Click the thumbnails to see practice photos and videos, and hear interveiws with Max Nason, Lane Gorzinski, and Evan Hancheck.

POWERS---The 2023 North Central High School football team is looking to make a name for itself after the previous three teams won state championships. The Jets lost 13 players to graduation, so these guys are hoping to keep the tradition going.

“It's a litle different,” NCA senior Max Nason said. “The last three years have been a dream, man, something I never could have asked for that I actually got. The guys I've played with, the team and the family I've built. It's amazing.”

But Nason, regarded as one of the top offensive linemen in the Upper Peninsula, says it's time to look forward and build on that tradition.

“I think we're just going to be the same as the last three years,” Nason said. “Obviously, it's not the same as having a Luke Gorzinski, but we've got QB.5 now and he's all right. I think we're still gonna be good.”

The All-State quarterback Gorzinski may have graduated and taken his show to Michigan Tech University, but there's still a Gorzinski in a leadership role on this year's team: juniot captain Lane Gorzinski.

“It's a lot of weight to carry on our shoulders now,” he said. “But we have a lot of new kids who want to compete. I'm ready. I'm ready because I contributed a lot in that state championship game. We have kids who want to compete. We're gonna keep our aggressiveness. Our kids on the line are experienced. They're big. They're ready to get at it.”

It should be noted that the “new” Jets players aren't really new at all. The junior varsity program went undefeated again, and many of these guys got plenty of playing time in varsity games once the scores got out of hand.

“Practices have been pretty good,” NCA senior Evan Hancheck said. “I got some hitting done with the linemen. I think we've got the speed that we had last year. We're gonna need the strength that we had last year, too, but I have a pretty good feeling about this year with this team. Everyone's got to push themselves, keep working hard, and that's what everyone is showing so far.”

The new-look Jets will open their title defense at home on Aug. 25 against Ironwood.