FH Harrison's John Herrington now No. 1 on state's all-time wins list

On a historic night that couldn’t have been scripted better for the Farmington Hills Harrison community, this was about the only thing that went wrong.

After Harrison beat Berkley, 39-0, to make coach John Herrington the state’s all-time winningest football coach with 431 victories, the celebration on the field included the presence of three separate balloons shaped in the numbers 4, 3 and 1.

As the team lined up for photos with Herrington, a big banner with the coach's picture on it to commemorate the milestone was unfurled for the photos when disaster struck.

The No. 4 and 3 balloons slipped out of hands and went skyward.

One player made a leap in a last-ditch effort to save them, but it wasn’t to be.

Off went the balloons into the night sky, but the players' soon realized the symbolism of the No. 1 balloon that was still with them.

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“All we need is 1,” one player shouted.

“It’s all about 1,” added another.

Indeed it was, as on Harrison’s homecoming night that saw a king and queen crowned, Herrington officially became the king of Michigan high school football coaching as he moved to No. 1 on the wins list, one ahead of former Brother Rice head coach Al Fracassa.

Herrington, 76, has been the school’s only coach since it opened in 1970 and has led the Hawks to 13 state championships, the most of any school in state history.

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When the game ended, it was the predictable mob scene of jubilation at midfield.

Past players, alums, parents and current players gathered around for pictures and got in long lines to congratulate Herrington and to also catch up with Bob Sutter, Herrington’s longtime friend and Harrison’s defensive coordinator from 1973-2006.

Herrington and the team posed for pictures as the public address announcer paid tribute to not only the football coach, but also the former teacher at the school who impacted lives away from the field.

On the scoreboard, the time read 4:31 to commemorate the achievement and memories overflowed from all of Herrington’s former players who were able to attend.

“It’s probably the most people we have had in 10 years here,” Herrington said.

Former players spanning the nearly five decades Herrington has coached were in attendance, including a few from his first team back in 1970.

Herrington said he got a call from current Arizona Cardinals quarterback and former Harrison player Drew Stanton saying he wish he could’ve been in attendance.

“I didn’t know I’d last after three years,” Herrington said. “We had some problems. But Coach Sutter came on with me, it took off and we never looked back.”

Sutter, who spent much of the postgame celebration catching up with former players, said he still comes to practice occasionally to see how Herrington and the team is doing and reflected on how quickly he and Herrington hit it off when they first crossed paths in the early 70s.

“I started here in 1970 as a physical education teacher and John was hired the head coach,” Sutter said. “He asked me if I wanted to be the JV coach. I thought that here was someone I could relate to. We were athletic people and we liked to compete. We used to play basketball against each other on Sundays. We got to know each other, our wives got to know each other and our families grew up together.”

The win also clinched a spot in the state playoffs for Harrison. Herrington was already looking ahead to next week’s matchup with Clarkston even while basking in a once-in-a-lifetime celebration.

“We’ll start thinking about the playoffs and next week will be a big week as well,” Herrington said.

Behind Herrington, the next active coach with the most wins is Herb Brogan of Jackson Lumen Christi, who had 337 entering Friday.

After next season, Herrington's chances to pad add to his win total will likely end because after the 2018-19 school year, Harrison will close because of budget cuts within the Farmington School District.

But the memories of what has transpired in football over much of the past five decades and what Herrington has meant as the face of the Harrison community won’t ever be forgotten.

“He’s a great guy and basically what I’ve learned from him, I’ll carry on for the rest of my life,” current Harrison senior Ovie Oghoufo said.