Warriors Continue Fight Against Cancer
September 26, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
An exemplary effort that has raised more than $200,000 for cancer research and awareness will continue tonight at Walled Lake Western when the Warriors take on Waterford Mott in its annual “Warriors for Warriors” game.
This is the fourth season Western has hosted the event, which benefits the Susan G. Komen Detroit Race for the Cure, St. Baldrick’s Foundation for Pediatric Cancer and the American Cancer Society. Fans will be wearing pink shirts designed for the event, with more than 1,000 sold as of two weeks ago.
Last fall, “Warriors for Warriors” was recognized by the NFL and featured in a 30-second commercial shown during NFL football games, and the team was hosted and honored by the Detroit Lions (see below).
“We continue to be grateful for the selfless dedication of parents, staff members, community members and all of the countless volunteers who support the fourth annual Pink Out effort,” Walled Lake superintendent Kenneth Gutman said. “Breast cancer and all cancers continue to challenge thousands of people, and we will continue to work together to eradicate it.”
A “Warriors’ Survivors Parade” will kick off the event at 6 p.m. and include patients, survivors and others who wish to honor those who are fighting or have died after battling cancer of any form. The parade will continue into the stadium.
Prior to the 7:30 p.m. kickoff, Western’s players, wearing pink jerseys sponsored in honor of those who have fought the disease, will line the field from end zone to end zone with jersey honorees and their families. More than 170 people have been honored during the first three years of the event.
The game’s honorary captain is Commerce Elementary fifth-grader Sydney Balzer, who has fought leukemia twice and founded a community service project, Colors for Cancer Kids.
For information, click for the Warriors for Warriors website and follow the effort on Twitter @WLW_W4W.
PHOTO: Walled Lake Western’s Kyle Bambard and 7-year-old Akayla Hodgins call the coin flip during the 2013 Warriors for Warriors game.
Flashback 100: Harbaugh Brothers' Football Roots Planted in Part at Pioneer
November 29, 2024
Monday's NFL matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers marked the third time Ann Arbor brothers John and Jim Harbaugh have faced off as head coaches.
John, the Ravens' head coach since 2008, holds a 3-0 record against his younger brother Jim, who is in his first season leading the Chargers. Jim previously served as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 to 2014, and the two Harbaughs famously met in Super Bowl XLVII, where John emerged victorious.
Before their coaching careers, the brothers played together on the same high school football team. In 1979, the Ann Arbor Pioneer team finished with a 4-5 record, with John as a senior defensive back and Jim, a sophomore quarterback, starting the year on the junior varsity team.
After high school, John attended Miami (Ohio) and eventually began his coaching career. After his sophomore year of high school, Jim followed his father Jack to Palo Alto, Calif., when Jack took a coaching job at Stanford. The Harbaughs' roots in Ann Arbor ran deep, and Jim would later return to Michigan, where he played and, in 2023, led the Wolverines to a national championship as head coach. Jim Harbaugh played 14 seasons in the NFL before moving on to coaching, taking snaps with the Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens and San Diego Chargers.
The Harbaugh brothers were inducted into the Ann Arbor Pioneer Athletics Hall of Fame together in 2016.
Previous "Flashback 100" Features
Nov. 22: 8-Player Football Finals Right at Home at Superior Dome - Read
Nov. 15: Leland Career Helps Set Stage for Glass' International Stardom - Read
Nov. 8: Future Baseball Pro Led Escanaba's Legendary Football Title Run - Read
Nov. 1: Michigan High School Baseball Trio Provide World Series Voices - Read
Oct. 25: Before Leading Free World, Ford Starred for Champion GR South - Read
Oct. 18: Mercy Links Legend Becomes World Golf Hall of Famer - Read
Oct. 11: Fisher Races to Finals Stardom on Way to U.S. Olympic First - Read
Oct. 4: Lalas Leaves High School Legacies on Ice & Pitch - Read
Sept. 27: Tamer's History-Making Run Starts in Dexter, Continues to Paris - Read
Sept. 20: Todd Martin’s Road to Greatness Starts at East Lansing - Read
Sept. 13: James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend - Read
Sept. 6: Pioneers' Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons - Read
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read
PHOTOS At top left, John Harbaugh in 1979, with brother Jim’s photo at bottom left. At right, John Harbaugh is No. 22 in the 1979 Pioneer football team photo. (Photos courtesy of Ann Arbor Pioneer/MLive.)