Cass Tech, Campbell's Glories Grow
November 24, 2012
By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half
DETROIT — Thomas Wilcher is a former Detroit Public School League football star who has become one of the most successful coaches in the state.
Perhaps such a future awaits the city’s brightest current star, Detroit Cass Tech quarterback Jayru Campbell.
Wilcher raved about his sophomore signal caller’s mental grasp of the game after the Technicians became the first PSL team to win back-to-back MHSAA football championships with a 36-21 victory over Detroit Catholic Central on Saturday at Ford Field.
Campbell has orchestrated the offense during both championship runs, each of which ended with a dominant performance against perennial power Catholic Central. Cass Tech routed the Shamrocks 49-13 in last year’s title game, as Campbell threw for five touchdowns.
Campbell’s stats weren't as gaudy this time around (4 for 12, 154 yards, one touchdown), but it’s not his physical gifts that drew high praise from Wilcher after the game.
“I told him on the telephone one night, ‘I don’t care about your arm right now. I just love the way you think on the football field,’” Wilcher said. “That’s what makes him so important to me right now. We’re teaching.”
As a freshman, Campbell was given limited ability to change plays at the line of scrimmage. As a 10th-grader who has already started 28 varsity games, he has earned more trust from his coaching staff than many seniors.
“They gave me more of a green light this year,” Campbell said. “Last year, they pretty much told me I could change the play from left to right; that was the most green light I had. This year, I’m changing passes to runs, runs to passes. It’s not getting difficult, but it’s more responsibility on me. I’m up for the challenge.”
Campbell altered the original call on two of Cass Tech’s biggest offensive plays.
On the Technicians’ first play from scrimmage, he audibled senior receiver Jourdan Lewis from a stop route to a go route. Lewis made a leaping catch between two defenders along the left sideline and took off for an 89-yard touchdown to open the scoring with 9:31 left in the first quarter.
“It was supposed to be a stop,” Campbell said. “The corner was playing so far up, I knew Jourdan Lewis was going to get around him. I just told him to go ahead and do what you do.”
In the fourth quarter, with Cass Tech trying to put the game away, Campbell changed a pass to a draw play to running back Mike Weber on fourth-and-10 from Catholic Central’s 30-yard line. Weber exploded 26 yards to the 4-yard line, setting up a 3-yard touchdown run by Campbell that expanded the lead to 29-7 with 7:59 remaining.
“I saw they had only one linebacker in the back,” Campbell said. “Coach Wilcher really believes in me. He knows I will get the job done. He really trusts me.”
Catholic Central came in looking to avenge last year’s 36-point loss in the Final, but the Shamrocks fell behind 12-0 in the first five minutes on the 89-yard catch by Lewis and a 58-yard fumble return by 260-pound defensive tackle Kenton Gibbs.
The Shamrocks (9-5) slowed the momentum and got back in the game at 12-7 on an 18-yard pass from Garrett Moores to Zach Bock with 2:02 left in the first half. The Technicians (12-2) tacked on a 31-yard field goal by Ken Snapp to take a 15-7 lead into halftime.
A 57-yard run by Weber on third-and-17 set up a 30-yard touchdown run by Deon Drake Jr. on the following play, giving Cass Tech a 22-7 lead on the first series of the third quarter.
“We knew going in from last year’s experience that we can’t make mistakes, because they capitalize well on mistakes, but we did,” Catholic Central coach Tom Mach said. “They made a great throw and catch on the first touchdown. Then we made a couple of mistakes that they capitalized on. We found ourselves in a hole and had to try to get out of that hole. We were doing a good job of that, I thought. Then they exerted themselves and put another touchdown in.”
It became a 29-7 game when Cass Tech went 79 yards in 16 plays, taking 7:14 off the clock before Campbell scored on his 3-yard run with 7:59 left in the fourth quarter.
Catholic Central twice made it a two-possession game in the final 5:57 on touchdown passes by Moores, but the Technicians had an 84-yard interception return for a touchdown by Delano Hill in between them.
“It was no different than last year,” Catholic Central senior running back Anthony Darkangelo said. “We knew last year they were a fast team and we had to keep contain on the edges outside. They executed their game plan and we didn't execute the plan we had for the game.”
Click for full statistics and to watch a replay of the game. See below for the full press conference.
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Cass Tech David Dawson hoists quarterback Jayru Campbell (10) during Saturday's Division 1 Final. (Middle) Cass Tech running back Mike Weber runs into a crowd of Detroit Catholic Central defenders including Sean Birney (18) and Dylan Roney (89). (Click for more from Terry McNamara Photography.)
3 Michigan Leaders Earn NFHS National 'Coach of the Year' Honors
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 18, 2022
Three Michigan high school varsity coaches have been recognized among 23 National Coaches of the Year for 2020-21 by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NHFS) Coaches Association.
Ann Arbor Pioneer girls swimming & diving coach Stefanie Kerska, Bronson volleyball coach Jean LaClair and DeWitt football coach Rob Zimmerman were selected by a committee including representatives from all eight NFHS sections – Michigan is part of Section 4 with Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin.
The following brief bios includes an excerpt from each honoree’s coaching philosophy, which nominees were asked to submit after being identified as candidates for the awards.
Stefanie Kerska took over both the Ann Arbor Pioneer girls and boys swimming & diving programs during the 2014-15 school year, and she has led the girls to the last two Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals championships; her 2020 team doubled up the runner-up’s score with 368 points, and this fall’s team climbed even higher with 405.5 points at the season-ending meet. She also led the girls team to a runner-up Finals finish in 2019 and the boys team to last season’s LPD1 Finals championship. Kerska previously served as an assistant coach at University of Michigan from 1997-2012 and on the USA Swimming national team staff from 2008-16. She remains active with USA Swimming, the FINA Swimming Development Team and as a presenter for the Summit for Empowering Women in Swim. She was named the Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association Coach of the Year for both Division 1 girls and boys during the 2020-21 school year.
“Athletics starts with a belief in belonging and making every team member feel safe and valued. Teammates should depend on coaches and each other for support, guidance and motivation to be the best they can be. Athletics should create an environment where effort, attitude and dependability are valued and required for success. It is often said that athletics builds character. I, however, believe it reveals it.”
Jean LaClair ranks fourth in Michigan high school volleyball coaching history for varsity victories with a record of 1,289-398-99 having led Midland Dow from 1988-90, Pinconning from 1997-99 and Bronson beginning with the 2000-01 winter season. She’s coached Bronson to five MHSAA Finals championships – including four straight in Class C/Division 3 from 2015-18 – and her last two teams have reached the Division 3 Quarterfinals and Regional Semifinals, respectively. She is a longtime executive board member of the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association and has served as president, and was a 2017 inductee to the Michigan High School Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame. She also serves as Bronson’s athletic director and has received both the MHSAA’s Women In Sports Leadership Award and Allen W. Bush Award.
“High school athletics should be a lifelong, fun experience for our student-athletes where they learn what it takes to be a part of a team, what it means to work hard for the team. Those who play competitive spots in high school demonstrate more confidence, leadership and self-respect. They learn to set goals and manage their time! They have a better appreciation for diversity and a more developed sense of morality. These are all reasons why athletics are important, and I love working with our kids to make them better leaders for the community and world.”
Rob Zimmerman led DeWitt to the last two Division 3 championship games and the Panthers’ first MHSAA Finals title to cap the 2020 season with a 12-0 record. He’s built a 241-67 record coaching DeWitt’s varsity since 1999 after previously coaching the varsity at Cedar Springs from 1996-98. He also has served as a head varsity track & field coach and middle school wrestling coach during his tenure in school sports, and he has served as both a regional director and on the executive board for the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association. His teams total have played in six MHSAA Finals, to go with 19 league, 14 District and 12 Regional titles during his 23 seasons at DeWitt. He has five times received statewide Coach of the Year recognition from The Associated Press, and in 2020 was named the state Dream Team Coach of the Year by both the Detroit Free Press and MHSFCA and state Coach of the Year by the MHSCA and Detroit Lions.
“In an ever-changing world that poses more social and emotional challenges for young people than ever before, systems that can provide a foundational support and teach high levels of collaboration, discipline, accountability and relationships are more important that ever. Athletics provides young people the opportunity to foster and cultivate these key traits that are crucial for their development. For future success, students need to be equipped to handle a variety of diverse situations and work with a variety of diverse people. This is sports at its core.”
Rockford wrestling coach Brian Richardson was honored in Section 4 after leading the Rams to the Division 1 Semifinals and a 20-4 record.
The NFHS has been recognizing coaches through an awards program since 1982.