ELK RAPIDS – With low participation numbers and injuries setting in early, the Elk Rapids football program suffered its first winless season since 2002 last year and just its third in the previous 60 years.
Going 0-8 last year, Elk Rapids had to forfeit contests to Glen Lake and Boyne City due to injuries.
Now with a large junior class still looking to gain valuable experience, the Elks are looking to turn the corner in 2016.
“It will be different than it was last year,” coach Ed Schindler said. “We’re going to get back on track to where we were before and we’ve got some really hard working kids. We’re a young group and it’s a talented group and we’ve got a good coaching staff.”
Junior Logan Thompson is one of a few Elks that will be a three-year starter in 2016.
“I’m expecting us to have a pretty good team,” Thompson said. “We’re pretty young, but we got a lot of fighters and a lot of people that want to play.”
The Elks enter their third season in the Northern Michigan Football League Legends division.
“I think this year we have a lot more fight, a lot more physicality,” junior Joseph Fogo said. “People are starting to understand the game better, and I think there’s going to be a big difference on the field.”
Elk Rapids opens its season by hosting Charlevoix on Aug. 26.
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