luck, Coach!

Before sitting down to bang out this column, I was at the football scrimmage between Northville High and Saginaw Heritage on the morning of Aug. 17. Actually, I was working on the chain gang, which I will be doing all season for the Mustangs home games. My youngest son, Kaden, is on the team and I volunteered to do it this year.

So, I had a pretty good view of the team, and its new head coach, Brent Luplow. While it was a scrimmage, it was his first time leading the Mustangs in game-like action. In fact, it was his first time as a head coach of any football program. He formally served as offensive coordinator at nemesis Brighton High, where he had a lot of success – something Mustang Nation knows too well.

Luplow replaces Matt Ladach, who spent 15 years as the Mustangs head coach. Ladach had a successful tenure, winning plenty of games and division championships. However, he was never able to guide the team to any district playoff titles, something Luplow hopes to remedy.

He is full of enthusiasm, is clearly well-prepared and brings plenty of promise and confidence.

It won’t be easy, though. In addition to being a first time head coach, there are high expectations in Northville -regardless of the sport. And that is something he is going to have to learn to navigate. The job isn’t just about X’s and O’s. In fact, that’s probably the easiest part.

Luplow is installing new concepts on offense and defense, and they will be put to the test quickly with a contest against a tough Clarkston team on opening night at the Big House (Michigan Stadium). Talk about starting off with a bang.

We’ve got a preview of the team and the 2023 season in this issue beginning on page 18.

Bottom line, the team should be solid this year. They’ve got a lot of returners from a team that finished 8-3 and won a playoff game last year. Barring injuries, the team should contend for a division title in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association west division. Maybe Luplow can get the team over the hump and win a district championship, which will probably mean beating rival Catholic Central.

Those are certainly the goals of everyone in the program.

If I had any advice to give Coach Luplow it’s to never forget that the program is all about the kids, no matter how much you (and the parents) want to win. Developing them into responsible, confident and quality young men has to be the overriding goal of the program. If you are able to do that, the other things will take care of themselves.

I know Coach Luplow knows this. But maybe all the parents and fans need to be reminded as well.

Good luck, Coach Luplow, as you take the team into this new era. I know the community is behind you, and they will surely fill the stands over on Eight Mile. As for me, I’ll have a pretty good view of things on the sideline.

Let’s go Mustangs!

Kurt Kuban is the Publisher and Editor of The ‘Ville. He welcomes your comments at kurtkuban@thevillemagazine. com.

Light not needed

To add to the congestion on Beck Road, a new functioning traffic light has been added at Technology Drive. If I count correctly, we now have six traffic lights between Beck Road and the entrance to M-14. I could understand the additional light if there was a need. In the last two weeks I have been stopped at that light numerous times and have yet to see a car enter or cross 6 Mile from Technology Drive.

Thomas Doyle

Meijer yes, track no

Northville Township needs a grocery store like Meijer. They offer an excellent selection and fair pricing. It will bring a nice tax base not to mention the extra jobs. As for a race track on Five Mile, the generation for horse racing is coming to an end. Millennials just haven’t picked that up as a sport or function they attend. All you have to do is go to Northville and watch the amount of cars going to activities at Northville Downs. I think the land could be used in a more beneficial way for the township and community.

Mike Sucharski