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Suttons Bay football chain gang leader Jim Harrelson plants his down marker on the sideline during Wednesday’s middle school game with Onekama.

Longtime Crew Leader Harrelson Begins 32nd Season on Chains, Amid Cancer Fight

By Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com

September 11, 2026

First down! Move the chains.

Northern Lower PeninsulaAs a member of the Suttons Bay chain gang, Jim Harrelson doesn’t know how many more times he’ll follow the referee crew’s direction on the Norsemen sideline. Similarly, he has no idea how many times he’s already moved the chains.

But, in the meantime, every time he does, it will undoubtedly be a school record. An unofficial record of course, but a well-earned and appreciated achievement nonetheless.

Harrelson stepped on the field Wednesday night sporting a down marker for the 32nd straight year. This time, it was for the Norse’s middle school contest with Onekama. Harrelson was joined by Curt Murphy and Dave Faught. Mike Gordon, another regular member of the crew, was also on hand to celebrate Harrelson’s 32nd season. 

Wednesday’s chain gang team was organized – no surprise – by Harrelson. It’s something he’s done on a volunteer basis for Suttons Bay the last 16 years.

Harrelson’s crews have staffed middle school, junior varsity and varsity football games, including the home contests during the Norsemen’s three straight seasons from 2019-21 that culminated in three trips to 8-Player Division 1 Finals. Harrelson, Faught, Murphy and Gordon are in their 10th season working together.

“The chain gang was always his baby, and he was always able to go find other people to help him out,” said Doug Periard, a long-time member of the Norse football coaching staff and former school athletic director. “Somehow he managed to get some of those who might not have done much in football, to suddenly come on board and enjoy doing it.”

Harrelson, who last spring retired from a coaching career spanning 35 years, has no intentions of letting anything get in the way of holding the down marker for the Norsemen.

Harrelson shakes hands with referee Ed Blough.“I've always loved sports, and being a part of the chain gang was always big part of it,” Harrelson said. “The ADs didn’t have to worry about it, knowing it was taken care of.”

Jamie Hawkins, Suttons Bay’s principal and current athletic director, was on hand for Wednesday’s kickoff as well. Hawkins, one of the administrators who has relied on Harrelson, believes the community owes Harrelson a huge thank you, acknowledging he has marked more first downs than anyone could ever comprehend.

“Jim’s years as a coach and chain gang chief are an amazing commitment to our student-athletes, our football program, and the entire Suttons Bay community,” said Hawkins. “His time, energy, and passion have been a part of countless Friday nights and memories for generations of Norsemen.”

Harrelson, now 82, is battling cancer for the second time in his life. He was first diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2010. Early this year, he was told cancer had returned.

Working with doctors and his wife of 53 years, Brenda, Harrelson picked a six-week treatment plan this summer timing it so he could return to the sidelines for the first football game. He’s awaiting word from his medical team on the outcome of the most recent treatment.

“I haven't let it dominate my life – everybody's going to have trials and tribulations no matter what,” Harrelson said of his cancer return. “Cancer is something that thousands of people find themselves having to deal with, and I'm pretty proud I've been able to function pretty much as normal as could be even though it’s obviously right there in front of me.”

Harrelson’s coaching journey began in 1991 with softball, drawn into the role as his children made their way through the Suttons Bay school system. He went on to serve as an assistant and head volleyball coach from 1996 through 2004.

Eventually he served as an assistant or head coach for Suttons Bay in golf, cross country and track.

Harrelson stands for a photo with Suttons Bay principal and athletic director Jamie Hawkins, far left, past athletic director Doug Periard, far right, and his chain gang of (from left) Dave Faught, Curt Murphy and Mike Gordon. Among the highlights of his time on the volleyball bench was helping guide the 2001 squad all the way to the MHSAA Finals, where the team earned a runner-up finish in Class C.

A short while ago, Harrelson was honored with the Don Lukens Legacy Award at the Traverse City Record-Eagle John Lober Honor Roll Meet for his coaching of student-athletes from all four Leelanau County schools – Maple City Glen Lake, Leland, Lake Leelanau St. Mary’s and Northport (with some of that coaching was made possible through the schools becoming a part of a co-op with Suttons Bay).

Much of Harrelson’s coaching was on a purely volunteer basis – even while serving as a head coach responsible for running an entire program.

Now, Harrelson’s favorite thing is watching his grandchildren grow and compete in sports, while admiring his adult children’s great parenting.

Harrelson points to his first grandchild’s birth 15 years ago as a prime motivator during the first cancer round. The Harrelsons have seven grandchildren now, one of whom was playing volleyball Wednesday night for Suttons Bay’s middle school team – with Grandma in the stands.

And while he’s remembered fondly by Leelanau athletes and athletic directors for his coaching commitment and success, Harrelson has only one thought for his family legacy.

“I just hope if I’m remembered for anything by my grandchildren and my kids is that I handled cancer pretty well without letting it affect me in any way, shape, or form in how I behave, how I coach or whatever,” Harrelson said. “I am pretty doggone proud of the fact that I've been able to put that on the table and still be able to function.”

Periard already views Harrelson as a great student-athlete advocate and solution finder.

“It was an incredible amount of time he put in doing the stuff he did and how much he loved it,” recalled Periard. “Cross country, track, whatever he was called upon, he was there to help out. He's a jack of all trades, a great kids guy at heart.”

Harrelson enjoys a break in the shade. Harrelson’s first paid coaching job was as an assistant for track in 2006. At the time he was hired by Cody Ingils, then the Suttons Bay athletic director and now a senior assistant director for the MHSAA.

Harrelson asked Inglis a decade ago to delivery his eulogy someday upon the veteran coach’s passing.

“Jim also always wanted the best for kids at every turn, and he wanted to be a positive force in kids’ lives – and I think Jim's ultimate takeaway is he met the kids where they were and tried to make sure that they got better,” Inglis said. “Jim was able to work with elite athletes, and he was able to work with kids that had never done that sport before. And that was the beauty of his coaching, is that it applied to anybody and everybody because of his positive way of dealing with kids.”

Harrelson, who points to track as his favorite sport to coach because of the camaraderie, is ready to keep moving the down marker as he battles the return of cancer.

“What I've been experiencing is part of who I am,” Harrelson said. “It’s just the cards I've been dealt.  I just want to do it with class if I can.”

Tom SpencerTom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. 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.

PHOTOS (Top) Suttons Bay football chain gang leader Jim Harrelson plants his down marker on the sideline during Wednesday’s middle school game with Onekama. (2) Harrelson shakes hands with referee Ed Blough. (3) Harrelson stands for a photo with Suttons Bay principal and athletic director Jamie Hawkins, far left, past athletic director and longtime coach Doug Periard, far right, and his chain gang of (from left) Dave Faught, Curt Murphy and Mike Gordon. (4) Harrelson enjoys a break in the shade. (Top and sitting photos by Meredith McNabb Photography. Others by Tom Spencer.)

Muskegon's Jakob Price (20) finds room to run in his team's win over DeWitt.

1st & Goal: 2022 11-Player Semifinals Review

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

November 21, 2022

This season's 11-Player Football Finals field is set. And it's fair to expect phenomenal after how this weekend's Semifinals played out. 

MI Student AidBoth Division 1 games went to overtime. The Division 5 and Division 8 Semifinals produced Ford Field matchups of undefeated contenders. Three reigning champions advanced, as did two teams that won Semifinals for the first time and two more that won their first during the lifetimes of the players on their rosters this fall. 

And that's just a sample of what's to come, as we'll preview all eight matchups Wednesday. For today, we're taking a glance back at all 16 games from a snowy, stormy and mostly frigid but forever memorable Friday and Saturday. 

Division 1

SEMIFINAL Belleville 29, Detroit Cass Tech 28 (OT) Arguably the game of the weekend was played Friday night as Belleville took an early 14-0 lead, got behind 21-14, scored with 1:04 left in regulation to force overtime, then answered Cass Tech’s overtime touchdown with a score and game-winning 2-point conversion. The reigning Division 1 champion Tigers improved to 13-0, while the Technicians finished 9-4. Click for more from MLive-Detroit.

SEMIFINAL Caledonia 21, Clarkston 0 An anticipated offense back-and-forth turned into one of the most impressive defensive performances in the state this season as Caledonia shut out a Clarkston offense averaging nearly 41 points per game. The Fighting Scots (12-1) will be playing in their first Final since winning the Division 3 title in 2005. Clarkston finished 10-3. Click for more from the Grand Rapids Press.

Division 2

SEMIFINAL Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central 20, Dexter 17 (2OT) A Forest Hills Central defense that has been a big part of the story all season showed well again as the Rangers (13-0) advanced to their first Final since 1994. Quarterback Mason McDonald certainly did his part as well, and especially at crunch time, with a game-tying touchdown pass on the last play of regulation and the game-winning scoring run. Dexter finished its first Semifinal season at 12-1. Click for more from the Grand Rapids Press.

SEMIFINAL Warren De La Salle Collegiate 43, Birmingham Groves 15 The reigning champion Pilots (12-1) once again followed quarterback Brady Drogosh, who scored four touchdowns, while the defense took care of their side with a ninth-straight game of allowing 18 or fewer points. Groves finished 9-4, an excellent comeback from finishing 2-7 last season. Click for more from the Macomb Daily.

Division 3

SEMIFINAL Muskegon 49, DeWitt 21 After two seasons away, Muskegon (11-2) will return to Ford Field for the fifth time in seven years. Quarterback M’Khi Guy showed the way scoring six touchdowns on the ground and throwing for a seventh. DeWitt, last season’s Division 3 runner-up, finished 9-4. Click for more from the Muskegon Chronicle.

SEMIFINAL Detroit Martin Luther King 52, Mason 17 The reigning champion Crusaders (9-3) also are headed back to the Finals, for the sixth time in eight seasons after shutting down a Mason offense averaging 45 points per game. Dante Moore also offered a few more highlights as his career draws to a close, throwing four touchdown passes. Mason finished a second-straight Semifinal run at 12-1. Click for more from the Detroit Free Press.

Division 4

SEMIFINAL Grand Rapids South Christian 26, Edwardsburg 20 The Sailors improved to 13-0 and earned their first Finals trip since 2014 by handing Edwardsburg its first loss since the season opener. The Eddies (11-2) pulled within a score late, but South Christian held them off the rest of the way. Click for more from FOX 17.

SEMIFINAL Goodrich 51, Riverview 26 The Martians (12-1) are headed to the season’s final weekend for the first time after piling up their second-most points in a game this season and handing Riverview (12-1) its lone defeat. Jace Simerson ran for five touchdowns to lead the way. Click for more from the Flint Journal.

Division 5

SEMIFINAL Gladwin 28, Grand Rapids Catholic Central 21 Arguably the stunner of the playoffs goes to the Flying G’s, which is saying a lot since they remain undefeated at 13-0 but also ended Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s three-season Finals streak a win short of extending it to four. The Cougars (11-2) pulled within the final margin late and had the ball, but a Gladwin interception sealed the program’s first trip to the Finals. Click for more from the Bay City Times.

SEMIFINAL Frankenmuth 38, Detroit Country Day 0 The Eagles (13-0) earned their second trip to Ford Field in three seasons with arguably the finest defensive effort of a season full of them as they didn’t allow a first down while posting their fifth shutout. Aidan Hoard threw two touchdown passes and ran for a third score. Country Day finished 8-4. Click for more from the Saginaw News.

Division 6

SEMIFINAL Negaunee 13, Reed City 12 The Miners emerged from one of the snowiest Semifinals by twice coming back, the second time with the eventual game-winning touchdown run by Kai Lacar. The Negaunee (13-0) also reached its first Finals since 2002 by continuing a run of allowing no more than 15 points in a game this season, and even though Reed City (11-2) averaged 44 per game entering the day. Click for more from the Marquette Mining Journal.

SEMIFINAL Grand Rapids West Catholic 33, Clinton 14 The Falcons are headed back to the Finals for the first time since 2017 by handing Clinton its only defeat and holding the Redwolves (12-1) to their fewest points scoring this fall. Tim Kloska ran for 349 yards and five more touchdowns for West Catholic (12-1). Click for more from FOX 17.

Division 7

SEMIFINAL Traverse City St. Francis 53, New Lothrop 8 The Gladiators’ dominance seems to become more extraordinary every week as they’re 13-0 for the first time since 2009 and have now won their last two games by a combined 116-8. St. Francis led 20-0 after the first quarter in this one. New Lothrop finished 10-3. Click for more from the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

SEMIFINAL Jackson Lumen Christi 20, Napoleon 7 The Titans (10-3) earned a rematch with one of the opponents that contributed to their 0-3 start this season. Lumen Christi relied on a steady defense that held Napoleon to its fewest points scored in a game this fall. Napoleon also finished its first Semifinal season at 12-1. Click for more from the Jackson Citizen Patriot.

Division 8

SEMIFINAL Ubly 41, Iron Mountain 14 The Bearcats have equaled St. Francis’ mastery so far, with this their closest game this season. Ubly (13-0) will return to Ford Field for the second time in three seasons after holding Iron Mountain to its fewest points since a Week 1 defeat to Negaunee and scoring the most the Mountaineers (11-2) gave up this season. Click for more from the Huron Daily Tribune.

SEMIFINAL Ottawa Lake Whiteford 44, Clarkston Everest Collegiate 6 The Bobcats also are headed back to the Finals for the first time since 2017 after defeating Everest (9-4) in the playoffs for the second-straight season. Quarterback Shea Ruddy ran for four scores for Whiteford (13-0). Click for more from the Monroe News.

MHSAA.com's weekly “1st & Goal” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid. 

PHOTO Muskegon's Jakob Price (20) finds room to run in his team's win over DeWitt. (Photo by Tim Reilly.)