FARMINGTON HILLS – John Herrington became the winningest coach in MHSAA history Friday night as host Farmington Hills Harrison shut out Berkley by a count of 39-0.
Herrington, who is the only head coach in Hawks history since taking over the varsity program in 1970, secured his 431st victory with the win. He surpasses former Birmingham Brother Rice head coach Al Fracassa, who retired with 430 career wins.
Harrison (6-2) secured a playoff berth with the victory after finishing last year 4-5 and missing out on the postseason.
After a slow start with two turnovers in the first five minutes of the game, the Hawks got on the board with a couple minutes left in the first quarter via a 14-yard TD run by Roderick Heard on the first play following a Berkley botched punt snap. It was the first of three touchdowns in the opening half for Heard, who also had a 17-yard TD run and a 27-yard interception return for a score.
Noah Hendricks scored the next Harrison touchdown on a 73-yard quarterback keeper off a fake end around. Heard scored the next two touchdowns, while a short field goal with 13 seconds left in the first half sent it into the break at 32-0.
The lone Hawks TD of the second half came on a Ben Williams 42-yard run midway through the third quarter, which kicked the running clock into action.
A celebration for Herrington’s remarkable coaching achievement was held on the field after the game, which kept most in attendance there for the duration despite the blowout nature of the contest.
High School Sports Scene will have a feature story on Herrington in the upcoming issue later this month.