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.
KINGSLEY — Kingsley got to the finish line last year.
This time they hope to cross it.
The Stags fell 28-14 in the Division 6 state finals to Jackson Lumen Christi in a bid to win state titles in two out of three years.
“We have to get back to Fort Field, and we have to finish it this time,” senior quarterback Barrett Bielas said. “It’s just that’s what we have to do.”
The Stags don’t talk a big game, especially before the game. But during it, Kingsley’s Wing-T offense speaks volumes.
Kingsley had a stretch of scoring 38 or more points eight times in a span of nine games. The Stag defense didn’t allow more than 22 points until the Titans managed 28 in the state final against an injury-riddled Kingsley roster.
“We fell short,” Kingsley senior offensive tackle Kane Brooks said. “We’re ready to get back to work and get ready to go. Keep our heads up, keep grinding, stay humble and just be prepared and ready every single week.”
Lumen Christi and Traverse City St. Francis both opted up to Division 6 again this season.
The Stags routed St. Francis 57-6 in the district championship game after a Gladiator parent noticed Kingsley’s goal posts weren’t regulation width and contacted the school and the Michigan High School Athletic Association a day before the game.
Local businesses stepped up to take the posts down, weld more sections in between and extend the width to the high school standard in time for the next day’s game. The posts had been in place for around 20 years, given to the school by a college not long after Kingsley’s 2006 state championship.
The Stags used the situation for extra motivation in a game between two top-10-ranked teams that barely needed any more.
Kingsley scored 50 points in the first half, and the 57 total was the second-most ever surrendered by a St. Francis team.
“We came out fired up,” senior tackle Collin McCoy said. “That was fun. That was really fun. That was definitely one of my favorite games all year. All the way through, it was great.”
The Stags and Gladiators won’t play in the regular season for the first time since 2013.
Bielas takes over at quarterback. The left-hander displayed a good arm in Kingsley’s 7-on-7 work this summer.
“Just replacing, and we’re going to get better every single day,” Bielas said. “That’s all that matters. We’re just going to get better.”
Bielas returned punts and played cornerback and safety on defense last year.
“We’re just really close,” Bielas said. “Everybody’s committed, and that’s what’s most important, the commitment. We’ve been playing forever, so commitment, that’s the main thing.”
Brooks, a 230-pound senior who transferred from Traverse City Central as a freshman and started last year as a junior, mans left tackle.
“We’re going to keep working every day, keep working at it, get better every day,” Brooks said. “One percent better every day, and just we’re going to just come in with great positive mindset and keep going.”
McCoy, a 205-pound senior, hurt his ankle hurt his ankle in the semifinal win over Kent City and played sparingly compared to his normal workload.
Alex Figueroa also came into the state final nursing a leg injury, then Isaiah Cosgrove was hurt early in the game. Combined with McCoy unable to play fully, the Stags were limited on both sides of the ball.
“The goal is always to go back, but win week by week,” McCoy said. “That’s all we can do.”
Nolan Hodges returns at running back after a great junior baseball season as the Stags’ leadoff hitter. Now he’ll be back to taking handoffs along with Perry Smith in the backfield. Eric Stark, Izaiah Adams and Leland McClellan — a transfer from TC West — are vying for time at fullback, with Andrew George and Braden Sherman at tight end.
“We’re tight and we’re aggressive as a squad together,” McCoy said. “We’ll all collectively do what Kingsley does and has done: Keep the tradition going.”
The offensive line returns McCoy, Brooks and Scott Stremlow.
Defensively, Brooks and McCoy are slated to start on the line, with Brody Ferris, Smith and Hodges at linebacker.
“What I am impressed with is the senior classes and the passing of the torch,” Stags co-head coach Tim Wooer said. “Sometimes you wonder how that is going to go. They were ready to take the torch. It’s been impressive.”
Part of that apprehension could have been that this year’s senior class didn’t win a single game as eighth-graders. The junior class didn’t win a game in fifth through eighth grades.
“All of them are multi-sport athletes and work hard in the weight room,” Kingsley co-head coach Jason Morrow said. “They do a good job of getting guys together and doing stuff. It’s been fun to watch them develop physically and mentally.”
Groups of players have been running the sand hills just outside Kingsley over the summer to stay in shape.
The state finals run also allowed everyone in the program to practice for five extra weeks. This year’s Kingsley seniors have an extra 12 weeks of practice under their belts because of playoff runs.
“We lost a bunch of kids,” Wooer said. “These kids here now are eager to fill in and ready to fill in. Part of that is they had an extra five weeks of practice. They got to practice with Colton Goethals and guys like that.”