By Scott VanSickle
LocalSportsJournal.com
Coach Tyler Fehler watched his teams go 2-7 in both 2022 and 2023 with most of his better football players still unable to drive themselves to games and practices.
Fast forward to the present. Those players are now juniors and seniors that have put in the time in the weight room, growing in size and strength, and Fehler feels the Panthers have the potential to finish atop the challenging West Michigan Conference Rivers Division. The third-year Hesperia head coach was quick to point out the amount of talented teams his squad will have to contend with in league play, with North Muskegon, Hart and Mason County Central all making the playoffs last year to go along with the rivalry games against Holton and Shelby. The Panthers also face an always-tough Ravenna team on the road.
“No kid that’s played for me (at Hesperia) has played a down of JV football. Now we’re ready. We set our team goals today, and we want to have a winning record and finish in the top half of the conference,” said Fehler. “These players have been with me going on 3 years. We’ve had the same offense and philosophy. I think our top 10 are as good as the rest of the conference’s 10.”
And possibly the best of Hesperia’s top 10 is senior Skyler Stalbaum. The senior running back and linebacker was an All-WMC Rivers pick on both sides of the ball last season, and Fehler says Stalbaum is “probably our best overall football player.” Stalbaum rushed for nearly 1,000 yards as a junior and made 96 tackles.
Senior Blake Sayer will have just as an important role in the Hesperia offense as Stalbaum. Sayer, who played slot receiver last season, moves to the quarterback position in Hesperia’s quick-hitting offense. Fehler wants to get the ball to his playmakers quickly to hopefully take advantage of 1-on-1 matchups, creating big plays without having to throw the ball down the field 50-60 yards.
“(Sayer) is an all-state wrestler, and he’s quick and athletic. He’s 5-8, 5-9, and he hasn’t played a lot at quarterback, so we’re going to get him out of the pocket with the zone option and quick hitters,” Fehler said. “We want to be 50/50 (passing and rushing) on offense, but most of our throwing won’t be deep down the field.”
Senior Ian Fox is one of those playmakers at Sayer’s disposal as a returning All-WMC receiver, while Thor Klaus returns at the tight end position. Junior Noah Walker anchors the offensive line and is regarded as the best overall lineman by the Panther coaching staff.
Fehler and the staff have tweaked their defense to accommodate the run-heavy Rivers Division with North Muskegon being the only team that consistently threw the ball downfield last year. Hesperia will feature a 5-man defensive line with Walker leading the way after an all-league 2023 season. Klaus joins Stalbaum as a starting linebacker, with Sayer and Fox starting in the defensive backfield.
“We’re going with a 5-3 defense this year, and we want to be more aggressive with our linebackers to bring a lot of pressure,” said Fehler. “We played a 4-3-4 the last two years but (with the teams in our league) we want to have more guys in the box. We feel good enough with our two corners and deep safety that we can cover the pass deep down the field.”
While Hesperia has plenty of confidence in their more experienced players, it needs some newcomers to join Sayer in taking on a bigger role and its role players to be ready to step up. The Panthers have 30 players in the program, which is the most under Fehler, and will field a JV team for the first time in recent memory. There are several players that had limited roles last season that are expected to be big contributors this year, and Fehler needs his young backups as ready as they can be if called upon. There are about 10 players that will be fifth-quarter players, splitting time between JV and varsity, so injuries could have these young Panthers playing bigger roles earlier than expected.
“I went to Fruitport and we usually had 50 guys. We had a senior starter and the guy under him, the second or third string is a junior or a senior,” Fehler said. “At a Division 8 school (like Hesperia), the guy behind the starter is a freshman or a sophomore.”
Some of the players taking on bigger roles for Panthers are younger players that will only improve as the season progresses. Sophomore Tucker Billings and junior Keith Nulf are both moving positions on the O-line after seeing time there last year. Billings started at guard, but is moving to the center position, and anchors the defensive line as the nose guard. Nulf moves inside to guard and will be a defensive tackle. Sophomore Zach Loughridge and junior Eli Edens are expected to step into key roles as the two will split time as slot receivers. Edens is slotted as a nickel corner or outside linebacker on defense and is “expected to play a big role on both sides of the ball,” according to Fehler. Loughridge only played a game or two last season, but is penciled in as a starting corner.
And if the Panthers put things all together this season, a playoff appearance isn’t out of the question, which would make the tough years worth it.