Editor’s note: This article will be published in the 2026 Playbook football preview magazine, included in the Wednesday, Aug. 26 edition of the Record-Eagle. The Playbook previews 14 area football teams and includes several feature stories and rosters for band and cheerleading teams.
CENTRAL LAKE — Central Lake-Ellsworth’s football team will look different this season.
The high school football co-op has agreed to rebrand its partnership to create solidarity between the two schools.
Central Lake and Ellsworth have run a cooperative football program since 1991, the state’s longest-running co-op.
The co-op team will now be the Central Lake-Ellsworth Knights donned in Honolulu Blue and Silver.
“Our helmets from almost day one had always been bright orange,” said Central Lake-Ellsworth coach Chase Hibbard. “Now they’re Honolulu blue. They’re just like the Detroit Lions helmets. That is going to be a really cool and big transition, because everybody’s used to seeing bright orange helmets out there. We’re one of the only schools in northern in Michigan that have the bright orange helmets.”
The coach said the rebranding will help unify the community and improve the program’s sustainability.
“Central Lake and Ellsworth have been talking about partnering in all sports for a long time, and it just has not worked out in our favor,” Hibbard said. “Finally, both school board committees, superintendents, [athletic directors] finally got on the same page and said, ‘You know what? Our enrollment’s dropping. If we continue down this path, we’re going to lose programs unless we co-op.’”
The two schools will now co-op in all sports with the exception of boys basketball and girls volleyball.
“With football being the biggest and longest co-op we felt that the best way to really introduce this and get a lot of people on the same page was to rebrand the program,” said Hibbard. “You’re still going to see the orange and blue when you come to our games, as far as like the barn and some of the other things, because it’s kind of a slow process right now. But we have new uniforms coming.”
A committee of superintendents, athletic directors, board members and student athlete representatives, including Hibbard’s daughter, helped steer the rebranding process.
This season the Knights have seven returning seniors on the 18-man varsity team.
“Of those seven, at least one started on one side of the ball, if not both,” said Hibbard. “This group of seniors was with me back in 2024 when they were sophomores and they played at the varsity level. This will be my third year with them.”
Last season the team went 6-4 and lost in the playoffs to Merrill. The Knights lose three seniors.
“I’m going to have the same team back this year,” said Hibbard. “Positions are all locked in, same kids as last year. The only difference we’re going to be seeing is moving around our line.”
Quarterback Brady Roggenbeck will be back at the helm. One of his standout games last season was against Pellston, when he completed 8 for 12 passes for 174 yards.
“We had a couple camps and I watched him throw,” said Hibbard. “I watched his footwork. He is now better than he was last year. He is probably my most valuable player.”
Billy Hopp will be in the backfield. He tied a state record with a 99-yard rushing touchdown against Marion on August 28, 2025 for the longest run play in the state. He averaged about 95 yards rushing per game.
On defense, linebacker Josiah Chellis and defensive end Nolan Essenberg will be a force to contend with.
Essenberg is also a backup quarterback.
“He’ll be a junior this year,” the coach said. “The kid’s six foot four. Just a smart kid who has a lot of confidence and a nose for the ball.”
The coach expects his defense to be stronger than his offense this season.
“Riley Shafer is one of the biggest kids on our team and as far as mental toughness,” said Hibbard. “Strong, smart. He played fullback for us last year and middle linebacker. That’s one kid that if I was running the football, I wouldn’t want to get hit by.”
The Knights start the season with two home games against Alcona on Aug. 28 and Gaylord St. Mary on Sept. 5.
“I think we’re going to be a playoff team again this year, but I really feel that we could go 8-1, if not 9-0,” said Hibbard. “We have a couple of tough opponents on our schedule this year. St. Mary’s being one, they’re my main target.”
This season the Knights will compete in the Bridge Alliance League. Half of the team’s opponents hail from the Upper Peninsula.
“We’re playing a couple newer teams this year that we never played before, so that’s going to be different,” said the coach. “I think it’s going to be an advantage too, because they don’t know who we had last year. … Size is something we’ve always struggled with. But looking around at a lot of the successful eight man teams over the course of the nine years that I’ve been coaching, a lot of them don’t have size. A lot of it is just knowledge of the game. I can’t expect kids to get bigger, so I try and emphasize on just mental toughness and being physical.”