Coach James Leusby had 16 returning lettermen on a squad of 41 players. Coach Leusby listed his teams’ determination, coachability and hard work ethic traits that should bode well for them.
Thursday, August 29th, at home, the Raiders played the New Haven Rockets. They came away with a 54-6 victory. Paupert and Houvener each scored twice and Schapman, DeLaurier, Castillo, and Koenig scored one touchdown each. Record: League: 0-0: Overall: 1-0.
Friday, Sept. 6th, at home, the Raiders beat the Imlay City Spartans by a 56 to 7 score. Schapman and Smith each scored twice and Paupert, Lulgjuraj, and Hunsaker each scored once. Record: League: 1-0: Overall: 2-0.
Friday Sept. 13th, at Algonac, , in their first league game Almont earned a victory, 35 to 0. Jack Paupert scored four touchdowns and Colby Schapman one. Record: League: 2-0: Overall: 3-0.
Friday Sept. 20th, at North Branch, the Raiders came away with an impressive 61 to 20 victory. Mason Smith scored four touchdowns, Paupert 3, and Castillo scored two. Record: League: 3-0: Overall: 4-0.
Friday, Sept. 27th, at home, the Raiders defeated Cros-Lex by a score of 42 to 0. Schapman, Castillo, Smith and Lulgjuraj score offensive touchdowns and Paupert returned an interception and Panduren returned a fumble for the defense. League: 4-0: Overall: 5-0.
Friday, Oct. 4, Homecoming – Almont defeated rival Armada by a 48 to 14 score. Schapman caught two touchdown passes and individual scores were made by Paupert, Castillo, Koenig, Smith, and Malcolm. The team qualified for the State playoffs for the tenth consecutive year. Paupert had a two-point conversion. League: 5-0: Overall: 6-0.
Friday, Oct. 11th, at Richmond, the Raiders clinched a share of the league title with a 28 to 10 win. They overcame a 10-0 deficit to win. Mason Smith scored twice and Schapman and Dempz each scored once. League: 6-0: Overall: 7-0.
Friday, Oct. 18th, at Yale, the Raiders, with a 49 to 0 victory, for the second year in a row, the Raiders were undefeated league champions. Colby Schapman scored twice and Houvener, Castillo, Smith, Lulgjuraj, and Hellebuyck each scored once. League: 7-0: Overall: 8-0.
Friday, Oct. 25th, at home, the Raiders completed the second straight undefeated regular season with a 50 to 12 victory over Clio. Paupert scored three touchdowns and a two-point conversion. Schapman had two touchdowns and DeLaurier and Hellebuyck one each. Houvener had a two-point conversion. Brandon Hunsaker handled the kicking duties admirably. League: 7-0: Overall: 9-0.
Friday, Nov. 1st, at Richmond, the Raiders once again beat Richmond – this time by a 30 to 20 score. Josh Hellebuyck scored twice and Paupert and Schapman each scored once. Paupert scored a two-point conversion and Michael Lulgjuraj score two two-point conversions. Overall: 10-0.
Friday, Nov. 8th, at Marine City, the Raiders stopped a two-point conversion try with 21.6 seconds remaining to secure a 22 to 20 victory and the District title. Paupert scored twice and Hellebuyck once with Smith and Paupert adding two-point conversions. Overall: 11-0.
Saturday, Nov. 16th, at home after a Herculean effort to clear the football field of nearly a foot of snow, the Raiders defeated Swan Valley by a score of 25 to 14 to win the Regional title and advance to the State semifinals. Paupert scored twice and Lulgjuraj and Hellebuyck once each. Overall: 12-0.
Saturday, Nov. 23rd, at Walled Lake Central High School, the Raiders defeated Detroit Denby by a score of 36 to 8 and qualified for the State Finals for the first time in team history. The game was halted early because of unsportsmanlike conduct by Denby. Jack Paupert scored three times and Castillo and DeLaurier each scored once. Nolan Panduren was credited with a safety when he forced the Denby quarterback to commit intentional grounding in the end zone. The team had been to the semifinals twice before but lost both games. The last time was in 2014 when they lost to Lansing Catholic, who would be their opponent in the championship game. Overall: 13-0.
Saturday, Nov. 30th, the team left for Ford Field to a rousing sent-off by a crowd of well over a thousand. Unfortunately, the team was to lose its only game of the season 31 to 17. Jack Paupert scored the first touchdown and Ryan Miller added the point after. Miller then kicked a 31-yard field goal. Almont last score was a touchdown by Michael Lulgjuraj with a successful point after by Miller. The team achieved the school’s first State runner-up placing in Football. Overall: 13-1.
