The MHSAA Football season is entering its seventh week. For many teams, the pursuit of a playoff berth and conference championships are the main focus. At Wyoming Lee, there is excitement about just getting to the 7:15 kickoff on Friday night. When the ball kicks off, the Legends will have officially begun their season.
It’s been a wild ride for the Lee football team this fall. The Legends were originally set to play an 11-man schedule, but with low participation numbers, they made a mid-season switch to field an 8-man team.
The transition required some last-minute scheduling, and they were able to get a varsity football date set for October 1 against Gobles. All seemed to go well, until game week, when COVID issues within the school caused Lee to forfeit the contest. “It was such a disappointing turn of events last week”, Lee Athletic Director Tray Crusciel shared in a phone conversation on Tuesday.
Fortunately for Lee, they appear to have the green light for Friday night, when they will host their Homecoming game against Farwell. “Having a game on Homecoming Week is such an exciting thing for these kids. Our kids have worked so hard and have been ready for the season we were able to put together,” Crusciel added. “The practices at the beginning of this week have been strong, with tons of energy”.
Farwell, the opponent for Lee, comes in with a 1-4 record. They have had their own unique season, as they started the year with three 11-man games, suffering defeats to the tune of a 147-8 margin. After a bye-week, they completed the transition to 8-man football for the remainder of the 2021 campaign. They have gone 1-1 in 8-man games, defeating Burton Atherton 28-24 and falling to Blanchard Montabella 60-12 last week.
Before Friday night’s football game, the Lee Legends’ Boys Soccer team will kickoff the doubleheader with a game against Ottawa Hills. The Legends are one of the best soccer teams in the area in Division 3, as they have posted a 11-2 record thus far. Their two losses have come against Unity Christian and Wyoming, by a goal each, two programs that have been among the area’s best as of late. Lee is currently 7-0 in Alliance League play, giving the Legends the lead in the table with one league game remaining.
“It’s going to be an incredible night for our community. Everyone is excited. We have the 5:00 soccer game, and we follow that up with the first football game of the year”, Crusciel shared. “It’s a chance for our community to have a special event after such a crazy last two seasons. We are ready to come together and have a good evening as a community.”
