General | February 21, 2017 | 9:16

It's a matchup of first-time Prep Kickoff Classic participants in the 4 p.m. contest on Friday at Wayne State University between Almont and Grosse Ile. And it's also the first time that the schools will meet each other on the gridiron.   
 
It comes a year after the Raiders nearly won their first district championship since 2014 and a year after the Red Devils almost advanced to their first district title game since 2012.
 
With a lot of youth on its side in 2017, Almont will be relying heavily upon quarterback and defensive end Clayton Schapman for leadership. With Schapman having a year under his belt of starting both ways, Raiders head coach James Leusby is expecting Schapman to have a highly productive 2017 season.
 
As for the Red Devils, who finished 8-2 last year and held at least a share of the Huron League title for the first time in 30 years, they will be very young as well.  They will be replacing seven players on offense, including last year's starting quarterback Justin Moores. Jack McGrath, a class of 2018 running back and slot receiver, is one of the main players that the Red Devils will count on to put points on the board all season long.

Ticket information will be announced at a later date.

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Almont Raiders
Head coach: James Leusby
2016 finish: 7-4 (Lost to Algonac, 20-16, in the Division 5 district championship round)
All-time record against Grosse Ile: N/A (first meeting)
Prep Kickoff Classic record: N/A (first appearance)
Key players: Senior quarterback and defensive end Clayton Schapman, senior OL and DE Jordan Bourdeau, senior OL Drew Schapman, senior tight end Chase Kapron, senior running back Logan Kosinski, junior RB/outside linebacker/defensive back Jace Rinke, senior OLB and DB Ethan Hall, senior defensive tackle Martin Saavedra and sophomore linebacker Jacob Hausmann.
 
Season expectations: "We will be very young this year, with about five to nine sophomores coming up to join our nine juniors and 11 seniors," Leusby said. "Our program has always had high expectations, and that will not change because we are young. We want to win our conference (Blue Water Area Conference), continue our playoff run and win the school's first state championship."
 
Thoughts about playing in Prep Kickoff Classic: "As a coaching staff, we are excited about the opportunity to play a very good school in Grosse Ile," Leusby said. "Grosse Ile is a team that has made the playoffs four out of the last six years, and plays in a tough conference (Huron League). I believe this will be one of the toughest opening games, if not the toughest, we have had. I am hoping this motivates the guys to work even harder this offseason."
 
Grosse Ile Red Devils
Head coach: John Bodner
2016 finish: 8-2 (Lost to Adrian, 27-20, in the Division 4 pre-district round)
All-time record against Almont: N/A (first meeting)
Prep Kickoff Classic record: N/A (first appearance)
Key players: Senior slot receiver and running back Jack McGrath, senior center and linebacker Collin Bammer, senior OL Lewis Will, senior DE/TE Kenny Marks, senior OL Logan Brodeur and junior tailback Luke Harwood.
 
Season expectations: "Last year, we were pretty senior-laden and won the Huron League for the first time in 30 years (tied with Milan)," Bodner said. "We're going to be very young, replacing seven on offense, including the QB."
 
He added, "The Huron is a very good wing-t league. We go spread and no huddle a lot. So, we're kind of the anomaly of the league."

Thoughts about playing in Prep Kickoff Classic: "Having a young team, this gives them something to look forward to," Bodner said. "We're the first Huron League team to participate on this stage. So, when we got this opportunity, I jumped on it."  
 
He also commented that no one in the Huron has the type of playing surface that Wayne State has.

Helmet graphics courtesy of Michigan Helmet Project