Football changes dominate Lenawee County's top sports stories of 2023-24 school year

There was no shortage of storylines from the 2023-24 high school and college sports year in Lenawee County .

There were lots of changes during the year and it's shown quite a bit in your clicks.

Here are the most read articles from the season:

Addison football coach Josh Lindeman exits

A month after being named the Lenawee County co-Coach of the Year, Addison football coach Josh Lindeman was no longer with the Panthers .

Lindeman led Addison to a Cascades Conference championship, and the Panthers had the highest-scoring offense in the state. Once the season concluded, however, a dispute between the coach, assistant principal and athletic director began and Lindeman stepped away.

Lindeman has since taken over as head coach at rival Manchester.

Adrian College football coach resigns

Adrian College football had a down season, going 1-10, but the biggest story for the Bulldogs was coach Jim Deere stepping away during the season .

In his 14 seasons as head coach of AC, Deere was 76-60 with MIAA titles in 2012 and 2014.

Harry Bailey's journey to Addison football

The top three stories all connect, as Hudson graduate Harry Bailey was named interim coach of Adrian College following Deere's resignation.

After the season, Bailey was also let go after Saline football coach Joe Palka was named the next head coach of Bulldogs. Bailey was then hired by Addison.

Sand Creek football's new home

Since 1975, Sand Creek has been a mainstay for TCC football, but that'll change this coming season.

The Aggies will play in the Big 8 Conference this coming season, moving away from the dwindling TCC and compete against Union City, Reading, Vermontville Maple Valley (which moves up from 8-man), Quincy, Stockbridge, Bronson and Springport.

The change only affects football; Sand Creek will remain in the TCC for the rest of its sports.

A golf dream comes to life

Onsted sophomore Jayden Valasek has battled all of his life against a number of conditions and he had to battle his emotions when he learned his Make-A-Wish was granted by the YouTube golf group, Good Good Golf.

Valasek got to play in a tournament at TPC Sawgrass with the group and returned with some gifts and newfound excitement for the game.

He then became one of the Wildcats' top golfers and was an All-County Honorable Mention.

Lenawee Christian football replaces its coach, too

Another coaching change, the other Lenawee County co-Coach of the Year, Bill Wilharms stepped down as football coach of Lenawee Christian.

Wilharms helped lead the Cougars into the new 8-man game and dominated, winning three state titles in four seasons while eclipsing more than 100 wins during his coaching career between LCS and Madison.

Top basketball stars return from injury

Blissfield's Leigh Wyman and Britton Deerfield's Logan Shiels each had a long road to recovery to lead their basketball teams in the 2023-24 season.

Wyman injured her knee in the Division 3 state championship game, but was back for the season and helped the Royals repeat as LCAA champions. Shiels returned to become the Patriots' all-time leading scorer and helped them claim their first district title in school history.

Palka moves up a level at Adrian

Saline's Joe Palka was named the next football coach for Adrian College.

In his introductory press conference, Palka talked about closing the gap between the Bulldogs and the top of the MIAA and Adrian being the only place to draw him away from Saline.

With the Hornets, Palka helped turn Saline into a powerhouse in the SEC Red.

Who are the new local football coaches?

New leaders among Lenawee football

Lenawee County has always been strong in football with a number of leaders leading the way as head coaches.

But with many changeovers around the area, there are now new leaders in Lenawee football. LCS' Bill Wilharms, Addison's Josh Lindeman and Blissfield's Ron Estes all stepped down. Madison's Scott Gallagher is now the dean of football coaches at nine total seasons of head coaching experience with the Trojans and Sand Creek.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Football changes dominate Lenawee County's top sports stories of 2023-24 school year