Dearborn Divine Child Falcons Have High Hopes for 2013 Season

It might still be summer for most people, but for the football players at Divine Child High School in Dearborn, the season is about to begin.

Like the three public high schools in the city, the Falcons took to the field last week to begin pre-season practice.

Head Coach Steve Robb said this season will be a building year for the varsity team, who ended the 2012 season with a 4-5 record.

"The biggest challenge is to continue to try to create a 'football atmosphere' at Divine Child. The players — particularly the seniors — need to take a leadership role and maintain that atmosphere," Robb said.

In order to do that, Robb said his coaches are prepared to invest more time with players on the field.

"From a coaching staff standpoint, we found that we need to spend much of our time on fundamental football skills. We are getting players that have not been given a solid skill set, and we need to teach them one," he said. "We have created a much stronger team, we need to be stronger mentally — take the game home with us — make football a priority."

The Falcons will be returning 23 letter-winning athletes to their roster this season, with six returning starters on offense and five on defense.

Standouts include senior defensive tackle Brock Bacher and junior quarterback Collin Goslin. Both athletes were All-League players last year. Other key players include senior defensive back Anthony DiPonio, senior linebacker Tom Popiel, senior running back Mike Flory, and senior tight end Ryan Seurynck.

"Seniors Paul Stempien and John Filiatraut appear to be on the verge of outstanding seasons, and newcomer Brendan Dempster will add toughness to the mix," Robb said.

The Falcons face Detroit Consortium College Preparatory High School at 7 p.m.