Marian football begins new era under Michael Davidson

MISHAWAKA, Ind. -- High school football season is back, as teams across the state of Indiana begin fall practices this week.

Some are coming off of success in 2017 and are looking to build in the coming campaign.

One of them is Marian, who was one of the bigger surprises last season, not because of a lack of talent, but because of what they overcame.

“Last year we were scratching our heads and pulling out our hair and stressing over every little nick and boo-boo that we got in practice,” said first-year head coach Michael Davidson, who served as the defensive coordinator prior to his promotion. “We thought we’d have freshmen and eighth-graders and God knows what else.”

The Knights endured injuries to nearly half of their starters at some point of the season, and still found a way to put it all together in the final stretch. Marian made a deep postseason run all the way to Semi-State, one step away from playing for a 3A state title.

“The [younger players] got a really good taste, especially of postseason football,” said Davidson. “We got our sights set so we’re looking for big things out of all of them.”

Those expectations extend to the head coach as well.

Davidson takes over for longtime Knight’s leader Reggie Glon, who stepped down after 24 seasons at the helm.

Glon is staying on as an assistant, but it’s been made clear that this is Davidson’s team going forward.

"He had tremendous success and laid the foundation,” Davidson said of his predecessor. “It's not like I'm going to come in and reconstruct the wheel, so we changed a few things up as far as the way we're practicing and doing things. The kids took a few weeks to get used to it, but they're responding tremendously."

With two days complete, the clock continues to wind towards the first game on August 17. Marian and other teams around the state will be able to practice in full pads on Thursday.

The Knights’ first game will be at home against South Bend Clay.