By Jonathan Szczepaniak

MACOMB TOWNSHIP — When it comes to a successful program, there’s always that one group that builds the culture up and lays the foundation for future teams to look at as the recipe for success.

For the Macomb Lutheran North football program, their 2024 senior class will be a group that will be talked about by the coaching staff to future Mustangs teams for years to come.

“They were a team of firsts,” Lutheran North coach Garrett Wenzelburger said. “We joined the Catholic League in 2010, and we were able to win the first conference championship, and then earned ourselves the first prep bowl appearance. We didn’t win the prep bowl, but it was our first appearance at Ford Field in Week 9. Yeah, first district championship in school history and first team to win nine games in school history. They’re taking a lot of pride in that.”

Lutheran North secured the program’s first-ever district championship in a 32-30 win over Marine City on Nov. 3 before falling to unbeaten Corunna in the regional finals.

Watching Lutheran North this season, it’d be difficult to imagine how this team was 3-6 last year and unable to qualify for the playoffs.

Earning the Catholic High School League-Intersectional 1 league title this season and posting the most wins in school history with a 9-3 record, Lutheran North’s turnaround was foreshadowed by how the team performed in 2022.

Their season record last year didn’t reflect a team that held fourth quarter leads in eight of their nine games, but behind their seniors, Lutheran North found ways to win instead of different ways to lose this season.

“I feel that all the countless amount of hours we have put in the weightroom, practice, and even individual work, which are things that nobody really sees, helped us make the jump to be great,” senior quarterback Eddie Cesar said. “All of the guys bought into our goals and made them happen.”

Cesar knows a thing or two about being great on the football field, accounting for 40 touchdowns (20 rushing, 19 passing, 1 receiving) and 2,548 total yards (820 rushing and 1,728 passing) this season.

Cesar has been a staple for Lutheran North football throughout his four-year high school career, posting impressive numbers his sophomore year as a wideout before making the transition to quarterback in 2022.

Cesar said he was able to make the transition efficiently because of the coaching staff, including offensive coordinator Brad Morris.

“It takes a lot of mental work, especially when I feel as if I’m an athlete playing quarterback,” Cesar said. “However, my coaches put me in a position to grow and learn the entire game.”

Cesar led the Lutheran North offense with 366 passing yards and five touchdowns in their 54-49 win over Armada on Oct. 27 in the first round of the playoffs while his No. 1 wideout, junior Hudson MacDonald, tallied four catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns in the win.

“He’s (MacDonald) a good athlete,” Wenzelburger said. “Last year as a sophomore, he really learned how to play receiver, and did well just based off pure athleticism. This year, you could tell, and really, I think it was in the summer, he just took at receiver. He had big games when we needed to throw the ball.”

MacDonald finished the season with 612 yards receiving and eight touchdowns while also tallying 329 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

MacDonald formed a lethal receiving duo with senior wideout Dominic Carroll, who added 588 receiving yards and six touchdowns this season. Senior running back Enrico Piccinini led the rushing attack alongside Caesar this year with 820 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Carroll was one of the more vital pieces on the Lutheran North defense, anchoring the secondary with 73 tackles and a team-high 14 tackles for a loss this season at the cornerback position.

While Carroll held down the secondary, Lutheran North leaned heavily on their four-year linebacker Ian Ruatto, and he responded with a team-high 90 tackles this season.

“Obviously, Ian is your dude,” Wenzelburger said. “He’s your anchor and he’s the middle linebacker making all the calls, but Dom Carroll was phenomenal out there as well.”

They’re a team of firsts, and the senior group’s impact went far beyond the stat sheets and historic feats.

It will be a new-look Mustangs squad in 2024, but the foundation the senior group laid this year will leave a lasting legacy for future North teams to come.

“They’re absolutely talented,” Wenzelburger said. “I’ve talked about Eddie (Cesar), Ian (Ruatto), and those guys, but their commitment has been next level, unlike any other team I’ve coached. I always had teams that worked in the offseason, but this team, it was different. It was the end of October in 2022, just a week after we lost our Week 9 game, they were already in the weight room.”

Article originally posted by C&G Newspaper