Coming off a 7-3 season, the South Lyon East Cougars will look to make some noise in the Lakes Valley Conference this season.
The Cougars return five starters on defense and five on offense for Head Coach Jacob Topp. Of the returning starters on offense, one of them is Junior Quarterback Dominic Giovannini. Last season for Giovannini, he threw for 777 yards and nine touchdowns in five games. Also returning for them are Senior Tight End Dante DeGrazia, Running Back Peerless Schlusler, and three Offensive Linemen are also returning for them.
On defense, they return three Linebackers, including Senior Jack Toth, who compiled 144 tackles, four sacks, and 13.5 tackles for loss in the last two seasons for the Cougars. They also return two defensive linemen.
There will be a lot of battles still. As Topp said, there will be opportunities at the skill positions on both sides of the ball for guys to step up. He did say that the guys that have played in the front seven and Giovannini will need to carry the team early in the season.
Coach Topp did say that they returned multiple guys who started for them as Sophomores and Juniors and that those guys have produced at a high level for the team. They do have to fill holes left by “the most successful senior class in school history,” and that is pointed to the fact that they set a school record in wins, points in a season, and points per game.
South Lyon East will open the season on August 24 at the Big House against Lakeland, with kickoff set for 3:30 pm in what will be the team’s home game. Their first true home game will be September 8, when they play Walled Lake Northern.