Northern Michigan Wolves gear up for Saturday opener
May 15—TRAVERSE CITY — It's been two years since Will Noble called snaps for the Northern Michigan Wolves.
For Jordan Bradford it's been eight years since he even put on football pads.
Both are gearing up for the 2021 Northern Michigan Wolves Semi-Pro football season which begins Saturday with a preseason trip to the Albion Warriors. The Wolves roster 35 players this season and finished the 2020 season as league runner ups.
Noble returns to the quarterback spot for the Wolves after playing the same position at Kalkaska and in 2019 for the Wolves.
"We're looking really solid," Noble said. "We've got a few returners from a few years ago that have played last year. We've got new guys coming up from downstate looking to play with some old friends as well."
Back in high school the Blazers thrived under Noble at quarterback.
Noble guided Kalkaska to back-to-back district appearances in 2012 and 2013 for the first time since the Michigan High School Athletic Association playoffs began in 1975.
It was during that time when Kalkaska amassed a 13-7 record over two seasons. The Blazers have made trips to the postseason in 2016 and 2020 since, but not back-to-back.
Noble played a season of basketball at Rochester after he graduated from Kalkaska in 2014, but he transferred after one season.
That led Noble to the Wolves where he earned a spot on the 2019 team. He was named the week one starter then tore his ACL mid-summer 2019, ending his season. Noble was sidelined the entire 2020 season in rehab.
What brought him back? "The love of the game," the 25-year old said.
"I just can't give it up even after I hurt myself," Noble said. "It's just a lot of fun. Missed the team camaraderie and being out here with the guys."
Joining Noble at captain is wide receiver Darron Munson (Charlevoix) who returns to the Wolves after a playing a season with the Northern Michigan Panthers.
The Panthers were based out of Petoskey last year.
"He (Munson) is very quick, for sure," Noble said. "He's kind of a quarterbacks dream."
Evan Gattin, who's spent many years with the Wolves, is also a captain. Hayden Zimmerman, a wide receiver from Kalkaska who played at Hope, rounds out the Wolves offensive core.
Getting back in it
Bradford returns to the Wolves to play strong safety after an eight year hiatus from football.
He's originally from Lake City, graduating high school in 2010. Bradford and the Trojans made it to districts 2009 under longtime area coach Tim Peterson in his senior year. That was the start of a six-year playoff run where the Trojans went 42-12 with two regional trips in 2012 and 2013.
Bradford began playing for the Wolves in 2012 and returned in 2013. He was attending Northwestern Michigan College when he found out about the Wolves through Facebook.
"I actually had a pretty bad injury and I decided to hang it up," Bradford said. "This year we had a couple of guys coming back that I played with."
One of those was the man who now owns the team: Pablo Bocardo Jr.
Bradford got ahold of Bocardo again and the rest is history.
He said he's stayed active in the eight years he didn't play but quickly realized there'a a difference in how his body heals at 28 versus 19 or 20.
"I think it's an opportunity just to keep that brotherhood," Bradford said. "Football is such a sport that provides you with lifelong friends and relationships that you just don't build outside of the game — that's what you really miss about the game."
Expanded season
For two months after World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, the Greater Midwest Football Conference was one of the few organized sports leagues that kept on playing football.
Up from eight games in 2020, the Wolves play a 10-week schedule this summer against teams from Gaylord, Albion, Coldwater, Detroit and Battle Creek.
Playoffs begin in August with the top four teams in each division making the seeded postseason, finishing with an Aug. 21 championship game.
The Wolves lost one regular season game last season — a no-contest game.
They have been to the league championship three years in a row and fell to the Tri-County Crusaders to end last year's campaign.
Bocardo, the eighth grade coach at East Middle School, turns over coaching duties to Jesse Smith, who's originally from the Chicago area and now coaches seventh grade at the same middle school.
"We've been a championship caliber team for the last three years," Bocardo said, who coached, played and owned the team last year. He plans to play again at some point mid-season.
"Jesse has played college, he's played semi-pro before, he's coached Pop Warner, middle school ... he's done it all," Bocardo said. "He's really happy with the talent that he has to put out on the field, and I'm sure he'll utilize that on the scoreboard."
The Wolves are based out of Traverse City but practice at a park in Rapid City and play games at the Crawford County Sports Complex in Grayling. That's because of a partnership with the Grayling Jr. Vikings and its flag football league, where the Wolves players volunteer to work the concession stands at youth home games.
Spectators will be allowed at the Wolves five home games, Bocardo said. Their home opener is against the Panthers May 22 at 6 p.m.
The Wolves will start at 6 p.m. Saturday at Mac Gobel Field in Charlotte.
The Panthers, who play at Gaylord High School this year, host the Southern Michigan Vipers at 5:30 Saturday.
Follow Andrew Rosenthal on Twitter @ByAndrewR
