All-Decade Team: Livingston County’s Best Offensive Football Lineup of the Past 10 Years

Editor Barney Woods

If you could create an offense with Livingston County’s best players from the last 10 seasons, it would look something like the list below.

One thing that stands out is that Pinckney could actually create wide receivers, with the Pirates claiming all three spots at that position.

There are 12 players plus a kicker on this list instead of 11 players and a kicker because not every team runs a traditional two-back, two-wide set these days.

Colby Newburg

► School: Brighton

► Senior season: 2019

► Position: Quarterback

► Achievements: Newburg is the only quarterback in Livingston County history to lead his team to a state championship game. In his only season as a starter, Newburg was the epitome of a dual-threat quarterback, throwing for 1,587 yards and 20 touchdowns while rushing for 1,329 yards and 18 scores. He was the county Offensive Player of the Year in 2019.

Joey Clifford

► School: Brighton

► Senior season: 2015

► Position: Running back

► Achievements: Clifford was the most dominant running back in Livingston County in the last 15 years. He racked up 4,072 yards and 50 touchdowns on the ground, rushing for 1,659 yards and 24 touchdowns as a senior. He had three 1,000-yard rushing seasons. Clifford rushed for six touchdowns in the 49-27 victory over Waterford Kettering.

Joey Mattord

► School: Hartlandia

► Senior season: 2022

► Position: Running back

► Achievements: Mattord was the county’s only 1,000-yard rusher in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, rushing for 1,109 yards as a junior and 1,322 as a senior. He finished his career with 2,655 yards and 32 touchdowns on 386 carries before heading to Eastern Michigan as a preferred walk-on. A lacrosse player, Mattord was the county’s 2022-23 Male Athlete of the Year.

Nick Cain

► School: Pinckney

► Senior season: 2017

► Position: Wide receiver

► Achievements: Cain was an explosive player in all three phases of the game as a senior, returning one kick for a touchdown on Pinckney’s first play as a member of the SEC White. He caught 39 passes for 802 yards and 13 touchdowns, had three touchdowns on returns, threw one touchdown pass and had four interceptions as a defensive back. Cain made the Associated Press first team all-state team as a senior.

Nolan Carruthers

► School: Pinckney

► Senior season: 2024

► Position: Wide receiver

► Achievements: Carruthers is the only current player to make the 10-year offensive list because he is already the county’s all-time leader in career receptions with 123 after catching a school-record 68 last fall. He had 1,409 yards and 11 touchdowns. Carruthers enters his senior year as a two-time all-region and all-county selection.

Caleb Wardlow

► School: Pinckney

► Senior season: 2021

► Position: Wide receiver

► Achievements: Wardlow was a rare three-time first-team all-county selection after catching 73 passes for 1,635 yards and 25 touchdowns during his career. He scored on more than half of his receptions as a senior, catching 21 passes for 552 yards and 11 touchdowns. Wardlow was the county Offensive Player of the Year twice.

Jason Wilson

Hartland tight end Jaxson Wilson takes the field with one of his two receptions for 66 yards in 2022.

Hartland tight end Jaxson Wilson takes the field with one of his two catches for 66 yards in 2022. — Hartland tight end Jaxson Wilson takes the field with one of his two receptions for 66 yards in 2022.

► School: Hartlandia

► Senior season: 2022

► Position: Tight finish

► Achievements: Wilson was primarily used to block Mattord in Hartland’s offense, but occasionally showed surprising big-play ability for a big man who is playing defensive line at Michigan State. He caught 18 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown, including two receptions for 66 yards.