Trojans Standout Back from Basic Training
September 20, 2019
By Chris Dobrowolski
Special for Second Half
It seemed appropriate that the first game T.J. Schultz played his senior season for the Central Lake/Ellsworth football team was also the program’s fourth annual Veterans and First Responders Appreciation Night.
Schultz, a starting linebacker and running back in his third year with the Trojans, had the beginning of his final year on the gridiron delayed until the third week of the 2019 campaign — the game that paid homage to those who have served in the military — as he was completing basic training for the National Guard.
Enlisting in the Split Training Option program gave Schultz the opportunity to do basic training during the summer before his senior year. He reported to Fort Sill in Oklahoma on June 25 and spent the next 10 weeks going through the rigors of the military. It’s part of an eight-year contract with the National Guard that includes six years of active service, followed by two more years of inactive duty.
“It just gave me a head start, instead of graduating and then doing basic,” said Schultz. “The advantage of doing split op is I can come back and finish high school and take a little break, then go back down.”
Schultz quickly found out how demanding the military can be for a new recruit during basic training.
“They give you near-impossible tasks and if you can’t do them, you do push-ups or exercises,” he said. “Sometimes you’d have to go upstairs and change into a new uniform in less than 30 seconds. If you can’t do that, you’re coming downstairs and doing push-ups.”
To make matters even more challenging, the 240-member unit did the brunt of their training in the heat of the southern Oklahoma summer, where temperatures often reached into triple digits.
“They said it was one of the hottest summers there in a long time,” said Schultz. “We had to wear Kevlar helmet, bulletproof vest. They added 30 pounds to us. We were out there in the heat. It was just insane. We didn’t have (air conditioning). What we had were these big fans that sprayed mists of water. They were big, powerful fans, but unless you were really close to them they didn’t work very well.”
Not only did Schultz manage to make it through those hardships that he faced during basic training, but he came out of graduation with high praise from his drill sergeant.
“His drill sergeant had nothing but good things to say about him,” said Schultz’s mother, Mary Drenth, also a veteran of the National Guard. “He did great on everything. He was one of six in the whole unit to shoot expert on the rifle range. He was second. There was one kid who got 38 out of 40, and he got 37 out of 40. We’re incredibly proud.
“We have four boys. When we found out he was graduating a week into school, we chose to let the kids all miss that first week of school and took a trip out to Oklahoma. So, they all got to witness their brother graduate. That was an amazing experience. It was really, really cool.”
Like his first experience in the military, Schultz also can hold his own on the football field, where he has been a fixture at linebacker since taking over a starting spot as a sophomore in 2017 — the year the Trojans went 13-0 and captured the MHSAA 8-player Division 1 championship. It was his first season playing football after moving from Cheboygan the previous year.
“It was funny because I was thinking of doing football in Cheboygan and I never really committed to it because I was hockey, hockey, hockey. I love hockey,” said Schultz, who started playing hockey as a 4-year-old. “Then I came here and thought, ‘I’ll give football a try. Might as well.’ I love those guys. It was just so fun. Everyone was so confident. Going into a game we didn’t expect to lose. We were just going out there and having fun.”
Central Lake/Ellsworth defensive assistant coach Jarod Steenwyk has come to rely on Schultz’s toughness and tenacity at the heart of the Trojans’ defense for the past couple years, so he was excited to finally have Schultz return from basic training. Schultz also is getting an increased role at running back this season after serving as a backup at that position the last two years.
“He brings some size at linebacker for us and having that other running back,” said Steenwyk. “He’s got some speed, but he’s willing to hit somebody — lower the shoulder.”
“He started for us on the state championship team and even in that (championship game) he made some pretty big plays. He really came through for us.”
Steenwyk has noticed that Schultz seems to be more focused in the short time he’s been back with the team. Drenth, likewise, said the experience of basic training changed her son in a good way.
“It was good for him,” she said. “He’s definitely matured a lot. He has the self-discipline. He’s a different kid now.”
After Schultz finishes the school year in the spring, he will return to the National Guard for Advanced Individual Training — eight weeks of hands-on instruction at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas with a Military Occupational Specialty as a construction equipment repairman.
“Right after high school I’ll go to AIT, finish up there and then come back with some good certificates that will get me a head start, and it will look good on my resume,” said Schultz. “So far I’m not regretting anything.”
Chris Dobrowolski has covered northern Lower Peninsula sports since 1999 at the Ogemaw County Herald, Alpena News, Traverse City Record-Eagle and currently as sports editor at the Antrim Kalkaska Review since 2016. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS: Central Lake/Ellsworth’s T.J. Schultz tries to cut past a Gaylord St. Mary defender during their Week 3 meeting. (Middle) Schultz takes down a Wyoming Tri-unity Christian ball carrier. (Photos courtesy of the Antrim County Review.)
Rejuvenated Dryden Football Hungry for More After Undefeated Start, Signature Win
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
October 1, 2026
Santiago Perales and his Dryden football teammates aren’t patting themselves on the back for anything.
The Cardinals are 5-0 and just knocked off the Thumb’s 8-player giant, Deckerville. It’s the start of a season anyone would be celebrating, but especially a program that just restarted in 2023 after a four-year hiatus.
But looking back on how far they’ve come only makes Perales more resolute in making sure he and his senior classmates don’t lose the edge that helped them get here.
“For me, it kind of still feels the same,” Perales said. “I still feel like we’re the underdogs. The job’s not done. We have to keep working. We have to motivate the younger players to keep working hard. Everyone on the team still has more work to put in. We have to keep our heads down and keep working.”
Perales is one of six Dryden seniors who has been there since Year 1 of the return, enduring the ups and downs of a program starting from scratch.
He, Gianni Coscione, Luke Taylor, Tyler Roberts, Logan Korth and Collin Tyrkus are all in their fourth years with the program and at the heart of the unbeaten start.
“It’s pretty amazing, honestly, watching them grow from freshmen,” said Dryden coach Hunter Gall, who is also in his fourth year leading the program. “They weren’t that confident in that first year, and even the second year. But I think, honestly, it’s been good for us. They’re still super hungry even though we’re 5-0, because they’re not used to it and they don’t want that feeling to go away. But it’s been interesting to watch these freshmen who barely spoke the first year turn into huge leaders on our team. Now we’re watching them teach the underclassmen everything they learned.”
Gall, a 2018 graduate of Dryden, was part of the 2017 team, which was the last to complete a season before 2023.
The following year, the Cardinals played through September before low numbers and injuries forced them to forfeit their final three games. In 2019, they never started, and eventually players from Dryden who were interested in playing football could join Imlay City as part of a co-op.
That included at the middle school level, where Perales, Coscione and some others were playing, and succeeding.
While the co-op provided opportunity, Gall and others wanted to bring back the identity and community excitement that came with having a team representing the school.
A petition was circulated and enthusiastically moved through the process to start things back up again for the 2023 season, with Gall in charge along with his classmate and assistant coach Sam Peyerk.
The Cardinals actually won their first game back, defeating Carsonville-Port Sanilac 52-12, but they would finish the season 2-7, dropping seven in a row before defeating Akron-Fairgrove in Week 9.
“The biggest challenge, honestly, was just teaching the game of football to a bunch of kids who had virtually never played,” Gall said. “Just basic football terms. Teaching sophomores, juniors and seniors how to get into a three-point stance is not a typical issue for most football programs. Almost half our starting lineup was freshmen, and everyone else, they were older, but they had the experience of freshmen. The biggest hurdle was just keeping them confident and keeping them from hanging their heads.”
Fortunately for Gall, his players bought in and even had a belief that very bright days could be ahead.
“I really did know that, eventually, after us putting in the hard work, we’d get to this point,” said Coscione, who is now in his fourth year as starting quarterback for the Cardinals. “Our whole team believed it. I’m not gonna lie, it was pretty hard to believe, but we all (toughed) it out together, stayed together as a team and put in the work. You can’t just start up a new program and expect to be undefeated. We all knew we had to go through those ups and downs of it sucking really bad. (Gall and Peyerk), all the coaches definitely motivated us and got us through that.”
Not all players who had to suffer through the building years were able to enjoy the fruits of the program’s labor, however, and they knew it. That, Coscione said, made their hard work even more impressive. That includes Gall’s younger brother Owen and Coscione’s older brother Sonny, who both graduated in 2025 and were part of the 2023 and 2024 teams.
“(Sonny) is so proud of not just me, but everyone,” Gianni Coscione said. “Even though he’s not out there playing with us, he knows that us being out there and doing what we are today, it wouldn’t be possible without him and the other upperclassmen that we learned from. Without them, all of this probably wouldn’t be possible. I think that shows a big part in how they’re great people. They knew they weren’t going to be part of the greatness, but they were going to be a part of the rollercoaster.”
Dryden won four games in 2024 and five in 2025, barely missing the 8-player playoffs. With just one senior graduated from the 2025 team, expectations were high surrounding this year’s group.
“The first two years, I would have said no, that I didn’t think this was going to happen,” Taylor said. “We were never going to be able to keep up with these kids at the bigger schools. But as a junior we were able to stick with them, and we knew if we locked in over the offseason (the current success was possible). A lot of us got in the gym over the summer, and we really wanted to get in and go far in the playoffs.”
Starting 4-0 was certainly a sign that it was all coming together, but it was the win against Deckerville that has added a new layer of belief in the team, at least in the community. The Eagles were the 2024 Division 1 8-Player Finals champion and advanced to the Semifinals a year ago. They’ve won two Finals titles and have two other runner-up finishes since moving to 8-player in 2012.
“It was a huge win,” Gall said. “Probably one of the biggest wins that we’ve had in program history so far. My high school coach, who was also on the 2008 Dryden team that went undefeated, he’s on my staff, and he said that even including the 2008 season, that was the biggest win of his career. Definitely, by far, it’s the biggest win of mine.”
The players acknowledge how big that win was, especially after suffering through a 2023 game against the Eagles during which they were shutout and gained just 25 yards of total offense.
But last weekend’s success hasn’t changed their goal moving ahead, which is to beat Byron, their Week 6 opponent.
“It definitely feels good, and we know that we deserved it because we put in a lot of work throughout the years,” Perales said. “But we’re not satisfied with our record right now. We want to go undefeated every week, and we know we still have to keep our heads down and keep working toward what we want.”
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) From left, Gianni Coscione and Santiago Perales stand with their team for the national anthem. (Middle) Coscione eyes his target before throwing a pass. (Top photo courtesy of the Dryden football program. Action photo of Coscione by Dane Pelkowski.)