Farmington Hills, Farmington

Setting the standard

By Christian Davis
C & G Staff Writer

Farmington Hills Harrison football battling for playoff appearance

FARMINGTON HILLS — Farmington Hills Harrison football coach John Herrington sat in his office Oct. 2 preparing for yet another practice.

The veteran coach has been in the business for 46 years, 39 of them with Harrison, which just so happens to be the number of years Harrison has had a program.

In that time, Harrison has compiled 12 state championships — tied with Detroit DePorres for the most all time — 354 victories and 31 playoff appearances. Since 1986, Harrison has missed out on the postseason only twice, with its last state title coming in 2001.

So, just as everyone knows the leaves will eventually turn to shades of red in the fall, football fans can count on seeing the same green and yellow uniforms race up and down the sidelines during the postseason.

Herrington approaches the gaudy numbers with modesty.         

“We established a good tradition back in probably ‘74,” the coach said. “The players coming in expected to win, and we’ve kept our coaching staff pretty stable … we’ve been fortunate to have some pretty good players here.”

For as many years as the coach has put into football, he admits that some days are tougher than others when it comes to putting in the necessary time to stay on top, but it’s his passion for the game that keeps him coming back.

“So they say about (football), ‘It makes men out of boys, but it lets men become boys again, too.’ That’s kind of it,” he said.

The Hawks were 4-3 after a 32-14 loss to Rochester Adams and will most likely have to win their final two games to qualify for the postseason.

Current senior captains Steve Pelletier and Marcel Eadie said they are very aware of what their jerseys represent.

“You feel a responsibility to keep the tradition going — to keep the respect of the program,” Pelletier said. “It kind of gives the motivation to practice hard and work hard.”

Eadie said it’s also motivating knowing each opponent they take on would like nothing more than to knock off the powerhouse.

“That fires us up,” he said. “We know any team we’re playing, they’re going to be giving their best. So, we have to bring our best.”

“A lot of teams, if they beat Harrison, that makes their season,” Pelletier added. “So, we definitely have to come out with our best. No week is a given. It makes it fun.”

For as much as Herrington wants his players to understand the tradition they are part of, the coach also knows they can’t rest on past glories.

“That’s one of the lines that we use. ‘You don’t win by just going out and saying you’re Harrison. You have to work for it,’” the coach said.

Herrington believes the current crop of Hawks have the talent to make a run in the playoffs, but added that they need to become more consistent on offense.

Pelletier agreed with his coach.

“We can go as far as we want to go as long as we keep working hard,” he said. “It all comes from working hard at practice.”       

Next up for Harrison is a 7 p.m. Oct. 17 game at Clarkston (5-2). The Hawks close out the season at 7 p.m. Oct. 24 at home against Rochester Hills Stoney Creek (3-4).    

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Christian Davis at cdavis@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1062.