kriegl said. “Bigger crowds, which will be fun. Hopefully we can put on a show.”
PHOTOS (Top) Kingsford players work through an agility drill Monday during the first day of practice statewide. (Middle) Ian Spencer catches a pass during the team’s first session of the season. (Below) The Flivvers’ new field turf glimmers during the sunny morning. (Photos by Keith Dunlap.)