The rebuilding process is nearing the end for the Livonia Clarenceville football team.
After playing in the Division 4 district championship in 2022, the Trojans lost their coach, Bob Meyer, to Auburn Hills Avondale. They’ve won only six games over the past two seasons. And their roster dwindled down to as few as 14 players at one point.
But those have been the lowlights.
There has been plenty worth celebrating since they promoted assistant Marty Castellon to head coach after Meyer’s departure.
Their culture and accountability have never been stronger, as he has placed an emphasis on developing young men into the next generation of leaders. Don’t believe it? Last year’s team became the first in program history to earn academic all-state honors from the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association.
Player participation has never been better either. They went from about 20 players in Castellon’s first season to entering the following fall camp with 51, enabling them to field a JV team for the first time in almost 20 years. This season? They should have at least 65 players, with the chance of adding a few more bodies when school starts.
They’ll have a JV again this fall, only this time, Castellon expects them to be competitive in every game they play. They aren’t just going out there to give their underclassmen live reps. They’re expecting to actually win games.
The varsity also hopes to be successful. While they return only eight starters, many of them are multi-year contributors and senior leaders, players Castellon believes are capable of turning the Trojans into both a winning team and a playoff contender once again.
“They’re determined to get us to a place we haven’t been in a while, so I expect big things out of them,” the third-year coach said. “They have a vision, one I believe the younger kids are following, and that vision is what you need from your players in leadership roles.”
Their skill players, offensive line and defense should carry them.
Offensively, they’ve brought in coordinator Bob Chiesa, who most recently coached Waterford Kettering and was an assistant at White Lake Lakeland, running back Josh Rogers, a transfer from Detroit King, and receiver Kyle VanHoesen, a Cass Tech transfer.
Those three should help bolster their already established skill players, including captain Kayden Williams, Micah Williams and Malachi Merriweather.
Micah Williams moves from quarterback to one of their outside receiver spots, with the hope that his 6-foot-1 length complements their top returning receiver, Kayden Williams, and Merriweather’s sprinter’s speed (the junior runs the 100 meters in 10.6 seconds).
The only question mark is at QB. Incoming freshman Brandon Smith brings athleticism to the position, but his inexperience could limit how quickly he can contribute. If that’s the case, captain Sam Wiacek is a capable starter with a reliable arm. However, it’s clear that the wish is for Smith to start behind center, allowing Wiacek to be better utilized elsewhere.
But that seems to be the theme with the offense. Kayden Williams could excel at either receiver or running back. Wiacek could play QB, fullback or on the line. And VanHoesen and Merriweather are skilled enough to be starting tailbacks. It seems as if anybody could start anywhere, yet there are no hard feelings about where everyone lines up.
“It’s not about what I want to do,” Kayden Williams said. “It’s about how I can best help the team and what’s best for the team. Wherever they need me to be, I’ll be the guy.”
Anchored by center Tommy Yakes, the offensive line should look improved, too.
Their unit relied on a handful of first-year starters last season. While there were growing pains, that experience should only strengthen them as they’re all a year older.
Linemen they’re excited about include Jacob Shaw, Jayden Kelly, Ryan Oliverio, Jacob Oliverio, Akil Wilkins and Kayden Dickey. Plus, senior Deryk Klein, one of Clarenceville’s most talented returners, can play tight end, H-back or on the line.
“I think our bigs are going to be special this year,” Castellon said. “With a year under their belt, and Tommy Yakes leading that group, we have a lot to be excited about up front. Ryan Oliverio is only a sophomore, but when you look at him, you’d think he’s as big as a senior. Jacob Shaw should have a good year. Deryk Klein can play everything. And there are three or four other guys like Kayden Dickie we expect to rotate in.”
Yakes said last year was eye-opening for most of his counterparts, as they learned what the speed of varsity was like. He said they’ve been more receptive to his leadership, with them listening to him while doing individual drills and conditioning. It’s been a full-time job getting everyone up to speed, especially the underclassmen.
“My leadership shows in the weight room, mostly,” said Yakes, Clarenceville’s strongest lineman at 6-1 and 260 pounds. “I finish my workout as fast as I can, and then I help out the other guys so they can get as strong as they can and get ready for the season. Everyone is coming together as a team. There are no I’s out here. Everyone respects each other, and we all work pretty good together.”
The defense won’t be far behind the skill players or linemen because, well, many expected starters will play on both sides of the ball.
That’s Wiacek and Klein at linebacker. Most of the receivers and running backs will be defensive backs. And the best linemen are playing in the trenches.
With how deep Clarenceville will be, and how hard it has trained this summer, fatigue shouldn’t be much of a problem with two-way players. They have a next-man-up mentality because of how well the seniors have grown the program over the past four years.
“That makes me feel like the program is going somewhere, and we’re slowly building up and getting better every day,” said Wiacek, a fourth-year varsity player. “It feels like we all care and want to win on the field, so, over the years, we’ve been doing things like recruiting in the hallways, knowing we need more people to come out and see how much football can teach about life, change your life and teach you life skills you might not ever get unless you play a sport in this type of a family.”
In the past, the Trojans’ best leaders have been their superstars, like Sean-Brian Craig in 2021, Jordan Williams in 2022, Eli Craig in 2023 and Jaylan Johnson last fall. With the foundation from their rebuild in place, leaders are popping up left and right. It’s no longer just one guy leading the charge. All of their captains are vocal.
And it has helped the program regain its footing and return to where it was when it last made the postseason.
“It’s a big step up for us seniors,” Kayden Williams said. “But we wanted to create change here, create something bigger and better for the program. We’re doing our best to get more players our here and get them ready to help the team.”
Brandon Folsom covers high school sports in metro Detroit for Hometown Life. Follow him on his new X.com account at @folsomwrites.
This article originally appeared on Hometownlife.com: No longer rebuilding, Livonia Clarenceville football is ready to win
Reporting by Brandon Folsom, Hometownlife.com / Hometownlife.com
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
