'Unknown' Suits Whitmore Lake Well
October 11, 2019
By Doug Donnelly
Special for Second Half
WHITMORE LAKE – The move to a new athletic conference has put some renewed energy into the Whitmore Lake football team and has the Trojans thinking playoffs for the first time in years.
Whitmore Lake, a Class C school on the northern edge of Washtenaw County, moved to the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference this season after 46 years in the Tri-County Conference. It was a big move for the school, which hoped to inject some enthusiasm into its student-athletes, including a football program that was lagging in numbers and had made the playoffs just once during the last decade.
“I feel pretty good about the buzz and excitement that is going on,” said fourth-year Whitmore Lake head coach Brian Boron. “There’s definitely a resurgence with a lot of new things.”
Four-year starting offensive tackle Alex Williams noticed the change soon after Whitmore Lake announced the move from the TCC to the MIAC after last football season.
“I feel like interest in football picked up a lot more,” said Williams. “Being a captain, you see it in school. The eighth graders will come up to you and talk about football. We had more people in our weight room all winter. The culture has definitely changed.”
The first year in a new conference has brought all sorts of new experiences to the football team, both for players, coaches and fans.
“Do we miss the TCC? Absolutely. We were one of the founding teams,” Boron said. “We miss being part of that history and tradition.
“From a win-loss standpoint, things are going well. But this year I also have 12 seniors on the team, by far the most of any team I’ve had in my four years here. Are we competitive more because of that, or because of the new league? I don’t know.”
Whitmore Lake beat Auburn Hills Oakland Christian 62-33 last Friday to improve to 4-2 on the season. Its only losses were nonleague games to undefeated and state-ranked Royal Oak Shrine Catholic and Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard. Against Shrine, the Trojans fumbled three times; and against Richard, Whitmore Lake thought it had tied the game late in the contest, but a 2-point conversion was called back and the Trojans didn’t convert on the next attempt.
Several teams on Whitmore Lake’s schedule are first-time opponents, including Sterling Heights Parkway Christian, Auburn Hills Oakland Christian and Friday’s opponent, Southfield Christian.
Senior running back Evan Romeo, a 1,000-yard rusher as a sophomore, is enjoying a big senior season as well.
“Evan is having a great year,” Boron said. “Last year he missed five games with a hamstring pull.”
Logan Kurth, Cole Henning and Evan Vaughn are other backfield mates, and the quarterback is Zach Brady.
“He doesn’t get a lot of credit, but he’s the architect of the whole thing,” Boron said of Brady. “He makes it go. Every game we have a referee or member of the chain gang come tell us that they can’t find the ball because Zach is doing such a great job with his fakes.”
Whitmore Lake’s biggest win this season came against Oakland Christian, which came into the game 4-1. The Trojans appear to be on a league title-deciding collision course with Week 9 opponent Livonia Clarenceville, also undefeated in the MIAC. Whitmore Lake’s last league championship in football came in 2002.
“In this league, we are playing against teams with 18 or 19 kids on the varsity, just like us,” Boron said. “When I took the program over, we had maybe 17 kids in the entire program. They aren’t great numbers, but now we are closer to 30. I’m hoping to add more.”
In making the move last fall, Whitmore Lake Superintendent Tom DeKeyser said it had become apparent that, at least in some sports, the Trojans were not competing at the same level as other TCC schools.
“We have built a lot of great relationships in the TCC,” DeKeyser said. “But our coaches and athletes are excited to try something different.”
Everyone in Trojans camp hopes that “different” translates into more student-athletes.
“We had 10 or 12 freshmen come out this year, some who had never played football before,” Boron said. “That’s been a good thing. We’re not sure about next year, how many kids we’ll get up from our youth program. We’ll have to see. The team having success, I believe, will help that.”
One thing Boron has found is that the move is demanding on the coaching staff, which has a whole new set of opponents for which to prepare. It used to be one or two new teams would join the schedule. This year, nearly all of the Trojans’ opponents are new.
“No other team in our league runs the ‘T’ which means we don’t see how anyone is going to defend it on film,” Boron said. “We kind of rep everything because we don’t know how they are going to line up against us. We’re still getting a feel for these other teams. It’s fun. As coaches, we watch a lot of film. We have to be able to adjust and be ready for just about anything.”
The Trojans already have scored more points than any team it has fielded since 2008, which is the last time Whitmore Lake finished with a winning record. The 2013 team made the playoffs but finished 5-5 after a first-round loss. That 2008 season capped the greatest football era in school history, when Whitmore Lake made the playoffs seven times during an eight-year span.
Boron isn’t making predictions for Whitmore Lake’s future just yet. There are still a lot of unknowns.
“Everybody is still trying to figure things out,” he said. “We will sometimes get to a school a half-hour or 45 minutes early because we are unsure of the traffic patterns still. Teams get to our school way early some weeks for the same reason.
“I think it’s a good thing for the future of football at Whitmore Lake. The unknown is exciting.”
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.
PHOTO: Whitmore Lake now-senior running back Evan Romeo breaks into the open. (Photo courtesy of the Whitmore Lake football program.)
1st & Goal: 2025 Week 1 Preview
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 27, 2025
If you’re looking for storylines for this weekend’s Michigan high school football openers, you’ve landed just in time for launch of the 2025 season.
There will be 305 games played this weekend with at least one Michigan team – 258 tonight, 46 Friday and one Saturday. Several of the most intriguing will play out at traditional Week 1 showcase events – the Amazon Prep Kickoff Classic at Wayne State and Vehicle City Gridiron Classic at Flint’s Atwood Stadium – but those are just the start of the newsy and noteworthy.
This weekend’s slate also includes two matchups of teams that ended last season playing for MHSAA 11-player championships in Detroit, and a third between a reigning Michigan champion (Detroit Cass Tech in Division 1) and an Ohio state runner-up (Toledo Central Catholic). One of the state's longest running rivalries also gets a reboot.
The great majority of varsity games are scheduled to be broadcast this weekend on the NFHS Network. Click the names of the events bolded above for specific broadcast landing pages for those showcases.
Like most, we’re still at the start of learning about this season’s contenders. But every game has a story, and tune in each week for details building up the biggest matchups all over Michigan. All games are tonight unless noted, and follow the MHSAA Scores page all weekend for scores as they’re submitted.
Bay & Thumb
Frankenmuth (13-1) at Goodrich (13-1)
This is one of those matchups of teams that ended last season at Ford Field, as Goodrich is the reigning Division 4 champion and Frankenmuth finished Division 5 runner-up. This will actually be the fifth-straight season they’ll meet in an opener; Frankenmuth has a 3-1 advantage in the recent series coming off a 22-0 win a year ago. Both teams graduated substantial star power from their backfields and lines, likely making this a high-profile debut for several players expected to fill more significant roles at the varsity level this fall.
Keep an eye on these THURSDAY Marysville (8-2) at Almont (9-1), Mount Pleasant (6-5) at Saginaw Heritage (8-4). FRIDAY Marine City (10-3) at Armada (10-2), Cass City (7-4) at Harbor Beach (11-1).
Greater Detroit
Clarkston (7-4) vs. Belleville (10-2) at Wayne State
The post-Bryce Underwood era will begin at Belleville after he quarterbacked the team to Ford Field three of the last four seasons. He and the Tigers defeated Clarkston 35-28 in their opener a year ago at Wayne State, and Belleville’s only other loss of the season came in a Regional Final. Clarkston will attempt to avenge that 2024 defeat keyed in part by an offense that features power up front and a notable passing attack as well.
Keep an eye on these THURSDAY Walled Lake Western (11-1) at Milford (7-3), Davison (7-3) at Roseville (7-3). FRIDAY Warren Michigan Collegiate (9-2) at Clarkston Everest Collegiate (9-2), Detroit Cass Tech (12-2) vs. Toledo Central Catholic (14-2) at Wayne State.
Mid-Michigan
Haslett (8-4) at DeWitt (12-1)
These two combined for 111 points in their opener last season, a 69-42 DeWitt win, and the scoreboard should be ready again as both return playmakers considered among the best in the state – Haslett’s Kory Amachree and DeWitt’s Trav Moore. Both also are coming off nice playoff runs last fall – DeWitt reaching the Division 3 Semifinals and Haslett winning a Division 4 District championship – adding further anticipation to a rivalry renewed despite the Panthers’ dominance in the matchup over the last two decades.
Keep and eye on these THURSDAY Dexter (10-1) at Brighton (8-3), Lansing Catholic (10-4) at Williamston (3-7), Lansing Everett (6-4) at Lansing Sexton (5-5), Detroit Country Day (3-6) at Portland (11-1).
Northern Lower Peninsula
Maple City Glen Lake (9-2) at Traverse City St. Francis (7-4), Friday
These two are facing off for the first time since 2021, with the Lakers coming off their best season since a 2019 run to Ford Field and the Gladiators also looking to build on a District championship game appearance after most recently reaching the MHSAA Finals in 2022. They were both champions in the Northern Michigan Football League last fall – Glen Lake outright in the Legacy and St. Francis sharing the title in the Legends.
Keep an eye on these THURSDAY Howell (11-1) at Traverse City West (6-4), Midland (9-2) at Cadillac (4-6). FRIDAY Sault Ste. Marie (1-8) at Cheboygan (4-5), Edwardsburg (7-4) at McBain (9-2).
Southeast & Border
Fowler (12-1) at Hudson (10-2)
The Eagles won this season-opening matchup 20-6 a year ago and this time head to Hudson after ending last fall with a one-point Division 8 Semifinal loss to eventual champion Beal City. After losing to Fowler in Week 1 last season, Hudson didn’t fall again until its Division 7 Regional Final against Schoolcraft – which capped its longest playoff run since winning the Division 8 title in 2021.
Keep an eye on these THURSDAY Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (13-1) vs. Clinton (7-4) at Adrian College, Ottawa Lake Whiteford (5-5) at Blissfield (4-6), Flushing (7-3) at Ann Arbor Pioneer (5-5), Jackson (4-6) at Parma Western (6-4).
Southwest Corridor
St. Joseph (9-2) at Niles (12-2), Friday
This is another season-opening rematch, and last year's game was referred to frequently – after St. Joseph's 30-7 win, Niles didn't lose again until falling to Goodrich in the Division 4 championship game. In fact, the Vikings gave up only 27 more points during the regular season. The Bears went on to enjoy a successful fall as well, sharing their league's championship before falling to eventual Division 3 champion Zeeland West in a District Final.
Keep an eye on these THURSDAY Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep (9-3) at Berrien Springs (7-4), East Lansing (9-4) at Portage Central (8-4), Lawton (8-3) at Decatur (11-2), Union City (9-2) at Parchment (7-3).
Upper Peninsula
Marquette (6-3) at Negaunee (6-4)
This matchup of Upper Peninsula neighbors is a rivalry restored, resparking a series that goes back to 1894. These two faced off 141 times – still ranking third-highest for total games played between two Michigan teams – before taking a break after the 2017 meeting with Negaunee leading the series 70-60-11. The Miners have strung together six straight playoff seasons, while the Sentinels just missed the playoffs last year but finished second in the Big North Conference for the second season in a row.
Keep and eye on these THURSDAY Kingsford (9-1) at Escanaba (5-4), East Jordan (8-3) at Manistique (4-6), Houghton (4-5) at Iron Mountain (11-1). FRIDAY Menominee (10-2) at Marinette, Wis. (2-7).
West Michigan
Byron Center (12-2) at Hudsonville (12-2)
This is another matchup of teams that finished their 2024 playoff runs at Ford Field, Hudsonville runner-up in Division 1 and Byron Center in Division 2. Even with both graduating significant star power after last spring and turning to new quarterbacks this fall, this seems the perfect time for this matchup. Hudsonville's double-digit win total last year was its first since 2007, and Byron Center is a combined 22-4 over the last two seasons.
Keep an eye on these THURSDAY Grand Blanc (9-3) at Muskegon Mona Shores (9-2), Pewamo-Westphalia (9-3) at North Muskegon (11-2), Saline (7-4) at Rockford (7-3), Hudsonville Unity Christian (10-1) at Whitehall (8-4).
8-Player
Britton Deerfield (10-2) at Pittsford (8-3)
This was another of the most high-powered openers a year ago, as Britton Deerfield won 68-58 to kick off the program’s best season. The Patriots later advanced to the Semifinals for the first time with a 60-26 rematch win over the Wildcats, who otherwise claimed a league championship and lost just once more over the remainder of their season.
Keep an eye on these THURSDAY Climax-Scotts (8-2) at Gobles (9-1), Bridgman (5-4) at Martin (8-2), Powers North Central (9-2) at Munising (6-4), Mendon (10-2) at Suttons Bay (6-3).
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PHOTO Grand Ledge takes the field during a home game last season. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)