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Sports

Leadership, Hard Work are Set to Guide Wyandotte Football Toward 2011 Season Goals

Wyandotte Roosevelt kicks off the season Friday night with hopes of winning another league tittle and playing for a state championship.

As a new football season begins Friday, looks to improve upon one of the best seasons in school history.

In 2010, the went 9-0 in Downriver League play, scoring a school-record 413 points and posting six shutouts. On Oct. 22, a sold-out home crowd of more than 8,000 saw Wyandotte win the league title with a 27-0 victory over Southgate Anderson.

Two weeks later, however, the team was bounced from the state playoffs by Temperance Bedford, ending the Bears season with a 10-1 record.

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In 2011, the team has focused on a goal of winning 14 games, the amount of victories that would equate to a state title.

“We came up with a theme (of 14) for the season,” said senior captain and starting tight end William Parker. “If you win 14 games, it will give you an opportunity to win a state championship.”

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Tyler Dunn, also a senior captain, said the team decided it was important to aim for winning more than just a league title.

“Our normal goal is to win the DRL,” Dunn said. “But we stepped it up this year and want to do bigger and better things.”

To achieve that, Coach Ron Adams said the team would need to keep building its confidence level through constant practice and preparation.

“When you’re confident in what you’re doing, you can reach your goal,” Adams said.

Another necessary component, he said, is leadership.

Along with Parker and Dunn, leading the Bears in 2011 as captains will be seniors and Tyler Hamilton. Matt also captained last year’s squad and is entering his third year on varsity.

Leadership also will be needed from junior Kevin Matejko, who will be the Bears starting quarterback this season.

Although Matejko has not been game-tested at the varsity level, Adams said he has the physical ability and the mental toughness to be an outstanding quarterback. Matejko is replacing 2011 graduate Mitchell Kell, who threw for 1,300 yards and 22 touchdowns last season.

Starting running backs for Wyandotte this year will be Matt and Dunn.

At 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, Matt has both the size to run over defenders and the speed to get past them. Last season, he amassed 431 yards on the ground and scored seven touchdowns.

Dunn spent most of last season as a receiver, but Adams said the senior’s strong work ethic should make him a successful ball carrier in what will be a run-heavy offense.

This year’s starting receivers will be senior Edge Jelsomeno and junior Devan Stewart.

Adams said Stewart is a talented receiver who can generate quick points after the catch for the Bears.

“When he touches the ball, he can score,” Adams said.

The starting offensive line, with an average weight of about 250 pounds, will be made up five seniors this year: Cody Foley, Louis Verduce, Ryan Lynch, Blake Lukasik and Tim Veenstra. 

Defensively, the Bears return five starters from a squad that gave up only 80 points last season.

Matt and Foley will take on the inside linebacker duties this year. Matt’s past performance at linebacker has brought him scholarship offers from Division I colleges. 

Parker and senior Nathan Gibson will start at outside linebacker to begin the season.

Lukasik, Hamilton and juniors Tyler Winters and Kyle Campbell will man the defensive line.

In the secondary, the Bears will start Dunn, Stewart and Jelsomeno.

Aside from on-field preparation, Adams also has attempted to bring the team together through what he calls the virtue program.

As part of the program, players have been educated by guest speakers on such topics as drug and alcohol abuse. The Bears also have taken part in community service work, such as cleaning up and reading to elementary school kids.

“We’ve really tried to take our program to another level with the virtue program,” Adams said. “It’s created the chemistry necessary to be successful.”

Once the season gets under way, Adams said, he expects major challenges from Downriver League teams such as Southgate, Melvindale and Allen Park.

“We have a lot of parity (in the league),” Adams said. “On any given Friday night, teams need to show up and play at a high level.”

As a returning senior, Hamilton said he knows opposing teams will play Wyandotte tough this year and every victory the team gets will need to be hard fought.

“I believe we have a great chance to contend in the DRL and the rest of the state,” Hamilton said. “It won’t just be handed to us. We have to keep working hard, day in and day out.”

The Bears open the season Friday night, taking on Melvindale at 7 p.m. Before the game, the team will hold a ceremony in honor of parent’s night.

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