By Jeff Steers
MHSSS Special Writer
Jamie Slate was promoted to coach his alma mater at Hemlock High School after serving three seasons as the defensive coordinator at the school.
The 2007 graduate of HHS has experience of coaching at Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart and Bay City Western.
Slate is a physics and computer science teacher in the district who believes football is a key cog in the small-town community.
His players put that to the test completing more than 300 community service hours this summer.
“The football program is the heartbeat of small towns like Hemlock,” Slate said during media day. “The more we give in the community, the more support we get on Friday nights.”
Team members helped a local teacher battling cancer wash windows earlier in the summer.
On the field, Hemlock should look a little different according to Slate. The team was forced to throw the ball nearly 60 times per game in 2023.
“Throwing the ball 60 times per game made us a scoring threat,” Slate said. “We need more balance and will be refocusing on running the football.”
Chad Brown – a CMU baseball signee – will use his 6-foot 6-inch frame to run and throw the ball for Hemlock. He threw for more than 2,000 yards in 2023 – ranked as the No. 10 throwing quarterback in Michigan by MaxPreps.
Five-sport athlete Dawson Doan was the recipient of a number of those passes with nearly 1,100 receiving yards and more than 1,200 all-purpose yards in 2023. Doan was a D-7 all-state receiver and an all-region and all-conference football honors as a receiver.
Landon Zastrow played a number of positions for Hemlock in 2023 including running back and receiver on offense. He should be one of the team’s key players in 2024.
Steven Katzenberger was an all-region and all-conference linebacker in the Tri-Valley last year.
Others who are expected to make major contributions for the Huskies are sophomore William Foss (OL/DL) – a bull in a China shop according to Slate, D.J. Lyscas (RB/LB), and Trevor Hare (DE).
Hemlock has nearly been a lock for the Michigan High School Athletic Association playoffs. A 1-8 season two years ago stopped a streak of six consecutive seasons in the playoffs.
“The expectations over the years are to make the playoffs every year,” student-athlete Doan said.
Katzenberger believes the Huskies will make the playoffs for the community.
The Huskies will kick off the season against non-conference opponents Garber and Cass City before beginning play in the Tri-Valley Conference White Division.
Menu