Photo: Marvin Hall - Studio M Sports (2022)
Coach Joe Brya is entering his 7th year as the Head Varsity Football Coach at Grand Ledge High School, and his 19th season overall coaching High School Football. He previously served as an Assistant Coach at the JV & Varsity levels for a combined 3 seasons at Grand Ledge under Coach Matt Bird (2007, 2008, 2012). He has served as a Varsity Head Coach for 11 seasons total with stints at Homer High School (2009-2011, 2016-2017), Eaton Rapids High School (2018), and Grand Ledge High School (2019-present). He was also an Assistant Varsity Coach at Homer from 2013-2015. During his previous 18 seasons as an Assistant Coach and Head Coach, Coach Brya has coached teams to 104 total wins (58 as a Head Coach), 14 teams to winning seasons, 12 teams to the MHSAA playoffs, 5 teams to the district finals, 2 teams to district championships, & 1 team to a regional championship en route to the State Semi-Finals. Coach Brya is a 2005 graduate of Grand Ledge High School. He was a Varsity letter winner in football, basketball and baseball. He was a 2x All-Conference and All-Area selection at defensive back for the Varsity Comets Football Team, and he served as a Team Captain his senior year. Coach Brya and his wife Jeannette are the proud parents of three children.
In Coach Brya's 6-year tenure as Head Coach at GL:
2019: 2-7; 2020: 5-3 (1-1 playoffs); 2021: 6-4 (Playoffs); 2022: 9-3 (CAAC Blue Champs, 2-1 Playoffs, District Champs); 2023: 6-4 (Winners of The Jack, Playoffs); 5-5 (Winners of The Jack, School-record tying 5th straight playoff appearance).
33 total wins, 19 conference wins, 5 straight winning seasons, 5 straight playoff appearances, 3-5 in the playoffs, 1 conference title, 1 district title.
Marcus Endicott is entering his 2nd season at Grand Ledge, and his 29th season overall coaching High School Football. Prior to coming to Grand Ledge, Coach Endicott was the Head Varsity Football coach for 2 years at Flushing High School (2021-2022), the Varsity Defensive Coordinator for 15 seasons (2004-2018), and an assistant coach within the program from 1999-2003. He also coached at his high school alma mater, Burton Atherton, from 1994-1998. Coach Endicott took the 2019, 2020 & 2023 seasons off from coaching to spend more time with family. Coach Endicott was a part of 9 playoff seasons, 3 district championships, 14 winning seasons, and more than 120 total wins during his time coaching at Flushing. Coach Endicott is a 1988 graduate of Burton Atherton High School. Coach Endicott played football & ran track during his time at Atherton. Upon graduation in 1988, Coach Endicott attended Central Michigan University, graduating in 1993 with a degree in Physical Education. He has been a High School Phys Ed teacher since 1994 (5 years at Burton Atherton & 25+ years with Flushing). Coach Endicott and his wife have 3 sons and 2 granddaughters.
Photo: Marvin Hall - Studio M Sports (2022)
Chad Guild is entering his 20th year as the Varsity Offensive Line Coach, and his 23rd season overall coaching Grand Ledge High School Football. He spent his first 3 seasons as an Assistant with Freshman and JV. Coach Guild has been a part of 16 playoff seasons during his time coaching at Grand Ledge, including 6 District Finals appearances, 3 district championships, and a Semi-Final appearance in 2015. Coach Guild is a 1997 graduate of Grand Ledge High School. During his time playing at Grand Ledge, he played under Coach O’Keefe as a 3-year starter on the Offensive Line at the Varsity level. He was a Senior Captain, and a 3x All-Conference selection. Additionally, his senior season: he was All-Area, a Lansing State Journal Dream Team selection, and an All-State selection. While a great amount of his success came on the football field as a high school athlete, he also managed to earn Varsity letters as a part of the baseball team, also playing for Coach O’Keefe. Upon graduation in 1997, Coach Guild joined the Grand Rapids Community College football team, playing for them in 1997 and 1998. He was an All-Region selection and Team Captain during his time playing at GRCC. He graduated from GRCC in 1999. After graduating from GRCC, he earned two further degrees from Lansing Community College in 2002 and from Sienna Heights in 2005. Coach Guild and his wife were formerly the owners of First Place Sports in downtown Grand Ledge, taking over for Roger “Moose” Love, for more than 10 years. They have 3 children who all attend Grand Ledge Schools.
Photo: Marvin Hall - Studio M Sports (2022)
Pat McKennon is entering his 16th season at Grand Ledge, and his 17th season overall coaching High School Football. Coach McKennon is a 1999 graduate of Grand Ledge High School. While at Grand Ledge he earned 7 Varsity letters in Football, Wrestling, and Track. On the football field Coach McKennon was part of the first Comet Football Team to be ranked #1 in the state (#17 nationally). During his junior and senior seasons he kicked 7 field goals and was 77-79 on extra points while hitting 41 in a row. Both are still in the MHSAA record books. His senior year he was chosen to be on the Lansing State Journal Football Dream Team. After high school, Coach McKennon received a scholarship to kick at Hillsdale College where he graduated in four years with a major in History and minor in Political Science. After college, Coach McKennon coached receivers and defensive backs at East Lansing High School for one year while helping them to a State Semi-Final berth in 2007. In 2010 he returned to coach kickers at Grand Ledge High School where he has worked with the program for the last 14 seasons. Coach McKennon was a 7th grade teacher in East Lansing for 15 years. In 2021, he accepted a teaching position at Grand Ledge HS. He resides in Grand Ledge with his wife Jamie and two boys Alex and Ben.
Photo: Marvin Hall - Studio M Sports (2021)
Dave Lynch is entering his 7th season at Grand Ledge, and his 24th season overall coaching High School Football. Coach Lynch is a 1985 graduate of Eaton Rapids High School. During his time there playing football, he was a 2-time Varsity letterman in both football and baseball. He earned All-Conference and Academic All-Conference in football as a wide receiver in 1983 and 1984. Coach Lynch was heavily recruited to play college football by three MAC schools: Eastern, Western, and Bowling Green. For personal reasons, Coach Lynch decided to forgo playing college football in order to attend ITT Technical Institute. Before Coach Lynch joined the Grand Ledge Football staff in the summer of 2019, he spent 17 seasons coaching football at Eaton Rapids: 1 season as the Varsity Defensive Coordinator, 6 seasons as a Varsity Assistant, 3 seasons as a JV assistant, and 7 seasons as a Middle School Head Coach. Coach Lynch was a member of the coaching staff under legendary Coach Mike Smith that took Eaton Rapids to the state playoffs for the first time in school history. Doing so in back-to-back seasons, and, subsequently, winning district championships (back-to-back) for the first time in school history in the same seasons in 2013 and 2014. Coach Lynch currently works for the City of Detroit as a Mechanical Inspector. Coach Lynch is also an avid and skilled bowler in the Greater Lansing Area, consistently averaging a score of over 200 per season, with his highest year averaging 226. Coach Lynch has also played competitive, fast-pitch, men’s softball for more than 15 years. Coach Lynch and his wife Claudia have 4 children, and 7 grandchildren.
Photo: Marvin Hall - Studio M Sports (2022)
Phil Cutts is entering his 5th season coaching Grand Ledge High School Football. Coach Cutts is a 1984 graduate of Lansing Eastern High School. During his time there, he was a 3x Varsity letterman in football, 2x letterman in wrestling, & 2x letterman in Track. He would start at defensive end for the 1982 & 1983 football teams, winning the CAC league title and going 8-1 in 1983. He earned All-Conference honors after his senior season in 1983 as a defensive end. As a wrestler, during his senior season (1983-1984), Coach Cutts was an individual League Champ, Regional Runner-Up, State Qualifier, State All-Star Selection; while the team won the CAC (‘83 & ‘84), District Champs, Regional Champs, & was the 1984 State Runner-Up. Coach Cutts also competed in Shot, Discus, & the Mile Relay in track, while winning the league title in discus. Coach Cutts would then earn an Athletic Scholarship to wrestle collegiately at Grand Valley State. He wrestled for 2 seasons at 167 lbs. Coach Cutts began a coaching career at Grand Ledge in 2013 as an Assistant Wrestling Coach. He coached with the Grand Ledge Middle School and High School wrestling programs as an assistant for 4 years, including the interim High School Head Coach in 2018. Coach Cutts has also coached youth sports in Grand Ledge as a Head Coach for 1 season with Girls’ Basketball and 3 years as an assistant coach for Junior Comets Softball. Coach Cutts is entering his 10th school year with Grand Ledge Public Schools and his 9th as the Dean of Students at the High School. He is the proud father of 3 children: Jordan, Justin, and Angelia.
Photo: Marvin Hall - Studio M Sports (2022)
Brad Arnett is entering his 4th season coaching Grand Ledge High School Football, his 3rd season coaching with Varsity, and his 5th overall coaching High School Football. Coach Arnett is a 2009 graduate of Haslett High School. During his time there, he played football all four years, and he was a starting Linebacker for the Varsity squad his final 2 seasons. His senior season in 2008, the team would win the CAAC-Gold League Title, and Coach Arnett would earn All-Conference and All-Area honors as a Linebacker. While a member of the program as a freshman in 2005, the Varsity squad would go 13-1 on their way to being State Runner-Ups. Coach Arnett would then go on to attend Michigan State, graduating in 2013. Coach Arnett began his coaching career at Fowlerville High School in 2020 working with the JV squad. He joined the Grand Ledge Staff as tech support in 2021 before coaching the Freshman defense in 2022. He is entering his 5th school year in Grand Ledge teaching 7th grade health at Beagle Middle School. He and his wife are the proud parents of a daughter.
Photo: Marvin Hall - Studio M Sports (2019)
Rob Currie is entering his 7th season as a Grand Ledge High School Football Coach. He was the Head Freshman Coach in 2019 & 2020 before joining the Varsity staff as an assistant in 2021.
Photo: Marvin Hall - Studio M Sports (2022)
Mark Konieczny is entering his 5th season coaching Grand Ledge High School Football. He was the Head Freshman coach in 2021, and he has spent the last 3 seasons coaching with Varsity.
Photo: Marvin Hall - Studio M Sports (2022)
Brad Durham is entering his 24th season as the equipment coordinator for varsity games as well as the game night statistician. Grand Ledge Football would not be the same, nor would it run as efficiently without the endless help and support from Mr. Durham.