John Raffel
Sports Scene
Davison has had a strong football program with a combined 19-3 record the past two seasons and the Cardinals’ new coach is aiming to keep the winning tradition going.
Jake Weingartz was the head coach at Lapeer East for six years and also for Lapeer East and West combined. He was the offensive coordinator at Lapeer High School four years. Weingartz played football at Lapeer East. He was an all-state receiver and set the school records for yards, catches and touchdowns in a season.
Weingartz then received a college scholarship and played for Wayne State University four years in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
He played wide receiver, started three years and was captain as a senior. He was all-GLIAC as a senior.
The chance to coach at Davison was an opportunity Weingartz could not pass up.
“It’s a great community and a great high school,” he said. “There’s a lot of support. It’s a good place to be. There’s a winning culture that’s already been established and we have to keep it rolling.”
Weingartz took over in January.
“I started teaching there in January and we have a sixth hour strength and conditioning class which 98 percent of our football kids are in,” he said. “We’ve had a full summer offseason program. We’re ready to roll come (the first day of practice).”
But Weingartz might be facing some immediate challenges as the new coach. The team was 9-2 last year and 10-1 in 2016.
“We’re going to be really young,” he said. “They lost a lot of guys from last year. We probably have one of the toughest schedules around. But we do have some key guys coming back. Our season depends on how quick those young guys grow up and get going.
“It’s a really good program and a place I want to be.”
Weingartz is also teaching at the school full-time.