The slate is wiped clean, and optimism fills the air as a new season begins at Wyoming High School.
The Wolves, who went 1-6 in conference play, exited the OK-Green and formed the new OK-Gold with Forest Hills Central (D-3 state champion last year), Unity Christian and perennial state title contender South Christian, along with Zeeland East and West.
Wyoming finished the 2023 season with an overall record of 1-8 under fourth-year Coach Carlton Brewster. The Ferris State University product will look to get his squad on track for the 2024 campaign.
“It will be a very competitive league with Forest Hills Central and South Christian,” Brewster said. “We have our hands full, but we are looking forward to getting better daily.”
The Wolves return quarterback Jay Johnson and bruising running back Jack Terveen to an offense that averaged 12.4 points per game.
Terveen averaged 6.5 yards per carry and looks to build off of his junior season which was marred by an early injury.
Terveen will be led by his offensive line anchored by senior duo CJ Anderson and Jackson Lamrouex.
Johnson only attempted 17 passes last season as he split time with Antwan Brown Jr., but also will use his legs in the run-first Wolves offense.
“These seniors are the heart of this team,” Brewster explained. “We also have others that are looking to step up.”
Junior Moses Brown looks to form a one-two punch with Terveen in the Wolves backfield. Senior receiver Julian Toscano also will be a key to the offense.
“Our goal is to focus on the everyday grind to get better each day,” Brewster said. “We need to focus on the small things. We’ve been getting better daily.”
Wyoming travels to Sparta for its season opener Thursday, Aug. 29, at 7 p.m.
The Wyoming football team is entering year three under Coach Carlton Brewster, and with plenty of experience on hand, the Wolves are primed to take the next step in the growth process.
When Brewster took over the team three years ago one of his goals was to build around the freshman class. Those freshmen are now juniors and primed to make an impact on the field.
Wyoming Football Coach Carlton Brewster. (WKTV/Hayden Passig)
“One of the first things I tried to do when I got here was to grab a hold of the freshman class and try and mold it,” said Brewster, whose Wolves finished 0-9 last season.
“They say when you are trying to change the culture of a team it usually takes five to seven years.
“Our goal was to do it in three or four years. Now, those freshmen are juniors and they are a very mature group of juniors as most of them played on the varsity last year.”
Brewster also is more comfortable with the team heading into his third year.
“Last year was a learning experience for everybody,” Brewster said. “Some things that I thought would work for us didn’t. We had to figure things out along the journey. We had some success, but overall, it was a learning experience and we learned a lot of things.”
Jay Johnson (pictured) and Antwan Brown Jr. are promising quarterbacks for the Wolves. (WKTV/Hayden Passig)
On offense this season the Wolves have a pair of promising quarterbacks leading the way. Junior Jay Johnson is a strong runner while sophomore Antwan Brown Jr. brings a strong arm to the position.
“Both guys are young, first-time varsity quarterbacks and that is a process in itself,” Brewster said. “They are both looking pretty good, but it will definitely take some time for them to get used to varsity football.”
While the quarterbacks gain experience the Wolves can rely on a deep cast of running backs to shoulder the load. Senior Nasir Purnell and juniors Adrian Moore, Kason Merchant and Sharrod Mitchell will all contribute and give the team good depth at running back.
Wyoming RB/CB Adrian Moore. (WKTV/Hayden Passig)
Wyoming also has a solid group of pass catchers. Senior Donavyn Edwards is a talented veteran receiver that leads the way.
Adrian Moore will see time at the slot back position while juniors Julian Toscano and Jack Terveen are a pair off promising tight ends that can catch the ball.
The Wolves run a spread offense that will rely on the running game to set up the passing game.
Paving the way for the backs is an experienced offensive line. Senior Zhari Horton anchors the line at center flanked by junior guards Charles Anderson (6-0, 270 pounds) and Joseph Awator. The Wolves have a pair of big, talented tackles in juniors Jackson Lamrouex (6-3, 280) and Jharimiah Harris (6-0, 275).
Wyoming OL/DL Jackson Lamrouex. (WKTV/Hayden Passig)
“We have some experience on offense and we know who we are now,” Brewster said. “We want to run the ball on the edge and out-physical teams on the edge and then open up the inside.”
On the defensive side of the ball the Wolves have plenty of experience and depth, especially along the defensive line. Darius Scott (5-9, 230), Terveen (6-1, 235) and Lamrouex anchor the defensive front.
At linebacker, the Wolves have Merchant and Mitchell at inside linebacker with sophomore Tae White and Johnson at outside linebacker.
The secondary looks solid with senior Mauricio Hernandez and Moore at cornerback along with Pernell and Edwards at the safety positions.
“Our defensive line should be pretty good,” Brewster said. “Our secondary also looks like a strong point. We had six sophomores start on defense last year so we were pretty young.”
Senior RB/S Nasir Purnell. (WKTV/Hayden Passig)
Wyoming also has decent depth with around 30 players on the team this season.
“Our numbers are decent,” Brewster said. “It’s one of those things where we have to keep chopping wood. We have to keep moving forward.”
Wyoming opens the season Thursday, Aug. 24 when it hosts Forest Hills Northern.
WKTV Friday Night Highlights show is back next week!
Just like we did during basketball season, every Friday we’ll bring you many great high school football clips from the Wyoming and Kentwood area teams, highlight some top performers and their stats, give final scores, and show a snapshot of the latest conference standings in an exciting 30-minute program.
As a bonus, we’ll have a reporter on the field at the Game of the Week to interview coaches and players for the show and occasionally have them come into our studio for a live interview as well.
You won’t want to miss all our great local coverage. Thanks for tuning in!
Reeths-Puffer quarterback rushes into the end zone during a win over Wyoming Friday. (WKTV/Nathan Piers)
By Cris Greer, WKTV Managing Editor
Muskegon Reeths-Puffer beat Wyoming 55-7 in the WKTV Game of the Week Friday.
The Rockets led 8-0 to end the first quarter and 29-7 at halftime.
Reeths-Puffer improved to 4-1 overall, while Wyoming fell to 0-5.
Reeths-Puffer beat Wyoming 55-7 Friday in the WKTV Game of the Week. (WKTV/Nathan Piers)
WKTV Game of the Week
Our Game of the Week airs every Friday night on WKTV Comcast Channel 25 & AT&T U-Verse Channel 99 at 11 p.m. with a rebroadcast on Saturday at 11 a.m. If you don’t have cable, visit our website at WKTV.org to watch the livestream. Watch at home on your Smart TV in brilliant HD.
The Wyoming Wolves huddle up during a 55-7 loss to Reeths-Puffer. (WKTV/Nathan Piers)
Wyoming high head football coach Carlton Brewster, left, watches over practice Aug. 24, as the Wolves prepare for their season opener Aug. 26. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
The Wyoming High School football team will open its 2021 season Thursday, Aug. 26, hosting Forest Hills Northern in a game which not only marks the debut of head coach Carlton Brewster II leading the program but marks a return to near normal after a 2020 season radically altered due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
And WKTV will be there to begin its 2021-22 Featured Game coverage season and a season-long run of cable television and on-demand coverage of local high school football. This week’s game at Wyoming will kick off at 7 p.m.
For Wolves coach Brewster, who took over the Wyoming program in March after Irv Sigler Jr. resigned after four years leading the program, the opening night game against the Northern Huskies will be first and foremost chance to begin a normal season after a nearly lost year in 2020.
Wyoming played only five games, posting a 1-4 record in the team’s first season playing the likes of the Muskegon and Zeeland schools in the OK Green, and had several spring and summer restrictions on the program’s off-season activities. (Northern — out of the OK White — posted a 4-3 record leas year, and the two teams did not play as usual in early season action.)
Wyoming high football head coach Carlton Brewster II. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
“Our first four games will still be challenging … You have to be ready every week,” Coach Brewster said to WKTV this week. “But it is good for our kids (to have the early season games). We can find out where our kids are at, early on, and as a staff we can come together and decide we need to build on these areas to prepare to go into the OK (Green).”
Not that Brewster and his staff do not already have an idea of the team’s strengths and weaknesses, particularly on offense — the side of the ball where Brewster has excelled playing and coaching in his career. (See a WKTV Journal story about coach Brewster when he took over the program, and see a video interview with him.)
“We got some good skill guys,” Brewster said. “And we are going to utilize the spread (offense) and we are going to utilize the guys we have and get the ball to those guys.”
Wyoming high assistant coach Aaron Berlin working with the team at a practice. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
Brewster is also pleased with how the players have ‘bought into” the program since he took over — “Spring and summer has been great (for the program). We came in right away and lifted weights pretty much every single day. A lot of kids bought in.”
And he also pointed out senior leadership as being another strength of his new program.
Isaiah Clark “can play very position on the line, fullback, tight end,” Brewster said. “He’s a great kid. He’s 100 miles an hour and a 3.0 (grade) kid.”
Amani Hobson plays offensive and defensive line, and “does a great job where ever he plays. And Mateo Ledesma plays running back and safety, and will be one of those “skill guys” who will get the ball in his hands — a lot.
WKTV featured games will on cable television in Wyoming and Kentwood on Comcast Channel 25 and AT&T Channel 99 Community Channel, rebroadcast on the night of the game and various days and times the week after. See the programming schedule at wktv.org. For more information on WKTV coverage of football and other fall prep sports, follow us at wktvjournal.org/sports.
All Featured Games, as well as other high school sports, and community events covered by WKTV’s video coverage team, are available on-demand within a week of play at wktvlive.com.
New Wyoming High School head football coach Carlton Brewster II visits the set of WKTV Journal Sports Connection to catch us up on his return to the Wolves sidelines. (WKTV)
On this latest episode of WKTV Journal Sports Connection, a changing of the guard — and program leader — on the Wyoming High School football field.
Wyoming High School head football coach Carlton Brewster II. (WKTV)
When Irv Sigler Jr. resigned his position of head football coach at Wyoming high after this season, Wolves athletic director Ted Hollern said he needed to find a replacement quickly. But more importantly, he needed to find the right guy, quickly. In early March, Wyoming found “the right guy” — Carlton Brewster II, who most recently was head football coach at Kalamazoo Central High School but is no stranger to the Wyoming Wolves football sidelines.
With WKTV sports volunteer Mark Bergsma, Coach Brewster visits WKTV Journal Sports Connection to talk about his journey back to Wyoming, his work as a student mentor as well as a coach — Brewster will also work as Dean of Students at the high school — and what he envisions as the football program he wants to build.
WKTV Journal Sports Connection is a WKTV produced program dedicated to bringing you interviews and stories focused on local Wyoming and Kentwood area high schools sports. You can catch up on all our local sports coverage by visiting WKTVJournal.org/sports. But we also have a volunteer sports crew, both in studio and with our coverage truck. For more information email ken@WKTV.org.
This WKTV Journal Sports Connection is available on-demand, along with WKTV coverage of high school athletic events and other sports, at WKTVlive.org. It also airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 (For dates and times on Channel 26, see our Weekly On-air Schedule). Individual interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal Sports Connection are also available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.
Carlton Brewster II, shown in the colors of Kalamazoo Central High School, will be wearing a different color when he takes the field as Wyoming High School football head coach. (Coach Brewster’s Twitter Page)
Wyoming Pubic Schools announced this week that Carlton Brewster II, who most recently was head football coach at Kalamazoo Central High School but is no stranger to the Wyoming Wolves football sidelines, has been named Wyoming high head football coach as well as the school’s Dean of Students.
Brewster takes over the Wyoming program from Irv Sigler Jr., who resigned his coaching position in January after four years leading the Wolves.
Brewster, at Kalamazoo Central, also served as “Character Development Coach” and WPS superintendent Craig Hoekstra stressed that the new coach brings knowledge and skills both on and off the playing field.
“After a thorough interview process, we are confident his knowledge and experience makes him the right person to lead our team,” Hoekstra said in supplied material. “Brewster knows what it takes to be a successful student-athlete both on and off the field and he brings to Wyoming an impressive plan to grow and develop our football program.”
After graduating from and playing football at Grand Rapids’ Creston High School, Brewster played football at the college and professional levels, and coached at three Wyoming-area highs schools — Wyoming high, Lee and Godwin Heights — before his stint at Kalamazoo Central. Coach Brewster and his wife, Cassondra, live in Wyoming with their five children: Aniyah, Kevin, Teonna, Zara and Carlton III.
And being back in the community where he lives and where much of his coaching history was made is important to “Coach Brewster”.
“I have been living in Wyoming for the past 10 years and coaching at Wyoming High School has been a dream of mine,” Brewster said in supplied material. “I look forward to serving our community and students.”
Wyoming Public Schools Athletic Director Ted Hollern not only knows Coach Brewster well but has high expectations for the football program under its new coach.
“Coach Brewster is a great addition to the Wyoming High School staff and athletic department,” Hollern said in supplied material. “He brings excitement, experience, and a tremendous work ethic. I know our student athletes will be prepared and have fun while competing against teams in the O.K. Conference.”
A wealth of experience and success
After playing at Creston high, Brewster was a standout wide receiver at Ferris State University, ranking high in the Bulldogs record book for wide receivers with 234 receptions for a total of 3,184 yards. Also at Ferris State, he earned his Bachelor of Integrative Studies of Arts and Science in 2010, and then his Masters in Educational Leadership from Grand Valley State University in 2013.
Following his tenure playing for the Bulldogs, Brewster spent two years in the NFL as a wide receiver and punt returner for the Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos. Later he also played semi-pro ball for the Grand Rapids Rampage, Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz and Chicago Rush.
Once his playing career had finished, Brewster moved to the sidelines to coach.
His first stops were as wide receiver coach at Creston High School, Ottawa Hills High School, Grand Rapids Catholic Central and Forest Hills Eastern.
In 2014, Brewster served as the Wyoming high offensive coordinator. That season, Wolves quarterback Brendan Berg threw for 2,001 yards and wide receiver Michael Williams was named 1st Team All Conference.
Brewster was then named head coach at Godfrey Lee Public School’s Wyoming Lee High School in 2015. He then spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons as the head coach at Godwin Heights, where his teams went 5-5 and then 7-3. In 2018, Brewster was named head coach at Kalamazoo Central, and in three years his team complied an 11-15 overall record, including the COVID-19 disrupted 2020 season.
Wyoming High School belatedly begins its 2020 football season Friday, Sept. 18, at home against Zeeland West with a special start time of 5 p.m. And WKTV will be there to broadcast the game — live thanks to special permission from the MHSAA and the Wolves.
Before the game, WKTV caught up with Wolves head coach Irv Sigler — who talked about his unusual season preparations with only a week of practice in pads — and well as one of his key senior offensive players, Mahki Matthews.
With all teams making the playoffs this 6-game season under a yet-to-be defined Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) format, both coach and player also view this regular season is one where early growth can come without as much pressure.
Wyoming was 3-6 last season, 1-5 in OK Conference Gold games. Zeeland West was 9-2, including 1-1 in the playoffs, and 5-1 in the OK Green. Wyoming, this season, moves into the OK Green under an OK Conference realignment.
Other members of the OK Green are Grand Rapids Union, Holland, Muskegon, Muskegon Mona Shores, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer and Zeeland East. But with the season starting late due to early COVID-19 restrictions, Wyoming missed non-conference games against Forest Hills Northern, Northview — and also missed playing new conference foe and state power Muskegon (14-0, 13-1 and 13-1 the last three seasons). And four of the Wolves six regular season games will be at home.
Also new this season, with in-stadium crowds limited this prep football season due to continuing COVID-19 restrictions, WKTV’s sports coverage will expand to provide fans with live coverage of games.
WKTV featured games will on cable television in Wyoming and Kentwood on Comcast Channel 25 and AT&T Channel 99 Community Channel, and we will livestream games where allowed on WKTV.org (click on Watch Live). (Some games may be live-streamed on nfhsnetwork.com/find-school/michigan.)
WKTV will also rebroadcast the games on the night of the game and various days and times the week after. See the programming schedule at wktv.org. For more information on WKTV coverage of football and other fall prep sports, follow us at wktvjournal.org/sports.
All Featured Games, as well as other high school sports and community events covered by WKTV’s video coverage team, are available on-demand within a week of play at wktvlive.com.
