The sentiment around the Kensington Lakes Activities Association is that Northville doesn’t have many big names returning.
Sure, the Mustangs, who went 7-3 in 2025, bring back senior offensive linemen Parker Laney and Noah Stump. But they don’t have flashy skill players like they used to, such as current Michigan State receiver Colin Charles or workhorses like former running back Max DeFore and quarterback Cooper Derkach.
You know, the kind of names that keep defensive coordinators awake at night.
At least not yet.
This is arguably Brent Luplow’s least experienced team in his four seasons at Northville. But don’t expect the standard to change. This is still the same program that won the KLAA West and upset rival Novi Detroit Catholic Central for a Division 1 district championship in Luplow’s first season. It’s also the same program that hasn’t missed the playoffs under his watch and is chasing a program-record fifth straight postseason berth this fall.
“We have a handful of seniors who are returners but have only played one year on varsity and no one who really played up as freshmen and sophomores,” Luplow said after a 7-on-7 scrimmage against West Bloomfield on July 28. “We don’t have any proven names for the first time since I’ve been here. There will be names by the end of the season. But for right now, it’s about putting the pieces of the puzzle into the right spots.”
A young team built around the trenches isn’t a bad place to start, especially with Laney and Stump leading the way.
The 6-foot-3, 290-pound Laney holds a preferred walk-on offer from Western Michigan and is expected to anchor the line after All-KLAA selections Anthony Testani and Nolan Toomey graduated. Stump, who’s 6-4 and 280 pounds, isn’t far behind. He already owns five college offers, including Michigan Tech and Findlay.
But neither has the varsity experience of Drew Meussner, which is saying something because the 5-10, 195-pound fullback and inside linebacker is entering his junior season.
Two years ago, Luplow never planned to play a freshman outside of garbage time. But injuries piled up, and the Mustangs needed another body in the backfield.
They called up Meussner in Week 4, and the freshman started getting snaps on offense and special teams as Northville won four of its final six games and reached the playoffs.
“It was a good experience because it gave me confidence that I knew I could do this,” Meussner said. “By the end of the season, I knew most of the playbook and didn’t feel like a newbie. I learned to be confident in myself and believe in myself, just knowing that I could do it, even as a freshman.”
Of course, Meussner had a couple of “welcome to varsity football” moments.
The first came during a Monday practice when an older teammate popped him in the chest so hard it sent him backward. Until then, Meussner had only gone against JV players.
The second came in Week 8 against Hartland. With Northville holding a 10-point lead, Luplow dialed up a bootleg that sent Meussner sneaking out of the backfield. He hauled in the pass and raced to the end zone for a crucial score in the eventual 38-21 win over the Eagles.
Then came the playoff opener against Saline, when Meussner flew down the field on a kickoff and forced a fumble.
“That was a legit varsity hit,” Luplow said. “That’s when we knew this kid was going to be very good. Usually, freshmen aren’t interested in the physicality like that.”
Last season, Meussner became the full-time starter at fullback, earned All-KLAA honorable mention honors and also contributed at inside linebacker.
Now, he’s only a junior, barely old enough to drive, but he’s one of Northville’s most experienced players. When practice starts, teammates will look to him for leadership.
He’ll be one of the voices getting the Mustangs ready for their Aug. 27 opener against Lake Orion.
“Everybody has got to step up, especially with our program raising the level [of expectations] every single year,” Meussner said. “We were 7-3 last year, but we had two bad losses, and that’s just not good enough. We’ve got to be better as a team and individually. Everybody has just got to trust each other, and we’ve got to be confident in each other and know what to do on offense and defense because we don’t want to mess stuff up when Week 1 gets here. We need to be ready to go.”
Lamar Jackson ready for fresh start at Wayne Memorial
Transfer Lamar Jackson is a dual-threat quarterback who wears No. 8, and Wayne Memorial hopes he can be just as electric as the Heisman Trophy winner and two-time NFL MVP who shares his name.
But the 5-11, 185-pound junior is just happy to focus on football again after an emotional few years in Katy, Texas.
His mother, Miah, has battled multiple sclerosis (MIS). Her condition worsened to the point the family packed up and moved to Michigan to live with relatives so she could receive the care she needs.
Shaped by his mother’s health struggles, Jackson brings the maturity the rebuilding Zebras desperately need. He also arrives with the pedigree and intensity that comes with playing Texas high school football.
“Texas is really different from here,” Jackson said during a July 29 practice. “Down there, they’re more aggressive. Football, for them, is like a religion, and they take it very seriously.”
Wayne enters Year 2 under coach Eric Pettway, who brought most of his staff from River Rouge, where several assistants worked under former coach Corey Parker during the Panthers’ Division 3 state championship run in 2019.
Since arriving, Pettway and his staff have slowly built discipline and culture at Wayne. While the Zebras’ boys and girls basketball teams are annual contenders, the football team has won more than one game in a season only four times over the past 20 years. Wayne has also reached the playoffs just twice on its own, or three times if you count the 2020 pandemic season when every team qualified.
Quarterbacking Wayne won’t be easy for Jackson. But neither has been his life lately.
“During my first practice here, I saw we had such a young group of incoming freshmen and sophomores,” Jackson said. “But I saw we had so much talent, and I knew it was something I wanted to be part of. We just need to build more chemistry, bond as a team and build more of a brotherhood. That starts with being prepared and staying ready.”
The Zebras, who went 1-8 last season, open the season on Aug. 27 against visiting Romulus.
Brandon Folsom covers high school sports for the Detroit Free Press. Follow him on X at @folsomwrites.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why Northville football having no names isn’t necessarily a bad thing
Reporting by Brandon Folsom, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Brandon Folsom, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
