Northville Varsity Football Team Dedicates Summer to the Sport

Locals driving on Six Mile Road this summer are likely to catch a glimpse of the Northville High School varsity football team practicing outside nearly every afternoon.  

And instead of finding the team running traditional drills, onlookers will see players flipping oversized tires and using other unusual training methods in what coaches call the "confidence course."  

The players move from each station at the sound of a whistle, running, flipping tires, and using weights, to name just a few of the activities.

Made up of 87 players, the varsity team practices Monday through Thursday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the high school in the summer, with double practices starting on Aug. 12.

“We have had two camps this summer, in addition to off-season training, which includes weight training, the confidence course, agility training, and conditioning,” said Head Coach Matt Ladach.

Although the team continues to train in a similar way that it has in the past, a few changes have been made to improve the players’ conditioning and build mental toughness, Ladach said.

“Coach Will has been running our strength and conditioning program, and he is doing a tremendous job,” Ladach said.

Coach Will Tofilski, the JV offensive line and defensive line coach, as well as the strength and conditioning coach, said, “Our confidence course is used to build cardiovascular strength, muscle strength, and mental toughness.  This is our second year doing it.  We tweaked it a little bit, so now we are running quarters, doing 12-13 minute quarters instead of just reps.”

“We’ve been running a lot more than we have in the last year or two.  There is a lot more cardio and strength work, along with running and more intense weight lifting,” said Senior Joey Hewlett.

While Ladach is pleased with the team’s hard work and effort so far this summer, the team has many goals for the months ahead. Ladach hopes to win the KLAA Central Division, the week eight cross-over game, and one game at a time in the playoffs.

“The last few years, we’ve won a division, and this year, I'm trying to win a conference championship,” said Senior Sean Conway.

The team’s summer training will be put to the test at the first game of the season on Aug. 29 against Lakeland.

“This is what we’ve been doing all summer, so I think we are pretty well prepared for the game,” Senior Dimitri Angelas.

Varsity Coaches:

Head coach: Matt Ladach

Assistant coaches: Dennis Colligan, Rich Hewlett, Brandon Langston, Mark Nowicki, Joe Rohrhoff, Darrel Schumacher, Paul Tripp, and Dewayne White.

Varsity Team Members: 

Number, Name (Last, First)
2 Zimbo, Justin
3 Kwasny, Tyler
4 Tang, Andy
5 Stegmeyer, Nick
6 Hanlon, Jacob
7 Hewlett, Joseph
8 Huggins, Aaron
9 Bak, Kevin
10 Slominski, Jake
11 Ogunfiditimi, Jomi
13 Behe, Paul
14 Skillman, Jake
15 Pirone, Matthew
16 Shaska, Joni
17 Rinaldi, Chris
18 Priebe, Nate
19 Kowalczyk, Aaron
20 Huber, Matt
21 Barnes, David
22 Tripoli, Dominic
23 Gurizzian, Danny
24 Booth, Joel
25 Booth, Luke
26 Iwasaki, Keishiro
27 Schnepp, P.J.
28 Chew, Peter
29 Rowan, Ian
30 Wieland, Evan
31 Keady, Connor
33 Rathsburg, Jack
34 Coppock, Alec
35 Komorous, Chris
36 Griffiths, Brian
37 Cheslik, Jake
38 Minick, Michael
39 Hur, Ryan
41 Koilpillai, Caleb
42 Moore, Lee
43 Haines, Redding
44 Tofilski, Zach
45 Arena, Anthony
46 Stroud, John
47 Hannah, Patrick
48 Mann, Shawn
49 Roberts, Ryan
50 Graham, Zach
51 Ignash, Nathan
52 Johnson, Jack
53 Meredith, Andy
54 Koumariotis, Chris
55 Carson, Alex
56 Hoy, George
57 Feisel, Max
58 Ernst, Jack
59 Stewart, Gregory
60 Angelas, Alexander
61 Moorman, David
62 Wysong, Michael
63 Angelas, Dimitri
66 McDonough, Colin
67 Elliott, Eddie
68 Baldini, Nick
69 Beer, Jacob
70 Chiyo, Takuo
71 Komorous, Matthew
72 Brennan, Patrick
74 Blackhurst, Jack
75 Hoover, Jeremiah
76 Justice, Alex
77 Doroudian, Kyle
78 Patsalis, Chris
79 Hartnagel, Will
80 Edwards, Bailey
82 Callahan, Kevin
83 McCauley, Michael
84 Cowher, Bobby
85 Dodge, Ryan
86 Meacham, Jack
87 Gregory, Shane
88 Conway, Sean
90 Bien-Aime, Caleb
92 Pryzbocki, Alex
93 Harthun, Ben
94 McKee, Duncan
96 Morgan, Justin
97 Wilds, Zach
98 Farah, Andrew