This season, the Fenton football team finds themselves in a better spot than most. Sitting at 5-0 and rising up to 84 in the Michigan rankings, Fenton is in a good spot with three games remaining in their season prior to the Flint Metro League Championship game. This year, Fenton will finish with another winning record, giving themselves their third straight winning season.
Ever since the 2008-09 season, Coach Jeff Setzke has always found ways to win. According to maxpreps.com, In his 17 years coaching, he has a 120-42 record, winning 74% of his games and has also finished as a top 100 team in Michigan nine times, including the 2019-20 season where Fenton went 8-2 and finished the year 4-0 in their league.
Even though Setzke has been the coach of Fenton for 17 years, The Tigers are still trying to do the one thing Setzke has not yet been able to do, go undefeated. So far though, the Tigers have done just that. Fenton is off to a nice 5-0 start with big wins over Dow, Haslett, Swartz Creek, Holly and Kearsley. Fenton is only three wins away from finishing the season 8-0 for the first time under Setzke.
So far this season, Fenton has outscored their opponents 153-60 through only five games, but the big question is— can Fenton win their last three games, all of which are on the road? Fenton’s remaining schedule includes Linden, Flushing and Mason. Linden so far has gone 3-2 and is 3-0 in league play which puts lots of pressure to win their second to last upcoming game. Fenton should have another challenge against Flushing, who is 4-1, before finishing their year against Mason, who is also 4-1, on Oct. 25. All three games will be tough against teams with winning records which could make it even harder for the Tigers to get to a perfect record or state championship that they are trying to achieve.
“The team feels confident and we feel like we can win all the games,” senior Keegan McArdle said. “We need to play our best and we hope to go to Ford Field.”
With high stakes and lots of optimism surrounding this Tiger’s team, there is no doubt Fenton could finish their season with even more momentum than they started. Another positive to why their team has been playing so well also could be how many students and supporters have shown up to their games.
“The fans make me elevate my game,” senior Cooper Steeves said about the support coming from the stands.
When it comes down to all-time, Fenton is in pretty good shape. The Tigers have gone 12-9 against Linden, 7-2 against Flushing, and in one game against Mason they are 0-1. Their game against Linden could be one of the biggest though. Not only is the game a rivalry, but Fenton and Linden are also both 3-0 in league play. Linden’s defense has also outscored opponents 77-20 in league play, giving them arguably one of the best defenses in the league. Flushing also has a good defense, outscoring opponents 108-14 in league play and setting up another possibly crucial matchup for Fenton on the road.
So far Fenton has exceeded expectations, blowing past Swartz Creek, Holly and Kearsley in their league, while just barely getting past Dow and Haslett in out of conference play. Through each game, the Tigers continue to get better. With three final matchups remaining against three outstanding teams, Fenton will need all they can get from their team to carry their winning streak into the playoffs. Fenton is trying to add to their 228 wins and 16 titles they have had in the Flint Metro League since 1968, which is the most of any other team. All Fenton needs to do now is keep on winning, and so far they have done just that.
