NORWAY, Mich. (WLUC) – The Norway Knights are coming off an undefeated regular season, a Great Lakes 8 East Division title and a run to the state semifinals.
Norway will look to replace a senior class that included UPSSA Mr. Football and Offensive Player of the Year Owen Baij and Keith Burcar, the Mitchell Snyder Lineman of the Year.
Player numbers are up this year, and Norway head coach Andy Mendina said he hasn’t seen this much competition on a Norway football team in a long time.
Senior right guard/linebacker Landon Ross, UPSSA First Team linebacker selection, says the team’s expectations have not changed.
“Go win a state championship,” Ross said. “My expectations don’t change no matter what they are. I don’t think they should change because we lost some guys. You know we were younger but I don’t think the expectations should change because of that.”
Mendina, the reigning Great Lakes 8 East All-Conference Coach of the Year, says he does not mind if other teams underestimate Norway this season.
“I kinda like the unknown, I kinda like that people may think that we are not going to be what we were last year,” Medina said. “That’s ok by us, I don’t mind being the underdog. I mean last year we were the team, we were expected to win every game but I don’t mind people maybe underestimating us a little bit. We will find out in two weeks what we got and maybe let the rest of the U.P. know that we are here to play.”
Mendina says the team focused on improving speed during the offseason.
“Our strength is going to be our speed,” Mendina said. “It’s one thing we focused on all off-season is our speed and we timed guys all summer and guys got a lot faster, you can see it in practice here. Obviously we are still in shoulder pads and helmets and everyone looks good, everyone looks fast. We will find out more Friday but I think that was our focus this off-season and you can see it, you can see it worked.”
Ross says the team has bonded over the summer with new players.
“The energy is great,” Ross said. “Last year you played with guys you played with your whole life and this year your playing with some new guys. It takes a little bit to get to know them but throughout the summer, all the work we did together you know we got to know each other really well and I think the energy is great.”
Senior quarterback/defensive back Kaleb Lapine, a Great Lakes 8 East All-Conference First Team honoree, says the team has room to improve heading into the season.
“All around the whole team everyone has to get a little better in different spots, different aspects but I think it will be a fun ride,” Lapine said.
Norway opens the season on the road in a Great Lakes Eight Conference matchup at Munising. Kick-off is 7 p.m. CT on Thursday, Aug. 27.
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