Oakridge's Schugars Always To Be 'Coach'
April 26, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Jack Schugars led five Muskegon Oakridge teams to MHSAA football championship games during his 32 seasons running the program. He finished his high school coaching career in 2010 with a record of 262-78.
And of course, he impacted hundreds of lives in a community that, according to a former assistant, considers him a "saint."
Schugars was honored last week with the Duffy Daugherty Award for his outstanding achievements in high school football. Each spring, the Duffy Daugherty committee – made up of football supporters and media from the Lansing area – recognizes a high school coach along with a past or current college coach. The college award is among those recognized by the College Football Hall of Fame.
Among previous high school honorees present to congratulate Schugars during Thursday's banquet in East Lansing were Farmington Hills Harrison’s John Herrington, Birmingham Brother Rice’s Al Fracassa and former East Lansing coach Jeff Smith.
Schugars – now an assistant at Ferris State University – led his 1997, 2005 and 2008 teams to MHSAA titles, while his 1990 and 2003 teams finished MHSAA runners-up. He is a member of the Muskegon Sports Hall of Fame (class of 2009), the Michigan High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2008) and the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame (1993). He received the MHSFCA’s highest honor, the Jim Crowley Award, in 2000.
The Schugars family is rooted in education. He also taught biology at the high school for 38 years, while his wife Julie taught English. Their daughter Amanda teaches in Battle Creek, and son Eric teaches and is the defensive coordinator at Traverse City Central.
Below are brief excerpts from the introduction of Schugars by his former football assistant and current Oakridge softball coach Joe Coletta, followed by Schugars' closing words of wisdom.
‘Faith, Family, Football’
(Coletta) “To Jack, those are not just words of hollow meaning. They are his compass.
“Jack has won countless awards for his accomplishments on the football field. He absolutely refused to let anyone outwork him or his teams in preparation for a football game.
“But in my opinion, his strength as a football coach is his ability to take a kid that most people would give up on: a kid that some might label as no good, troublemaker, not worth the effort. He found a way to love the unlovable.
“He would give those kids direction; he would mentor them to be young men and young women and take them to where they could not possibly take themselves.
"When you can do that for a person, you let them see their worth as a human being and make a lasting impact so you can change the rest of their lives.
“That, to me, is what sets Jack apart from most coaches.”
What's most important
(Schugars) “The reason I'm on this Earth is to love the Lord your God with all my heart and soul and love your neighbors as yourself.
“So when I speak at clinics, when I talk to coaches, I tell them the greatest thing they can do for their team is to love their players.
“That is the greatest thing a coach can do. Love your players and be true role models each day.
“I could not ask for a better career than when ... a (former) player in the Navy Seal team calls me Coach. Lawyers, doctors, bankers, they call you Coach.
"Wow, that's a great word: Coach. That's what it's all about. Being a coach. Building relationships that will last a lifetime.
"I love the hundreds of players that are part of the Oakridge football family. And I hope I continue to build men out of boys, continue at the college level."
PHOTOS: (Top) Former Muskegon Oakridge football coach Jack Schugars holds up the 2005 Division 5 championship trophy with his players after their victory at Ford Field. (Middle) Schugars (right, with headset) monitors his team's play on the field against Jackson Lumen Christi.
1st & Goal: 2024 Week 3 Preview
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 12, 2024
It’s always “rivalry week” somewhere in Michigan, and “championship week” is still a month or more away for most football contenders.
But as we finish up the first third of the 2024 regular season, this could be “opportunity week” for several teams playing in our top regional matchups highlighted below.
All nine games are part of annual series, and most of those series have been relatively one-sided of late. But that past history has set up opportunities for some of this season’s early risers, who will try to avenge 2023 defeats, shake up league standings, continue establishing themselves as teams to watch or some combination of all three.
Stay tuned. All games listed below are tonight unless noted, and keep up with results as they are reported all weekend on the MHSAA Scores page.
Bay & Thumb
Lake Fenton (2-0) at Goodrich (1-1) WATCH
Goodrich has won two straight in this series – including 34-15 a year ago – and five of the last six against the Blue Devils. This is a Flint Metro League Stars opener, and the Martians rebounded in a big way from a season-opening loss to Frankenmuth with a 47-7 win over Linden last week. Lake Fenton linebacker Hunter Carey could be key in slowing Chase Burnett and a Goodrich rushing attack that found its stride after that first-week shutout.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY New Lothrop (1-1) at Chesaning (2-0) WATCH, Grand Blanc (1-1) at Saginaw Heritage (2-0) WATCH, Muskegon Mona Shores (2-0) at Flint Hamady (2-0), Ubly (0-2) at Harbor Beach (2-0) WATCH.
Greater Detroit
Warren De La Salle Collegiate (2-0) at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (2-0)
De La Salle won last year’s meeting 41-27 and owns a four-game winning streak against the Eaglets. The Pilots also have been among the most impressive teams statewide to start this season with wins over Davison and Detroit Martin Luther King, while giving up a combined 16 points over those two victories. But St. Mary’s is 2-0 for the first time since 2021, and with a 50-19 season-opening win over Portage Northern especially impressive.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Grand Rapids Catholic Central (2-0) at Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (2-0) WATCH, West Bloomfield (1-1) at Rochester Adams (2-0) WATCH, Harper Woods (1-1) at Detroit Catholic Central (2-0) WATCH, Oxford (1-1) at Clarkston (1-1) WATCH.
Mid-Michigan
Grand Ledge (2-0) at East Lansing (2-0) WATCH
While most will point to East Lansing’s Week 5 matchup with DeWitt as the game of the year in the Lansing area, Grand Ledge will attempt to break up that excitement. The Comets are seeking to avenge a 35-21 loss to the Trojans from a year ago (and have lost five of their last six in this series) and no doubt will take some tips from Hudsonville, which edged East Lansing 14-12 last week. That defeat on the road against a top team likely will end up looking like a “good loss,” however, and the Trojans’ season-opening 31-7 win over Portage Central looked even better last week as Central fell to reigning Division 3 champion Forest Hills Central by only seven points.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY McBain (2-0) at Beal City (2-0) WATCH, Montrose (1-1) at Durand (2-0) WATCH, Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary (2-0) at Ithaca (2-0), Mason (1-1) at Williamston (0-2) WATCH.
Northern Lower Peninsula
Gladwin (2-0) at Ogemaw Heights (2-0) WATCH
The Flying Gs are flying high again with a variety of playmakers contributing to the 99 points they’ve scored over their first two games. But this trip to see a familiar opponent should be more challenging. Gladwin and Ogemaw Heights have played three straight seasons – Gladwin winning three times but Ogemaw winning last season’s playoff rematch 28-23. This time, for the first time, they’re part of the same Jack Pine Conference division, and the Falcons also earned early buzz with a 29-13 win over reigning Division 8 champion Ubly in their season opener.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Benzie Central (1-1) at Frankfort (1-1) WATCH, Elk Rapids (1-1) at Cheboygan (1-1) WATCH, Charlevoix (1-1) at Boyne City (1-1) WATCH, East Jordan (2-0) at Kalkaska (1-1) WATCH.
Southeast & Border
Grass Lake (2-0) at Hanover-Horton (2-0) WATCH
Hanover-Horton has played some notable opponents close over the last decade, but a one-point win last week might be a sign the Comets are on their way to building a memorable 2024. They edged frequent playoff team Michigan Center, in doing so moving to 2-0 and already equaling their season win total from a year ago. Grass Lake is another playoff regular, and Hanover-Horton actually has defeated the Warriors two of the last three seasons – although Grass Lake won last year’s matchup 32-22.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Saline (2-0) at Ann Arbor Pioneer (2-0) WATCH, Adrian Madison (2-0) at Clinton (1-1) WATCH, Ida (2-0) at Hudson (1-1) WATCH, Ann Arbor Skyline (1-1) at Ann Arbor Huron (1-1) WATCH.
Southwest Corridor
Constantine (2-0) at Schoolcraft (2-0) WATCH
Constantine has won this rivalry game the last two seasons including 27-21 a year ago and rumbles into this year’s edition having outscored its first two opponents by a combined 114-14 – with a 64-6 win over 2023 playoff team Benton Harbor last week. Schoolcraft has defeated returning playoff teams both of its first two games – Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker and then Centreville – and will try to finish off last season’s comeback against the Falcons that fell just short.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Ottawa Lake Whiteford (1-1) at Buchanan (1-1) WATCH, Parchment (2-0) at Dowagiac (1-1), Lawton (1-1) at Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep (2-0), Three Rivers (1-1) at Niles (1-1) WATCH.
Upper Peninsula
Negaunee (2-0) at Calumet (2-0) WATCH
The Western Peninsula Athletic Conference Copper is loaded again, and for the second-straight season Calumet plays Negaunee, Menominee and Kingsford in back-to-back-to-back weeks with an opportunity to establish itself in the mix as well. The Copper Kings will make the push coming off a 30-14 win over Ishpeming Westwood and will try to break a two-game losing streak against the Miners after Negaunee won last season’s meeting 20-13 on the way to eventually sharing the league title.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Kingsford (2-0) at Gladstone (0-2) WATCH, Hancock (1-1) at Houghton (0-2), Menominee (2-0) at Ishpeming Westwood (1-1) WATCH. SATURDAY Gaylord (0-2) at Marquette (2-0).
West Michigan
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central (2-0) at Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (2-0) WATCH
Forest Hills Central has owned this rivalry matchup winning all nine since the two began playing annually again in 2016. But the Huskies are coming off their winningest season since 2015 and have an opportunity to set themselves up with incredible momentum heading into a challenging league schedule that opens Week 4 with Muskegon followed by Reeths-Puffer, Mona Shores and Byron Center. FHC has won 11 straight games – with five of those, of course, coming during last season’s Division 3 title run – and has downed 2023 playoff teams Reeths-Puffer and Portage Central to start its repeat pursuit.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Ada Forest Hills Eastern (2-0) at Hudsonville Unity Christian (2-0), East Kentwood (1-1) at Caledonia (2-0), Grand Rapids South Christian (2-0) at Grand Rapids West Catholic (1-1), Zeeland West (2-0) at Whitehall (1-1) WATCH.
8-Player
Norway (2-0) at Crystal Falls Forest Park (2-0) WATCH
After closing last season with a pair of losses, Forest Park has popped back up impressively winning its first two games by a combined score of 87-14. The Trojans will bring that surge into this matchup with Norway, the only opponent to defeat them during last year’s 7-1 start. The Knights won last year convincingly, 40-6, and have put up a combined 102 points over the first two weeks as they look to build on last year’s 8-3 finish, their best since moving to 8-player in 2021. Norway also won this matchup in 2022.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Portland St. Patrick (2-0) at Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (2-0), Climax-Scotts (1-1) at Adrian Lenawee Christian (1-1) WATCH, Mendon (2-0) at Concord (2-0) WATCH, Au Gres-Sims (1-1) at Rogers City (1-1).
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PHOTO Fenton defenders begin to bring down Haslett's Cornelius Malone (5) during the Tigers' 21-14 win in Week 2. (Photo by Terry Lyons.)