TEAM OUTLOOK

After a 4-5 season, where the Red Hawks missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016, long-time Cedar Springs head coach Gus Kapolka has the Red hawks ready to bounce back to their usual level of play with a very experienced unit as they move to be a founding team in the new Rivers City Alliance Conference this season.

Coach Kapolka will bring the power T, as he’s done throughout his 12 seasons at Cedar Springs and 21 overall as a head ball coach. This year, the team will be led under center by Rory Schoenborn, a three-year varsity player that split time at QB last year after leading the team in rushing in 2022. 6’4 and 205 pound senior RB Marek Oleneack is a 3 year starter that will provide strong play out of the backfield, along with sophomore Spencer Schoenborn – who started last year as a  freshman, and the rest of a  stout group that includes five of the top six rushers on last year’s team.

Defensively, the Red Hawks return eight starters and 13 players that played at least 80 snaps a year ago. The eight includes all four starters in the secondary last year: Luke Eagan, Grant Payne, and Rory & Spencer Schoenborn. Junior LBs Kaiden Dreyer and Tyler Parmeter also return this year after being two of the three leading tacklers on the 2023 squad.