Warren

Back on the football map

By Mike Moore
C & G Staff Writer

Fitzgerald football has one of its most successful seasons in 30 years

WARREN — Rarely, if ever, does a high school football coach look back on an entire season and say it was a year played without a regret of any sort.

Rarely, but not never.

“I told the kids afterwards there wasn’t a single regret we could have about anything we did all year,” Warren Fitzgerald coach Jason Byers said about his team’s season, which came to a close Nov. 15 in a 21-17 loss to Bloomfield Hills Lahser in a Division 3 regional final. “We’d still love to be playing, obviously, but we lost in a game where our guys fought and battled to the very end. There was plenty to be proud of.”

The Spartans wrapped up the season with a 10-2 overall record, it was the program’s first 10-win season since 1979. They also earned a Macomb Area Conference Silver Division title and won the program its first district title since 1979 after a 10-0 victory against St. Clair Shores Lake Shore Nov. 8.

“This season has really been a work in progress for the past three years,” said Byers, whose 2007 squad ended the program’s 22-game losing streak with a win in the opening week of the season. “We’ve had a lot of kids play with this group for three seasons. The lessons we learned and the chemistry we were able to build was incredible.”

Byers, who was named the MAC Silver Coach of the Year, also stressed his satisfaction of helping put Fitzgerald back on the football map.

The Spartans have now put together back-to-back winning seasons, and it’s that consistency he knows his team must find ways to uphold.

“People took notice of what we accomplished, and realize we can be successful like the other teams in Warren,” he said. “The main thing we have to build on is the fact the great programs are consistent. … We have the potential to bring back a lot of talent next season. Now it’s our challenge to get kids in the weight room, get them working and get them stronger. Two years of success is nice, but we can only hope it’s just the beginning.”

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