Over the last three years, DeWitt has been one of the best teams in the state. The reason for that is the outstanding players. From Ty Holtz to Tommy McIntosh, they now have Bryce Kurncz following in their footsteps, hoping to get them to a third straight state final. Kurncz was on the team last year, and he said that a difference between this year’s and last year’s team is a new identity. They’ve been working on that in practice and games. He also addressed the loss of talent from last year, saying, “We have a lot of athletes on this team,” he talked about the playoffs saying, “We are looking at making a deep run in the playoffs.”
Kurncz was the backup quarterback on last year’s team, but he was playing wide receiver. On that, Kurncz said, “The guys last year were great,” he continued by saying, “I think I took the lessons that I learned from them and used them out on the field, and it made me a better player.” Kurncz was already a good player, as was evident by his junior season as he pulled in 35 catches for 635 yards and ten touchdowns. His breakout game came in week one last season as they played Traverse City Central at the Big House in Ann Arbor; he caught four touchdowns in his first game as a receiver.
That game week one was also when he was still looked at to be the heir apparent to Holtz, but what would soon become clear is that he would be the heir to McIntosh. Kurncz talked a little about the change saying, “I’ve stood up to that challenge,” he continued, “I like being the main guy and having the ball in my hand.” Like McIntosh, Kurncz has that speed and vision on the field, saying, “I’m trying to make a play any time I have the ball in my hands.” Not only has Kurncz shown that he can play wide receiver this year, racking up 556 yards and seven touchdowns, he has also rushed for 921 yards and 11 touchdowns for 1,477 all-purpose yards and 18 touchdowns on the year. Being used in that hybrid wide receiver/running back role this year that Deebo Samuel made popular last year, Kurncz talked about the preparation that goes into each position, saying, “I like having the ball in my hands, so however we can do that, I’m up for the challenge.” He went on to say, “I’ve been practicing a lot at running back and working some at the wide receiver spot, so I know the game plan at both for the game,” he continued by saying, “I just love both positions, and they are fun to play.”
With all that running on the field, Kurncz likes to get a little fancy with some of his moves, which comes from playing guard for the DeWitt basketball team. The one move he said you can see a direct correlation from the court to the field is his spin move that he started using on the court; he now finds it as part of his game on the field.
With the back-to-back finals appearances can put pressure on younger guys, but as Kurncz said, “We play for that pressure,” he went on to say, “We are up for the challenge.” he did say that team is close to where they need to be, and we will be well prepared for the playoffs.
As Kurncz enters the final stretch of his senior season, that was a bit unusual; with the homecoming game being canceled due to a forfeit from Okemos and replaced by a soccer game, he said the team still found a way to have fun and get involved. Kurncz said they were able to stay focused and used the time off to heal players. He then said that the team could have fun since they were able to experience homecoming from the student section, which is something not every team can say since they are usually playing, saying, “so that was pretty awesome.”
Kurncz then talked about what he’s going to take away from his time at DeWitt, saying, “We have great community support,” he continued by saying, “every Friday it’s packed, and it’s crazy.” He would finish by saying, “I just love the sport of football, and being a leader on this team is great.”
Kurncz and the rest of the DeWitt Panthers open up their quest for a third state finals appearance Friday, October 28th, as they host Cadillac at 7 pm.
Norgren Ty number 5