Last season was a growing one for Hesperia football. A very young team - many freshmen played major roles - went through growing pains and went 1-8. However, the Panthers did get more competitive as the season went along, and they scored 20 or more points in each of their final four games.
This year, coach Tyler Fehler hopes some of those growing pains bear fruit with more on-field success. He has the personnel to make that hope realistic.
“Going into this fall, we have all but three starters returning on both sides of the ball,” Fehler said. “The guys have put in a ton of work this summer and we are ready as a program to turn the corner.”
On offense, Hesperia brings back three of its five starters up front. All-conference pick Noah Walker isn’t one of them, but Fehler describes the position group as ready for “a huge step forward.”
At quarterback, Tucker Bolles stepped in as a freshman last fall and showed flashes of brilliance. He has grown both mentally and physically and should see more consistent success this season. Two of his top targets will likely be senior Zach Loughridge at wide receiver and sophomore Evan Conkle at tight end, both returning players. Loughridge has been named captain and will play a major two-way role on the team, also playing defensive back. Conkle is slated to play middle linebacker on defense in addition to his tight end work.
Several younger players are ones to watch. Hugh Tanner, part of the team through the school’s co-op with Walkerville, is one of them. Malakai Sellers caught two touchdowns in Hesperia’s lone 2025 win against White Cloud and should play a bigger role this season. Quinten Taylor, Brad Fairchild, Tanner Tinkham and Daylen Castillo should also make a splash.
Hesperia’s schedule contains the same teams as last season but for two changes - Manistee replaces Hart due to the West Michigan Conference’s divisional realignment, and St. Louis cycles off as a non-conference foe in favor of Muskegon Catholic. A week 1 game against Farwell, which defeated the Panthers 42-21 last year, could provide an early indicator of the off-season progress Hesperia made.
“Our goal this season is to win football games and take another step forward as a program,” Fehler said. “We are young, but most of the guys have put in a lot of work this summer and have played at the varsity level. We will be prepared this season to compete and win football games.”
