Looking Back: A Challenging 2025 Season with Bright Individual Performances
The 2025 campaign was a grind for Dansville. The Aggies finished just 1-7 overall (0-5 in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference) despite having high hopes in the offseason. Last year's struggles continued a stretch of difficult seasons that saw the program win just one game across the prior three years.
Consistency and depth proved elusive against a tough schedule, yet individual efforts provided clear signs of progress and potential. At quarterback, Mayson Burgett (Class of 2027) shouldered a heavy load as a dual-threat athlete and elite special teams weapon, despite only playing Quarterback in the final 3 games of the season due to a complex dislocation in his throwing elbow in the preseason scrimmage against East Jackson. The 6-foot, 200-pound signal-caller completed 46 of 105 passes for 544 yards and six touchdowns. His standout performance came in the team’s lone victory, a 34-14 win over Vestaburg High School on October 24, when he threw for 185 yards and was responsible for three scores. Burgett also earned multiple Player of the Game honors throughout the year and ranked among the state’s top punters with a 44.5-yard average—good for No. 2 in Michigan.
On the other side of the ball and in the backfield, Kane Romano (Class of 2027) emerged as a high-motor force. The 5-foot-8, 190-pound linebacker/running back piled up more than 88 tackles across eight games while adding meaningful production on offense. Romano rushed for 246 yards on 64 carries (3.8 yards per attempt). His ability to impact both sides of the ball made him a constant presence.
Supporting the featured duo were several other key pieces. Cash Clark (WR/DB, Class of 2027) provided a reliable target and return threat, hauling in 29 receptions for 310 yards and two touchdowns while posting strong kick-return averages. Chris Matyas (DL/OL, Class of 2027) brought physicality up front and recorded 62 total tackles (7.8 per game) along with a fumble recovery. Freshman standout James St. Amant (Class of 2029) already showed advanced production with 46 tackles and three sacks, giving the program an exciting long-term building block on the line. As well as, many other contributing forces including a slew of Freshman athletes that jumped into varsity ball immediately upon beginning their high school career. These performances, even amid the team’s overall record, underscored a group of young players competing with toughness and developing chemistry under the previous leadership.
The Offseason: Focused Development and Momentum!
Once the 2025 season concluded, the real work began. Romano, Burgett, and their teammates approached the offseason with clear purpose. Training emphasis centered on physical maturation, positional refinement, film study, and mental toughness—the exact areas that separate good high school players from those ready to elevate a program and attract next-level interest. Both Romano and Burgett have been highly active #NXTGENELITE athletes, learning how to become more mature, utilizing the tools NXTGen provides to better position themselves to become college-ready athletes, and showcasing their film, tracking development, and ultimately connecting with college coaches and programs.
That work is already paying dividends: Romano has collected official offers from Detroit Christian Community College (JuCo) & Trine University (D-III - Indiana), while Burgett has drawn interest and secured his first offer recently from Adrian College (D-III - Michigan). The continued presence of Clark, Matyas, and the emerging St. Amant in the same developmental pipeline has helped foster a shared standard of accountability and preparation across the class of 2027 and beyond.
With a new voice at the top of the program—longtime college coach Dr. Jeff Hancock, hired in February 2026—the offseason also carried a sense of reset and renewed direction. Hancock brings experience building programs from the ground up, and the returning core has embraced the opportunity to set a new cultural tone.
Looking Ahead: Process, Goals, and the 2026 Horizon
Heading into the 2026 season, Dansville sits at an inflection point. The Aggies feature a significant returning nucleus of Class of 2027 talent that has already logged meaningful varsity experience, as well as a plethora of emerging talent from the Class of 2029.
Despite the talent positives that Dansville will be featuring, they'll have a learning curve to deal with as well, in addition to a new Head Coach, Dansville's third in four seasons, they'll also face the challenge of making the move to 8-Man football. This means they'll be facing a new line up of opponents, most of which they are unfamiliar, as well as the 8-Man rule format and game structure that will be brand new to this program.
However, the word on the street is that the players are focused, relieved, and excited to get to work when the MHSAA High School Football season officially kicks off on August 1st, 2026. I've been told the goals are simple: "turn the page, start fresh, play as a team, win a bunch of games and make the playoffs." It sounds like a great starting point for a program who is hitting the reset button with momentum already on their side!
When asked about the outlook on resetting under Coach Hancock and moving to 8 man this year, Dansville’s Athletic Director, Jeff Dassance, stated “Dansville has been working hard all offseason and summer and we’re eager to start our first season in the 8-man division. Coach Jeffery Hancock takes over a talented roster that will be led by upperclassmen and the strength of the team will be its skill players. The Aggies also plan to field a JV 8-man team again for the first time in several years. Go Aggies!”
Future Aggie Updates
In the coming days NXTGEN plans to release exclusive interviews from some of the #NXTGENELITE athletes from the program, Kane Romano & Mayson Burgett. These interviews will you give you a first hand perspective of how things are shaping up on and off the field for this team, as well as offer a deeper look at their journeys this offseason that played a part in obtaining the college offers they hold, and their personal goals for their senior seasons ahead.
We're also excited to announce that we will be out in full force for at least one game on their upcoming 2026 season schedule, on September 25th, when the Aggies will host, 2025 State Championship Runner-Up, the Montabella Mustangs and #NXTGENELITE student-athlete, QB, Gabe Kauffman.
The Athletes:
We, at NXTGEN, look forward to continuing our work with Romano and Burgett during their recruitment journey, and greatly appreciate them taking the time to chat with us ahead of the season.
We also are looking forward to following the journey of the entire Dansville Aggies football program, including the previous mentioned athletes: Chris Matyas, Cash Clark, James St. Amant, as well as the rest of the roster.
As far as the Montabella Mustangs and Gabe Kauffman go, we can't wait to cover, what is sure to be, a thrilling matchup between them and the Aggies in late September. We look forward to supporting both programs and their success' before, during, and after the contest! Good luck to both programs!
