NORTON SHORES, Mich. — The Mona Shores Sailors have seen plenty of success on the football field, especially over the last few seasons.
The Sailors won the Division 2 state championship in 2019 and 2020, while also playing in the state title game in 2018.
However, last year, did not live up to their standards. Mona Shores fell to Caledonia 49-12 in the district championship.
"That's no way to go out," Mona Shores senior lineman Sam Wahlberg said. "We definitely have a bad taste in our mouths. We are ready to turn that around."
Sailors head coach Matt Koziak was so upset by that loss, he put Caledonia on every single lock screen so the team could use it as motivation.
Koziak did not want to spend his Thanksgiving holiday at home last year, and hopes this year the Sailors will be back at Ford Field for the holiday.
"It's always a goal," Koziak said. "We talk about it all the time, getting back to Ford Field. We also know that's not going to be something we just say and comes to bear. It's something you've got to work for. It's incredibly hard to get there. We always talk about earning everything. In order to get there and that be an expectation, we have to earn that for sure."
The Sailors plan on earning that right to play for the state title again.
"I expect us to do great things," Mona Shores senior running back Dahmir Farnum said. "I expect us to get back to that tradition that we have. We made it to the state championship three years in a row. We have high expectations."
The Sailors will also play on a new turf field at Sailor Stadium in 2022, as the team removed the grass that once was at the field.
Mona Shores opens the 2022 high school football season Manitowoc Lincoln, a school from Wisconsin on August 26.
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