There was a time not that long ago that the Farmington Hills Harrison football team thought this season would be their last.
“I doubt if there’s any other states around that they had a program like this that they would even consider shutting down,” says head coach John Herrington.
Coach Herrington has been running the varsity football program here since it debuted in 1970. Now they’re almost always in contention for a state title and it’s all because of him.
“He makes you love the game even more. Just seeing how happy he is make you want to keep this winning streak that he has,” says senior running back and linebacker Brendan Brown.
After the school board voted to close the school that streak now has a set expiration date.
“It’s still an elephant in the room for me. I love this game, it’s all I’ve done my whole life and personally I don’t want to see it end,” says Herrington.
Right now the 2018-19 season is supposed to be the last one for the football team at Farmington Hills Harrison, but Coach Herrington three years is still a lot of time left to fight and he’s not ready to give up on his Hawks.
“There’s going be a change in the board, we got two members and we’re looking for more. And I think once they see that and how important this school is and the tradition that we have here they can change their mind and keep us open,” says Herrington.
“If he’s willing not to quit, we aren’t either and we’re going to go out there and play for him as much as he out here every day coaching for us. We want to give him back the same effort that he’s giving us,” says senior running back and linebacker Mike Knox.
Even with the looming shutdown, Herrington says the team isn’t the least bit distracted. “I haven’t seen it. They don’t talk about it, and it does not seem to be a concern.”
“We’re not really worried about the school closing. We’re trying to go out and do our thing. We’re trying to get as far into the playoffs as we can and win as many games as we can,” says seniorleft tackle Lindon Ivezic.
Just a few days into practice, the Hawks already sound confident they’ll contend yet again.
