A high school football program in Windsor is being recognized as the best high school football program over the last decade.
Canada Football Chat, a website devoted to high school football and the top prospects across the country, has ranked the W.F. Herman Green Griffins at the top of its 'CFC50 All-Decade Top 10 Schools' list.
During the past decade, Herman won a record five straight OFSAA football titles from 2012 to 2016. That record was matched in November 2019 by the St. Thomas More Knights out of Hamilton, who beat Herman in the Golden Horseshoe Bowl game to tie their record.
Herman Head Coach Harry Lumley calls it "a great honour for the whole city" and believes it shows how good the high school football is in the Windsor area, and has been for years.
"We've always bragged about it but this is kind of proof in the pudding," he says.
Lumley thinks its really important that people understand how big Herman is compared to the schools they face in competition.
"We're a school, right now our enrolment is around 680 but it's always been right around 700. We're competing, sometimes against schools that are 2,000 or 1,300. The team we played last year in the All-Ontario Final was 2,400 kids. So it's quite an honour for the kids that we got, shows you how good the athletes are," he says.
Herman football coach Harry Lumley at Lancer game Sept.30 2017 (photo by AM800's Steve Bell)
Lumley says football is one of the greatest outlets there is that teaches you about perseverance and hard work.
"We start out when the weather is 100C and we end up in the snow. It's hard going out every night, so you learn about perseverance and things, and you have to keep your marks up when you're doing that so you can play. I think it's a great teacher," he adds.
The final list was based on CFC's national ranking in each of the past ten years, with Herman earning 191 points based on how many times they were ranked during the decade.
St. Thomas More finished second with 160 points followed by Dr. Martin DeBoldus of Regina, Sask. and St. Francis of Calgary, Alta.
With files from Kristylee Varley