AUBURN HILLS OAKLAND CHRISTIAN PREVIEW: Lancers have plans to build for the future

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

AUBURN HILLS — Veteran Bill Schaffer has a daunting task in front of him as a high school football coach. He was hired to help build Auburn Hills Oakland Christian into a solid prep football program.

Oakland Christian is entering its fourth season of competition in football and Oakland Christian is a soccer and basketball school. Students don’t normally attend Oakland Christian for the purposes of football.

“That is going to take a while,” said Schaffer, who is in his 34^th season of coaching in the high school ranks at various schools around the state. “They have always been good in soccer and basketball. We want to build a strong program for football.”

Oakland Christian has not had much success in its first three seasons, posting a combined 5-21 record playing a hodge-podge schedule. The Lancers were 1-4 in the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference last season and 0-5 in 2009. The school played an eight-game schedule as an independent in 2008.

The Lancers lost a bulk of last season’s players who either graduated or opted not to return. There were only 19 players on the roster through two weeks of practice and no junior varsity. A total of 26 players suited up for the season opener last year.

SEEKING YARDAGE: Auburn Hills Oakland Christian sophomore Stephen Nichols will help the Lancers move the football this season.He started some games late last season at quarterback and will be the No. 1 starter this season. File Photo | Dan Stickradt

“We’re going to try to hit 20 (players). We’re still working on soccer players and basketball players,” admitted Schaffer, who is trying to get a couple of soccer players to do double duty this fall and to get some very athletic basketball players to come out for football. “But we will work with what we have and go from there.”

Oakland Christian does have a middle school and elementary program finally in place, which should help build interest in the lower grades and prepare athletes for once they reach the high school level.

“That is something that we need to have in order to be successful,” offered Schaffer. “A lot of schools have youth programs and middle school programs to serve as feeders. We need to have that so we’re not teaching the game from scratch (to high school players).”

There are some talented athletes that have opted to stick it out and help the Lancers build on the previous three seasons.

Seniors Max Hartman (6-0, 185) and Phil Borel (6-0, 175) and junior Josh Rupright (6-0, 185) are all back on the offensive line. They will play in front of sophomore quarterback Stephen Nichols, who spent some time at the QB position last year. The Lancers will use a Pro-I formation this season to take advantage of some speed in the backfield.

Sophomore Preston Lasala and junior Gabe Rellinger are the team’s top receivers, while freshman Javarian Smith, sophomore Cody Marazita and senior Trayon Samuel will form the tandem in the running game.

On the defensive side of the football, where the Lancers will stack a 4-3 set, sophomore Bobby Roose and Hartman will anchor the line. Borel and Rupright are the top linebackers and Nichols, Smith and freshman Collin O’Connor will lead the secondary.

With less than 20 players, it will be a lonely bench and several freshmen and sophomores will be thrown into the fire from the opening kickoff, regardless of their physical size. That’s life at small-school football.

Bill Schaffer

“Some of our better athletes are the underclassmen,” said Schaffer. “A couple of these young kids might be small, but they are tough. They don’t back down from anybody.”

Still, the daunting task is to keep interest in the program, even if a winning record is not probable this season. The team has never won more than two games in the season.

“All can say is that I want to teach the kids to have fun at football and have them feel that they were successful no matter what our record shows,” added Schaffer. “I was hired to build a program. I know it doesn’t happen overnight. The program is in its fourth season and some of the kids have an understanding of what to expect. A lot of the schools we’ll play are small (in numbers).We’re hoping to win a couple of games this year and build for the future.”

To submit information to www.northoaklandsports.com, e-mail dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com.  To advertise, e-mail advertising@northoaklandsports.com . Follow us on Twitter @LocalSportsFans and more than a dozen other social media networks.

Tags: Auburn Hills Oakland Christian Football, Auburn Hills Oakland Christian Football Preview 2011, Bill Schaffer, high school football, MIAC Football, prep football

Category: Auburn Hills Oakland Christian, High School, High School (M-Z), Prep Wraps