Harper Woods

Brave new world

By Brad D. Bates
C & G Sports Writer

Harper Woods football welcomes new era under new coach

HARPER WOODS — The Pioneers nickname at Harper Woods High may never be more appropriate than it is for the school’s 2010 football team.

After decades in the Metro Conference, the Pioneers are striking out as independents following the dissolution of the Metro after the 2009-10 school year, and they do so under a new coach for the first time since 2001.

“It takes kids some time to adjust,” said former coach Heath Filber, who stepped down to spend more time with his family and focus on earning a second degree. “But now, with the proliferation of 7-on-7 drills and all the training teams do, the transitions are easier.

“The biggest thing for the kids tend to be less about schemes and more about the little things and getting used to a new coach.”

That new coach is Brian Barnes, who was most recently the defensive coordinator for Sterling Heights Parkway Christian. His 13-year coaching tenure includes time as an assistant for Pontiac Northern, Birmingham Seaholm and Berkley High.

“At first, everyone was a little bit hesitant because they liked Coach Filber so much,” Barnes said of the transition since he was hired in May. “Coach Filber is a great guy and had a lot of success here, so it’s easy to understand why everyone liked him so much.”


Filber, who was 50-36 at Harper Woods, said Barnes’ love of the game of football is working in his favor as his team transitions.

“I got to know Brian pretty good this summer, and he’s a real good fit for Harper Woods,” Filber said. “Considering it took us so long to find the right fit for the program, we were really lucky to get someone like Brian, with his passion. And that passion is going to make it a lot easier for him to get started here.”

As much as the team enjoyed playing for Filber, who led the Pioneers to four straight winning seasons, including an 11-1 finish in 2007, it is embracing change and the opportunity for further success under Barnes.

“Everyone adapted real quick,” senior lineman Loamoadre Lewis said. “I like our key players that we have back, and we’re real excited for game one.”

Lewis leads a group of returning players who will have to learn a completely new offensive system under Barnes, whose spread is as far as a team can get from the old power running game used by the Pioneers.

“It’s going to be a lot easier actually,” Lewis said. “For us linemen, it’s easier because all our blocking is real simple — just straight ahead.”

Barnes said his offense will be a true spread, with multiple receivers. He added that the switch was dictated as much by the Pioneers’ personnel as it was by his coaching philosophy.

“Part of it was the type of guys we have,” Barnes said. “Our guys are not very big, but they’re very athletic.”

While the offense is changing, Barnes said he wanted to make sure some parts of the program went unchanged in order to keeps ties to its roots.

“All the chants and sayings the kids have, we kept all that,” Barnes said. “We’ve invited all the alumni to come back and speak with the kids, and Coach Filber is still around and drops by, so that’s been great.

“We know they did some pretty good things here, and we want to keep those things around.”

Another trend Barnes hopes to keep around is on the defensive side of the ball, where Harper Woods held opponents to less than seven points in three of its five wins in 2009.

“We’ll still play the same scheme we did last year,” Barnes said of the defense. “More than that though, we’re keeping the focus on our defense playing fast and physical. We don’t want the guys thinking too much. We want them playing fast and reacting.”

Along with accepting the challenge of learning a new playbook, the Pioneers are also looking forward to the challenge of facing new opponents in their first year out of the Metro Conference.

“As much as playing in the Metro was great with all our rivals, once we started playing other teams and getting fresh challenges, it was rejuvenating,” Filber said of the Pioneers’ schedule after teams like Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest and Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett left the Metro before it dissolved.

“One of the knocks against the Metro was that it was a weaker brand of football, so it was nice to go out and prove ourselves against different teams.”

Which is why, for players like Lewis, the chance to put his new coaches’ words into action against new competition can’t come soon enough.

“Our first game is going to let us know how we did laying the foundation,” Lewis said. “That first game against Center Line is what it’s all about.”

Harper Woods faces Center Line High at 7 p.m. Aug. 26 at home.

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Brad D. Bates at bbates@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1029.