MHSA(Q&)A: Menominee football coach Ken Hofer
June 28, 2012
By Brian Spencer
Second Half
Ken Hofer has been nothing short of legendary during more than three decades as Menominee’s head football coach -- a tenure that came to an end earlier this month when he announced his retirement.
In 41 seasons -- including his first two, at Stephenson -- he won three MHSAA championships (1998, 2006, and 2007) and built a record of 342-136-3. He is one of nine coaches in MHSAA football history with at least 300 wins.
He guided more than a thousand athletes, and that influence extended to league rival Kingsford -- where his son Chris Hofer is the football coach. Ken also is known statewide as the guru of the single wing offense, a rarely-used but for the Maroons frequently unstoppable attack that does not utilize a traditional quarterback.
Hofer is a member of the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association and Upper Peninsula Sports Halls of Fame. He also served as the Menominee athletic director, principal, and assistant principal. He grew up in Stephenson, where he was an all-stater in football and track and field, and later competed in both sports at the University of Wisconsin.
Did you always want to become a football coach?
I was predicted to be a coach somewhere in our (Stephenson) annual (yearbook). So I suppose I was always predetermined to coach. However, before coaching I was in the service as a Lieutenant and spent two years in Germany. After Germany, I spent another five years working for Wilson Sporting Goods before I finally came back in 1964 to coach football and teach social studies for Stephenson.
How did you decide it was time to hang up the whistle?
Well, I’m 77 years old, so age was definitely a determinant. The biggest factor was that as much as my mind said I could continue, my body said “slow down.” So I guess age and my inability to continually go full throttle and stay energetic helped me make my decision.
In your 45 seasons, what is the most helpful piece of advice you are going to take away?
The best advice I will take away is to treat young people the way I like to be treated.
What do you plan to do with your free time, now that your schedule has opened up slightly?
I am going to try and catch up on stuff that should have been done a long time ago. I’m sure that my wife will give me plenty of stuff to do, too. I also want to try to travel more and visit my kids. I now have a grandson who will be playing for Kingsford, so I will become a fan of my grandson’s at his Kingsford games.
Now that your grandson and son both have affiliations with Kingsford, will you become a Kingsford man?
No (chuckling), I will cheer for my son and grandson, but I will forever be connected with Menominee and Stephenson.
What was it like to be recognized by both the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association and Upper Peninsula Sports Halls of Fame?
It was like a utopia for coaching. When your peers give that honor it is a pretty special time. As a coach you don’t strive for that kind of accolade; however, it is definitely a special honor to receive.
What has been, in your opinion, your greatest achievement as Menominee’s head football coach?
My greatest achievement will always be working with younger people; I think that is the most important thing that most coaches would like to have, is the ability to stay young by working with these young men. You don’t always have to win to have that experience. Winning on the field doesn’t always correlate winning in other aspects of your life.
What advice can you give aspiring or current coaches who look to share similar successes as a head coach?
The biggest thing is to make sure that you treat the players like you like to be treated. Using that approach will get a great response.
Of your 300-plus career wins, is there any one that you find particularly special?
I always found that whenever I could beat Kingsford when my son was coaching (he said, followed by a bellowing laugh). My son Chris will like that one.
There are so many that I consider to be special. There were a ton of close games, too many to count. Two years ago, we had one of those close games where we played Morley-Stanwood, and won 41-40 in overtime (in a 2010 Regional Final). The young men played very hard. It was very special.
Do you think that your son will follow in your footsteps and coach for 45-plus seasons?
I think Chris has that type of coaching in his blood. He’s struggling physically with a knee injury; however he has a coaching mind that is as strong as ever. I think he’ll coach until he won’t be able to.
After Team's 2024 Turnaround, Cranmore Eager to Add to Leslie's Return to Glory
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
August 19, 2025
Joel Cranmore is getting a head start on his budding college career, and it will probably make him an even better high school quarterback this fall.
As a first-year starting sophomore last season, Cranmore busted all expectations by throwing for 2,682 yards and 35 touchdowns. He not only completed 153 of his whopping 274 passes, but he also rushed 95 times for 472 yards and another 11 touchdowns in Leslie’s quarterback-friendly offense.
Leslie coach Tim McCann called Cranmore “the face of the program” at their school.
“We look forward to him building off of that going into his junior year,” McCann said.
It would be hard for any signal-caller to top those numbers, but Cranmore just might be the one to do it. Since the winter, he has spent two days a week attending Donovan Dooley’s Quarterback University – known by most as QBU – in Detroit. The work he put in, Cranmore said, will help him get to the next level.
It also will help him shred even more defenses in 2025.
“We do 45 minutes of field work, then we go into classroom and go over coverages, blitz concepts, the things you will need at the next level,” Cranmore said. “It really helps me learn what (offensive) concepts you will want against different coverages and how to see blitzes coming. We learn how to break down film.”
Cranmore is leaving nothing to chance. He said his film study sessions helped him earn even more trust from McCann – and that he’ll have more input on the play calling once he gets to the line of scrimmage.
“He trusts me and sees my growth,” Cranmore said.
Leslie had its best season in 16 last year, thanks to McCann’s high-powered offense and Cranmore winging the ball all over the place.
The Blackhawks went 10-2, won the Cascades Conference championship and won two playoff games before losing to eventual Division 7 runner-up Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central in the Regional Finals.
The Blackhawks put up monster numbers. They scored 62 against Vandercook Lake, 45 against previously-unbeaten Manchester, 54 against East Jackson and 49 against Burton Atherton in a playoff game. They squeaked by Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett to get to the Regional Finals.
It was the first time Leslie qualified for the playoffs since 2012 and its first season with double-digit wins since 2008.
Leslie was once a regular in the playoffs and regularly competed for conference championships. From 2000 to 2012, the Blackhawks were in the playoffs all but four times and had 11 winning seasons. Then hard times hit. Leslie went 0-9 in 2013, starting a string of 11 sub-.500 finishes.
McCann played football at Leslie during its successful era. And when the Blackhawks started last season 7-0, he knew the team was ahead of schedule.
“It goes back to my roots when I was in high school here,” he said. “We are playing Leslie High School football, doing things right on and off the field, building life skills, getting it done in the classroom. These kids really bought into that."
The climb back to respectability began in 2023 when Cranmore was a freshman. McCann summoned him to the varsity despite Leslie having athletic Jaydin Colby occupying the quarterback position. Cranmore got into a few late-season games. He earned the starting job in 2024, with Colby shifting to receiver where he had an all-state season.
"We knew he was going to blossom into something special," McCann said of Cranmore. "He spent a tremendous amount of time in the offseason being a student of the game. He spent a lot of time with the guys around him, building relationships.”
Colby and some of those other weapons have graduated, but Cranmore continued building relationships and getting comfortable with his new crew of receivers. That could spell trouble for opponents this season.
“When I was in middle school, I always told myself I wanted to change things and bring it back to when Leslie was making the playoffs every year and the state championship game,” he said. “I think we are just as good if not better than last year. Now we know what it’s like to win. Nothing is given to you. You have to work a lot harder than you did last year.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a news and sports reporter at the Adrian Daily Telegram and the Monroe News for 30 years, including 10 years as city editor in Monroe. He's written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. He is now publisher and editor of The Blissfield Advance, a weekly newspaper. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Leslie quarterback Joel Cranmore and his teammates celebrate a touchdown last season. (Middle) Cranmore looks back while running off the field. (Photos courtesy of Jeff Steers/JTV.)