Playoff Preview 2023: Mott @ Carlson

Waterford Mott enters the regional against Carlson with a 9-2 record while the Marauders counter with a 10-1 record. The Corsairs won the district by defeating Birmingham Seaholm last week by a score of 34-21. Carlson’s district championship came via a win over Dexter by a score of 27-23.

Waterford Mott

Overall Playoff Record: 7-10

Head Coach: Chris Fahr

Players to Watch:

Kalieb Osborne QB 2024: The 6-4, 200 lb Toledo commit is a dual-threat QB who has rushed for 1,800 yards and has thrown for over 3,000 yards while accounting for a mind-boggling 54 TD’s.

Donovan Issac DB/WR 2024: Issac has over 1,000 receiving yards among 42 receptions and 9 TD’s. The senior has numerous D II offers and also plays defense and has recorded 49 tackles on the season.

Ayden Bowe WR/DB 2024: The senior with an array of D II offers has 64 receptions for over 850 yards and 6 TD’s. The 5-10 athlete has 2 Int’s on defense and 44 tackles.

Mikey Bolan LB 2024: The 6-2, 225 lb LB leads the team in tackles with 104 tackles including 9 TFL’s and 3 sacks.

Isaiah Veatch LB 2024: Another big senior LB, Veatch is 6-0 220 lbs and has recorded 74 tackles this season.

Linemen to Watch: 2026 DE Maximus Jansenvanvuren, 2023 DE J’Dion Jennings, 2026 LT Noah Jimenez, 2024 C Logan Hunter

Coaches Quote: “Carlson is very good tough team with some explosive players”.

Carlson

Overall Playoff Record: 6-15

Head Coach: Jason Gendron

Players to Watch:

Joe Krolak 2025 QB: Krolak has thrown for 930 yards and 14 TD’s while rushing for another 562 yards and 7 TD’s

 Izaiah Wright 2026 RB: The speedy sophomore has rushed for 1,827 yards and 28 TD’s. Wright has gone over the 100 yard mark in 9 of the 11 games this season.

Landon Vida 2025 WR: The junior receiver has caught 16 passes for 419 yards and 7 TD’s.

 Noah Derwick 2024 LB: The senior LB is only 5-9, 175 lbs, but has recorded over 65 tackles this season He leads a LB corp that is full of youngsters.

Teegan Nagy 2026 LB: Just a sophomore, Nagy leads the Marauders in tackles with 70 and has recorded 5 sacks on the season.

Jackson Zachary 2024 DB/WR: The senior leads the team with 5 Int’s and has 19 receptions for 258 yards and 3 TD’s.

Linemen to Watch: 2024 OT Jake Nagy, 2025 DT Chase Towns

Coach’s Quote: “Mott’s QB Kalieb Osborne has our full attention.  He’s a big boy at 6’5” 200 plus pounds.  His stats this season are video game like. We’re playing a high level of offense at the right time of the season.   Everything starts upfront with our offensive line.  We must continue to control the line of scrimmage.  Mott has some size and athleticism on their defensive line and linebacker core that will present some challenges for us offensively. As a team, we need to continue to believe.  Why not us?  Our guys truly enjoy playing the game, playing for each other, and playing for Carlson.

Overview: This has been a magical season for the Marauders, having won 10 games for the first time in school history. Mott’s Osborne is having an equally magical season, perhaps one of the most prolific in state history while leading his team to a school record 9 wins. This is another great match up and should be a great game with each team having the opportunity to advanced the Final Four. As Frank Vajcner always says, “better get your popcorn ready”.