Warren

Inspired and winning

By Mike Moore
C & G Staff Writer

Warren Lincoln football finds success playing for missing coach

WARREN — It was a team that returned 15 starters and an incredible amount of confidence coming into the season.

It was a team that, without hesitation, would tell you how it expected to improve on last season’s 5-4 record and make the playoffs for the third time in program history.

But before things could get rolling, before the first ball was snapped and all that confidence could be put to the test, it became a team without a head coach.

Warren Lincoln football coach John Moher expected to be on the sidelines in 2008. Instead, the longtime leader of the Abes has been dealing with complications from hip replacement surgery.

He’s been fighting infections and dealing with rehab and hospital stays.  But most of all, he’s been an inspiration to the players who still call him “coach.”

“He’s on our minds and in our hearts all the time,” senior linebacker Steve Convery said from an Oct. 1 practice. “We wish he could be here with us, but we’re playing for him.”

While there have been no, “win one for the gipper,” speeches, according to current coach Mike Bainbridge, the team has played inspired football since the year began. Heading into their Oct. 3 game against St. Clair Shores Lakeview, the Abes were 4-1 overall and atop the Macomb Area Conference Bronze Division with a perfect 3-0 record.

“The goal coming into this season, no matter who the coach was, was to get to the playoffs,” said Bainbridge, who is in his eighth year with the team and usually acts as the defensive coordinator.

“With John not being here, they have dedicated their effort and performance to him. He’s always on their minds, but they planned on having a good year regardless. This is a great group of kids who had some pretty high expectations.”

Lincoln has qualified for the state playoffs just twice in the program’s history, in 1987 and 2000, and has never won a playoff game.

“People look past the Lincoln program,” said senior quarterback Donovan Durham, who has Moher’s name written on his towel each game. “To make it this year, and win a few games and prove to people this is a program to be recognized, would be a huge deal for us.”

Durham, Convery and Bainbridge all said the team has regular contact with Moher, either by phone or in person. Players talk about games and practices, while Bainbridge said he is constantly seeking advice. Needless to say, Moher still has a hand in this season, even though his hip is holding him back.

“The guys have made me pretty proud,” Moher said. “I think this is the kind of season a lot of people were planning for us to have. … The senior leadership has been so strong, and that’s something I could see happening.

"They were so serious in the offseason about working and improving, and getting stronger in every facet of the game. I think a lot of them have learned how to be men this season. They’re no longer boys.”

They’re also no longer a team to look past. Just two regular-season wins from ending a seven-year playoff drought and one postseason win from rewriting the history books, almost anything seems possible for the players with the word “Abes” on their helmets and the name “Moher” in their hearts.

“You go in our gym, and the football banner doesn’t have very much on it,” Convery said. “We want to change all that. We want to change it this year.”

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Mike Moore at mmoore@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1038.