Bear Lake Coach Invited to NFL Forum
January 25, 2019
By Chris Dobrowolski
Special for Second Half
BEAR LAKE — Samantha Mullet lives and breathes football.
Mullet figures to be right in her element then when she takes part in the National Football League’s “Women’s Careers in Football Forum” over Feb. 26-27 in Indianapolis.
The Bear Lake assistant football coach is among a select group of 40 invitees to the event, which is in its third year and includes panel discussions, presentations and breakout sessions in an effort to connect female candidates for positions as coaches, trainers, officials, scouts and front office personnel. The forum was developed as part of the NFL’s interest in expanding diversity and providing opportunities for women in football.
“It’s a really big honor,” said Mullet, who has been the Lakers’ offensive coordinator the last two years. “I’m really grateful for the opportunity to go and learn more about football — all aspects of the game at different levels and be able to bring that back to Bear Lake.”
Bear Lake athletic director Karen Leinaar was contacted by the NFL in November about having Mullet apply to attend the forum. The league then selected the 40 invitees from a collection of nationwide applicants. Leinaar believes the publicity Mullet received from video features done by Fox Sports Detroit and local CBS affiliate WWTV tipped the NFL to extend the offer for Mullet to apply.
“Between those two things, that caught the eye of someone at the NFL front office,” said Leinaar. “I had never heard of this forum. They contacted me and asked if I would give them Sam’s information, and I said, ‘Oh my gosh, yes.’ Here’s a young lady who loves the game and has literally sunk her soul into the game. It’s amazing, and this is a great opportunity for her.”
Mullet is a 2013 graduate of Bear Lake, where she played basketball, golf and ran cross country. But the school didn’t get its own football program until an 8-player squad was established in 2017 — just as Mullet was returning home after earning a bachelor’s degree in English from Concordia University-Ann Arbor.
She approached her high school science teacher, John Prokes, who had been named the head coach of the program and asked him if she could help in any capacity. Prokes surprised Mullet by inviting her to help design the new team’s offense. She followed through with so much proficiency that Prokes extended an offer for her to join his coaching staff.
“I said, ‘Here’s an offense I’m thinking of running; can you outline this and tweak it? Let’s go over it and help me organize this offense,’” Prokes recalled. “It started from there. Next thing you know, she took over. She started incorporating her ideas and just running with it. It was a no-brainer. I told her, ‘You’re good at this. You’re hard-working on it. You take it to that 11th level. You run our offense.’”
Mullet has proven to have a great football mind in the two years she’s been with the program, added Prokes.
“I’ve encountered a lot of people, and I’m not just saying this because she’s my assistant coach and working with me, but she’s one of the most knowledgeable people in football that I know,” he said. “When I found out she was selected for this, and she had the opportunity to share experiences and network with other people in the field, I was extremely excited and pumped for her.”
Despite not playing on the gridiron, football has always been a part of Mullet’s life. Her family has had season tickets to Michigan State games for the past 20 years, and she picked up a great deal of knowledge about football along the way.
“We always went to football games as a family,” she said. “Football is something I’ve loved forever, for as long as I can remember. I’m really grateful to be able to turn a passion into a career. A lot of people don’t get the opportunity to do something they love for work. I’m really grateful that football has become for me something I can do and something I can share with other people because the game means a lot to me.”
Mullet’s passion for football has only deepened through coaching, as has her understanding of the game.
“I spend all my time now watching film and researching different things,” she said. “My knowledge has definitely increased, even more than I thought it could. I just love the game in so many more ways, seeing all the different levels that you don’t see being in the stands.”
Besides coaching football, Mullet also serves as Leinaar’s assistant in the athletic department and is the school’s yearbook advisor. Her dream job, however, would be to become an offensive coordinator in the NFL.
“I think that would be the ultimate thing,” she said. “Just to gain that perspective from that sideline and all the things that happen in a week there. To be completely immersed in football all the time and not have to have a different part-time job, to be completely absorbed in football would be amazing.”
Leinaar thinks the connections Mullet could make at the upcoming forum might open new doors in the world of football, perhaps even allowing Mullet to someday get a position at the highest level of the sport.
“I’m hoping that she gets an opportunity to keep going in football,” said Leinaar. “I think the sky is the limit for her. She would truly like to see what’s there at the next level and how they do some of the things they do. I think if somebody gave her an opportunity to work in one of their front offices, she’d be there in a heartbeat.”
Chris Dobrowolski has covered northern Lower Peninsula sports since 1999 at the Ogemaw County Herald, Alpena News, Traverse City Record-Eagle and currently as sports editor at the Antrim Kalkaska Review since 2016. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
VIDEO: Fox Sports Detroit featured the Bear Lake 8-player football program during its first season in 2017. The above photo is taken from that video.
Lumen Christi Accomplishes Program First with 4th-Straight Finals Title
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 28, 2025
DETROIT – As Jackson Lumen Christi lined up to exchange postgame handshakes with Kingsley following its fourth-straight victory in a football Final, Foreigner’s “Feels Like the First Time” rang out through the Ford Field speakers.
The 28-14 victory in Friday’s Division 6 Final was actually the record 15th time for the Titans, and 14th for coach Herb Brogan.
But as far as he was concerned, only this one mattered in the moment. So, good call, Ford Field DJ.
“(Winning a fourth straight) is important, but what’s most important is the accomplishments of this team, this year,” Brogan said. “Every team is different. But, the fact that we had never won four (in a row), we had one opportunity and didn’t take advantage of it, that was certainly in our conversation all year long. Something we kind of stressed to the kids that we’ve done some great things, but nobody has ever done this. Our slogan was ‘Leave Your Mark,’ and their mark is they were able to do something no other team has been able to do before.”
Friday marked the second-straight Division 6 title for the Titans, who had won in Division 7 in 2022 and 2023. Lumen Christi previously had won three straight championships one other time, from 2016-18.
While it was a tight game that was in doubt into the fourth quarter, for Brogan it was won with actions taken just days after the 2024 title win.
“I think the formula is pretty simple, and that’s to work hard,” Brogan said. “At the conclusion of the game last week, I pulled out my phone and showed the kids two pictures of two kids on this year’s team leaning out the back doors of the weight room last year throwing up. What makes that special is not what they were doing, because that happens all over the state. What makes that special is that was taken on the Monday after our state championship game.”
A fourth-quarter surge from Lumen Christi was what won the game on the field, as the Titans offense awoke from a Kingsley-induced two-quarter slumber to find its footing.
It started with a blocked 34-yard field goal attempt by Jake Contat with the game tied at 14.
That was followed by an eight-play, 72-yard drive which took up 4 minutes, 38 seconds of game time and was finished with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Benny Gaston to Johnny Walters.
With Kingsley driving near midfield on the next possession, Walters came up big again, this time with an interception.
“There was just a lot of energy, we were real excited,” Walters said. “But we knew it wasn’t over yet, and we had to keep going.”
The Titans did keep going, putting the game away with a 34-yard touchdown run by Sean Walicki with 2:20 to play. A fumble recovery on Kingsley’s next offensive play made it official.
“I have great respect for Kingsley, the players and the coaching staff. I thought they were really well-prepared and played really hard,” Brogan said. “... In the fourth quarter, I thought our offensive line really took over and controlled the line of scrimmage and allowed us to move the football.”
The end of the game was much like the beginning for the Titans (11-3), who jumped out to a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter as Ayden Gatewood scored on a 25-yard run and Walicki broke off a 60-yard score.
But Kingsley (11-3) was unfazed, answering Walicki’s score with a 10-play, 62-yard drive that ended with a one-yard run by Andrew George.
It looked as though the Titans would take that 14-7 lead into the half, but Kingsley downed a punt on the one-yard line with 21 seconds left, and forced and recovered a fumble as the Titans attempted to run the clock out on the half.
Nolan Hodges came away with the ball at the 3, and while it was originally ruled that the Lumen Christi runner was down, review overturned the call.
One play later, Tucker Dreves found Gavin Lewis in the corner of the endzone for a touchdown, and the game entered the half tied at 14.
“I think the first thing that we always say about our kids is that we have fighters,” Kingsley co-coach Jason Morrow said. “We obviously didn’t play well in the first six minutes of that game, and you can’t take a team as talented and as well-coached as they are and spot them 14 points. But, incredibly proud of our kids. We go into the fourth quarter and it’s 14-14 and we had an opportunity because we have fighters.”
Those fighters really showed up on defense, as Kingsley held Lumen Christi to just 40 yards of offense between that second drive and the two game-changing fourth quarter drives.
Colton Goethals, Lewis and Hodges each had six tackles to lead that defensive effort. Lewis added 117 yards rushing to lead the Kingsley offense.
Walicki had a massive defensive effort to match his big day on offense, recording a game-high 17 tackles. On the other side of the ball, he rushed 11 times for 142 yards and the two touchdowns.
Gaston finished the day 8-of-13 passing for 111 yards and the touchdown to Walters. Antwon Baker and Brennan Brogan each added eight tackles for the Titans.
PHOTOS (Top) Lumen Christi’s Johnny Walters (8) and Nolan Huff (21) break up a pass intended for Kingsley’s Alex Figueroa (87) on Friday at Ford Field. (Middle) The Stags’ Tucker Dreves (9) closes in on a Titans ball carrier. (Below) Kingsley’s Andrew George (8) works to bring down Wes Learned.