Menominee's Man Among Maroons

June 28, 2012

Ken Hofer walked high school football sidelines as a head coach  for nearly a half-century. That, in itself, is an incredible accomplishment.

But Menominee's recently-retired and legendary coach packed plenty of success into his 48 seasons, a tenure that began in his hometown of Stephenson.

  • Hofer is retiring with a record of 342-136-3 and after three straight nine-win seasons. 
  • His teams have made the MHSAA playoffs at the ends of the last 16.
  • The Maroons won 29 straight games from 2006-2008, with back-to-back 14-0 finishes in 2006 and 2007.
  • His teams won three MHSAA championships, in those two perfect seasons and in 1998.
  • In three of the last six seasons, his offense scored more than 500 points.

"His impact has been felt for generations, and his legacy will continue to inspire students into the future," Menominee superintendent Erik Bergh wrote when Hofer made his announcement.

Click to read our Q&A with the longtime Maroons coach, who stepped down earlier this month. 

PHOTO: Ken Hofer, center in gray sweatshirt, coached Menominee to a 41-6 win over Madison Heights Madison in the 2006 Division 5 Final at Ford Field.

Be the Referee: Football Rules Similarities

By Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials

August 30, 2023

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.

Below is this week's segment – Football Rules Similarities - Listen

Last week we highlighted some major differences between high school football and the college and pros. This week — how about some of the things that are similar?

New as of last year is the addition of a tackle box when judging intentional grounding. In high school, like college and pros, the QB must be outside of the tackle box and throw it past the line of scrimmage for it to NOT be intentional grounding.

Horse collar tackles are penalties at all three levels of play. The ball carrier must be pulled down backward or to one side for there to be a foul … but if there is, it’s 15 yards.

And a receiver at the high school level needs to have a body part down in bounds, the same as in college. But the NFL requires two feet in for a catch.

Previous Editions

Aug. 23: Football Rules Differences - Listen

(PHOTO by Douglas Bargerstock.)