MUSKEGON, Mich. — The first week of high school football practice is usually a joyous time for players and coaches. But the atmosphere at Hackley Stadium on Tuesday was particularly fun. Head coach Shane Fairfield joined in the laughter and he says there's just something different about this year's team.
"With this experienced group, we were kind of ahead of the game. Nine of these guys started last year on both sides of the ball," he said.
"We played our last game in November, and then here we are. We picked up right where we left off. So it felt really comfortable. I don't know if that's a scary thing or not, but it's a really fun group to coach."
Last year the Big Reds made it all the way to Ford Field before losing the state finals game to Detroit Martin Luther King 56-27. And with most of their key players back for 2023, Muskegon seems destined for another successful season.
"We're hungrier than ever. I want to say we're the hungriest. The way [last season] ended was bad. We lost at the last stop. We didn't finish strong. So starting off we've got two games against good teams and that's going to prepare us to finish strong and finish healthy," said senior slotback Destin Piggee.
Muskegon makes a point of scheduling tough teams early on in the season and this year their non-conference slate includes Rockford and Warren De La Salle, two teams that had a combined record of 23-2 last year.
"You want to challenge yourself right away and find out who you are. I'd rather do that and than find out game eight or game nine, 'Oh, we're not so good.' A lot can happen after week one and week two, and then you see what kind of growth you have after that," Fairfield said.
The players are excited about the challenges ahead of them too.
"It's amazing, because then we can get we get those hard ones out the way in the beginning, and then from there, we can judge ourselves, and we can get better off our mistakes against the good teams," said senior lineman Miguel Botello.
Muskegon's opener against Rockford will take place on Friday, August 25 at Hackley Stadium.
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