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Page 10 — Thursday, August 24, 2023 — The Hastings Banner

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HHS football opener moves to Friday

Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
To beat the Thursday heat the Hastings
varsity football team is moving its season
opener to Friday night, at home inside Baum
Stadium at Johnson Field, against rival Thor-
napple Kellogg.
A high of 93 degrees is predicted for this
afternoon, Aug. 24, while a high of 83 degrees
is predicted for Friday with temperatures
inching down towards the 70’s by kick-off.
Hastings has won back to back ballgames
against the Thornapple Kellogg boys in the
past two seasons and will try to keep the heat
on the Trojans with a group of ten guys who
return from last year’s team which won the
program’s third consecutive Interstate-8 Ath-
letic Conference Championship and its first
district championship.
“We’re looking okay,” Hastings head coach
James Murphy said. “We’re looking pretty
healthy at the varsity level with 34 kids and we
have, I think, I counted ten returning starters.
We lost quite a few off of last year’s champi-
onship team. It is going to be tough to replace
them, but we have a group of underclassmen
that have been working really hard in the off-
season to make that a possibility for them.”
The group of returnees offensively includes
third-year varsity player Diego Coipel on the
line, senior quarterback Owen Carroll, senior
running back Haiden Simmet and junior run-

ning back Owen Wilson. Returning along the

lines with Coipel are senior lineman Devin

Smith and junior tight end Tom Hollars.

Coipel was a captain for the Saxons as a

junior last season.

Simmet, senior Aiden Saint Amour and

junior Dre Mathis are working to earn the

fullback role in the preseason. Hastings will

also look for junior Draven Pennock to be a

key piece of the offensive backfield.

Saint Amour leads a strong defensive back-

field along with senior Landon Steward and

junior Jett Barnum who are returning from

the 2022 group.

“That leadership back there really helps

against the passing teams that we play,”

coach Murphy said.

That group of foes includes Parma Western

and Pennfield in the I-8 and the Whitehall

team the Saxons are slated to visit in week

three of the season. The Hastings varsity is

still without a week two opponent on the

schedule.

Mathis and Barnum are likely to start the

season offensively at split end, and should

provide solid targets for Carroll who will be

in his third season with the Saxon varsity.

Barnum pulled in 12 catches for 283 yards

and a TD last year while adding 31 tackles,

Better court awareness a goal for HHS tennis team

Brett Bremer

Sports Editor

It is a senior heavy group for the Saxons

on the tennis courts this fall.

There is still some growing to do among

the group.

“As a team, our focus is on court move-

ment and ball placement,” Hastings head

coach Krista Schueller said. “We are work-

ing on knowing where we are on the court,

where we want the ball to go, and moving

to where we need to be. That way, we can

play more offensively and control the

points more.”

Experience should help out senior Heath

Hays this fall. He jumped up in the line-up

from second doubles to first singles last fall.

He’ll be back for a second season at first

singles. Coach Schueller said there is a focus

on consistency and ball placement for him.

“He has been working on getting the ball

out of the middle and moving his opponent

around,” Schueller said.

Also back are seniors Keegan Lindsey

and Caleb Borton. Lindsey played second

singles as a junior, but looked good early

DK/HHS girls set to take on new swim conference

Brett Bremer

Sports Editor

The Delton Kellogg/Hastings varsity girls’

swimming and diving team was set to open

its first season as a two-team co-op at the

Southwestern and Central Michigan Confer-

ence (SCC) Relays hosted by Harper Creek

High School Wednesday evening.

The first dual of the season is on the slate

for Aug. 29 at Ionia and the team will be in

its home pool competing at the Community

Education and Recreation Center in Hast-

ings for the first time Sept. 12 when it takes

on South Haven.

Head coach Carl Schoessel, who has been

leading the co-op for its 20 seasons likes the

enthusiasm of the new team members those

with some swim racing experience and the

many who have not competed in the past.

A couple of the team’s top returning ath-

letes are senior diver Maelea Martin and

senior Isabella Morey, in the backstroke and

the butterfly. More had a top ten finish in the

OK Rainbow Tier II Conference in the 100-

yard butterfly a year ago and also scored for

the then Delton Kellogg/Thornapple Kellogg/

Hastings team in the 100-yard breaststroke.

Coach Schoessel is also looking forward to

junior exchange student Saga Jones, from

Sweden, competing with the team this season.

The DK/HHS girls were set to get their

first look at a number of conference foes

Wednesday. They will be joined in the SCC

this fall by Allegan, Harper Creek, Marshall,

Otsego, Plainwell, South Haven and Sturgis.

Harper Creek will also host the SCC Champi-

onship Meet Nov. 2-3.

The first conference dual of the season for

Owen Carroll the DK/HHS girls is Sept. 7 at Sturgis.

See FOOTBALL, page 11 Heath Hays

Isabella Morey

See TENNIS, page 11