PREP FOOTBALL STATE FINALS FRIDAY NOTEBOOK: Harrington’s 13th title the latest in Harrison’s historic lore
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
DETROIT — John Herrington is as experienced as anyone when it comes to coaching in the high school football state finals in Michigan.
On Friday at Ford Field in Detroit, he coached in his 17th prep football state finals game, a stat few in the country can match when it comes to team sports in the high school ranks. In 41 years, Herrington has amassed a stellar 376-87-1 record over a span of 41 seasons. The latest win was a 38-28, come-from-behind victory over Lowell, which came in the Division 2 state finals.
The state title moves the legendary Herrington’s record to 13-4 in state title games, best all-time in state history.
“It never gets old,” smiled Herrington, whose team finished a perfect 14-0 this season.
While Herrington has coached in as many state title games as his current seniors have been alive — 17 — this is the first experience of playing on the season’s final weekend for the current players.
Harrison last reached the Division 3 state title game in 2006, falling to East Grand Rapids, 42-17. The Hawks last title came in 2001, also in D-3, with a 28-6 win over Fruitport.
“We got to the finals in 1976 and I didn’t know if we’d ever get back,” admitted Herrington, whose Hawks lost the Class A state title game 36-27 to Midland Dow that year.
The players every year that don a Hawks’ football jersey have a lot to live up to on the grid-iron.
“It’s an honor to play at Harrison,” said senior QB Tommy Vento, who was 19-for-32 passing for 310 yards and three touchdown passes. “With everything they have done (over the years), it’s some big shoes to fill.”
TOUGH ROAD: With all of its playoffs success and 13 state titles, Herrington thought that this year’s team may have played the toughest schedule between the regular season and playoffs.
The Hawks defeated state powerhouse Birmingham Brother rice (37-27), Berkley (28-13), Warren DeLaSalle (33-23), Grosse Pointe South (51-0) and Lowell (38-28) for this year’s title. The Hawks also handed Division 1 state finalist Lake Orion its only regular-season loss (28-6), along with wins over playoffs teams Rochester Adams, Farmington and Novi during the regular season.
SAUGATUCK BACK ON MAP: The west Michigan town of Saugatuck has never left the state map. The tiny little hamlet, south of Holland, is a popular resort community for many in the travelers in Midwest.
The high school football program did fall off the face of the earth a decade ago. The school board opted to drop the program in 2000, forcing the school to have a co-op program with nearby Class B school Holland Christian.
Coach Bill Dunn was the head coach on the staff that resurrected the program in 2003 and in his eighth season, led the Indians to the Division 8 runner-up trophy.
LONG WAIT FOR TITLE: Ithaca, a Class C farm town south of Mount Pleasant, won its first ever state title in football with its 45-35 triumph over Monroe St Mary Catholic Central.
It marked the Yellowjackets first state in any sport since 1974, when the boys golf team won the Class C state title. Before that, the school’s boys cross-country won a crown back in 1954.
The football team reached the state semifinals last November.
Ithaca coach Terry Hessbrook was also a player on the Yellowjackets’ first-ever team that reached the state playoffs, and that was in the Class C tournament back in 1984.
THE BOOT: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart’s first state title in football came with one state-finals record. In the second half, punter Matt Mills’ sent the ball 74 yards on his third-quarter boot.
“When it happened, I didn’t even know it was a record,” said a surprised Mills.
Mills was quite active in the game elsewhere, as he had four catches for 97 yards and one touchdown to go along with a game-high 184 all-purpose yards. He also filled in on the Fighting Irish secondary.
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Category: Editor's Column, Prep Wraps, Publishers Viewpoint
