Varsity Football
Olivia Campbell – Staff Writer
On Friday September 29th, the Grand Ledge Comets Varsity football team took on the Dewitt Panthers at the Dewitt High School football stadium. Unfortunately, the Comets faced a hard loss, ending their winning streak and bringing their record to 5-1.
The game began with Grand Ledge kicking off to start the first quarter. Within the first four minutes of the game, Dewitt’s player, Elliot Larner, made a quick drop and threw to his twin brother, Abram Larner, in the end zone for their first touchdown. Grand Ledge struggled offensively for the next couple of minutes giving Dewitt the upper hand.
After a bad snap on the punt, it gave Dewitt the ball at the Grand Ledge 5 yard line, Trav Moore was then able to score another touchdown. Fortunately for the Comets, Preston Bohnet made a throw to Zachariah Jones for the Comets’ first touchdown of the game. That ended the first quarter of the game with a score of 14-7, with the Panthers in the lead.
Starting off the 2nd quarter, Dewitt started off strong when quarterback Elliot Larner ran the ball to the 5 yard line, allowing them to get a touchdown during the next play by Trav Moore. Around 5 minutes into the 2nd quarter, Grand Ledge’s quarterback Preston Bohnet was injured and forced to leave the game, putting the Comets at a disadvantage. However, during the next play, 3rd string quarterback Kingston Nixon, a Freshman at Grand Ledge, scored a t
ouchdown on his first play at quarterback. “I felt good going into the game, Brya prepared me well,” Kingston Nixon later said. For the rest of the 2nd quarter, Dewitt and Grand Ledge went back and forth, and the first half ended with Dewitt leading 27-24.
In the 3rd quarter, the Comets were dealt with yet another blow when the 3rd string quarterback for the Comets Kingston Nixon injured his ankle and was taken out of the game. However, the Comets were able to gain many yards during the 1st down, leading to a touchdown by freshman Anthony Baker. This brought the score to 31-27 with the Comets in the lead for the first time of the game. Dewitt quickly took back the lead and ended the quarter with a score of 34-31.
During the 4th quarter, Grand Ledge quickly got a touchdown during a 4th down play by Anthony Baker. This brought the Comets back into the lead with a score of 38-34. The Comets were able to stay in the lead for most of the quarter until Trav Moore pushed his way to the endzone for another touchdown. The Comets were not able to get back in the lead for the rest of the 4th quarter. The game ended with a score of 41-38 securing the win for the Dewitt Panthers.
The game ultimately ended the Comets winning streak of 5-0 which hadn’t been reached since 2015. Although the Comets faced many setbacks during the game, they fought hard and kept up with Dewitt. The Comets continued with another hard loss against Lapeer but made a comeback against Okemos High School. Their final game will be against East Lansing on October 20th.
Men’s Varsity Tennis
Erin McGinnis – Staff Writer
Grand Ledge’s High School boys tennis season is coming to an end after their months of hard work. “I think it went good. I think we definitely could have performed better and could have taken it more seriously too,” Michael Engelbrecht, Sophomore at GLHS stated.
A recap of the season shows that the boys had 2 ties, 5 losses, and 4 wins. The boys’ first match was held on August 17 at Ionia High School with them taking a 6 – 2 win. Close to the end, a match was played at Okemos High School resulting in a 1 – 7 loss for the team. The CAAC Open was held at East Lansing High School on October 5. The boys’ season all came down to this championship match.The CAAC ended with GL for 5th out of 6 teams with a score of 18.
Men’s Varsity Soccer
Zoe Yaney – Staff Writer
The Grand Ledge Comets Boys Varsity Soccer had a rough start this 2023 season. The season ended with a 6-7-2 record.
Their first game of the season was held at Grand Ledge High School on August 21 against East Kentwood, resulting in a loss 0-6. The Comets were on a losing streak over their next two games against East Lansing and Holt.
Junior Defensive Mid, Benjamin Haakenson stated, “This season has been a little rough but I’m hoping to come back stronger next season.” They bounced back winning their next three games against Waverly, Jackson, and Howell.
The Comets did have a disappointing loss on their senior night on September 26 against Dewitt 0-3. After the loss of Senior Night, the Comets then went on to play St. John’s Red Wings. It was a tight game, but they came out with the win with a score of 1-0.
Senior Landen Pilcher assisted with the only goal that night, scored by Junior Aymeric Ngantchui. The season came to an end with the last few games being the CAAC cup and first round of district finals.
They won their first game against Lakewood and lost their second game against St Johns, Comets losing the bronze cup. The boys went to Holt High School to play for the first round of districts having an upsetting loss end to their season.
Women’s Varsity Golf
Carson Lemon – Editor-in-Cheif
The 2023 school year saw an impressive golf season for the Girls Varsity Golf team. “We had a really great season, and I can’t wait for next year!” Junior Tessa McClung said.
Sophomore, Erin McGinnis, got her best score of 93, 25 over par at the Lady Carnival Invite on August 24. Along with Junior, Aubrie Parish got her lowest score of 86, 18 over par at the CAAC Blue Closing Jamboree on October 3rd.
Juniors Isabel Kelly and Tessa McClung got their best scores of 70, 2 over par and 94, 26 over par at the CAAC Open on September 11th.
Senior Kelbi Roman and Junior Meghan Zann got their best scores of 88, 20 over par and 96, 28 over par at the Waverly CAAC Blue Closing Jamboree.
After playing the CAAC Blue conference at Royal Scot, Roman said her performance was good, but “My putting wasn’t the best. I three-putted a few holes, so my coach wasn’t too happy about that, but I still ended up with one of my best scores.”
Grand Ledge placed 3rd in CAAC Blue championship after playing at Timber Ridge Golf Club and the Royal Scot golf course on September 28th and October 3rd. Kelbi Roman got all conference along with Isabel Kelly, Erin McGinnis and Aubrie Parish.
Varsity Volleyball
Braelyn Jackson-Pointer – Editor-In-Cheif
The Grand Ledge Volleyball team is (6-3) so far in their season. With losses against Holt and Dewitt, all three of those games went to at least 4 sets. Their most recent loss to Holt was a hard fought game with the Comets losing the first two sets then coming back to win the next two. Unfortunately they went on to lose the 5th set 13-15.
Despite their losses, spirits are high as they seem closer than ever. “We are really close this year since we’ve prioritized team bonding. Every other Friday we do a team bonding activity at someone’s house,” Senior, Outside Hitter, Madi Bartlett said.
They still have hope for districts which start at the end of October and end in mid November. “I think we have a good chance of winning distracts but if we end up playing Holt or Dewitt it will be a tough match up,” Bartlett stated.
The Comets have their last game vs. Dewitt on Oct. 24 before they start their playoff season. This game will be the second time they face each other and the Comets are hoping to come out with the win.
