By Tom Kendra
LocalSportsJournal.com

MUSKEGON–Muskegon’s football players wanted to give Shane Fairfield a special 54th birthday present, which motivated them to a 55-35 victory over archival Mona Shores last Oct. 21.   

After a rousing version of “Happy Birthday,” sung by all 46 Muskegon varsity players on the Hackley Stadium turf, quarterback M’Khi Guy explained that he and his teammates put up 41 second-half points for their head coach. 

“There was no way we were going to make him sad on his birthday,” said Guy, a sentiment that was repeated by all of his teammates. “He does so much for us every single day. We had to get the win for him.”    

Photo Courtesy of LSJ Photographer Leo Valdez

The special relationship between Big Reds players and coaches – often as much of a father-son bond as coach-player – has produced a staggering number of wins through the years, including 11 more last season as Muskegon advanced all the way to the Division 3 state championship game at Ford Field, where they lost to Detroit Martin Luther King.

Last year’s run marked the eighth state championship game appearance in 13 seasons for Fairfield as head coach, which means the Big Reds have made the finals a dizzying 62 percent of the time during his tenure – unheard of numbers for a public high school (or even a private school, for that matter).    

It was fitting that Muskegon knocked off Mona Shores on his birthday, because the one statistic Fairfield really keeps track of is his record against the Sailors – it’s 9-3, by the way.     

Other than that, Fairfield really doesn’t pay too much attention to statistics or rankings or coaching wins, focusing his energy instead on how each of the players in his program is doing physically, mentally and emotionally.   

“We spend more time with these kids outside of football, than coaching football,” Fairfield said, pointing at his assistant coaches huddled inside Hackley Stadium during a practice break.

“It’s relationships that go far beyond the X’s and O’s. We are going to have empathy, but we are not going to allow you to use it as a crutch. You are going to attack life and become the best version of yourself.”    

But for a guy who doesn’t do numbers or care about stats, he has put up some eye-popping numbers during his first 13 years as Muskegon High School’s head varsity football coach.

888

Muskegon is embarking on its 128th season of football, dating back to 1895, and its 888 wins puts it seventh in the national rankings.  

With nine regular-season games and potentially five playoff games, the Big Reds have a chance to reach the landmark 900 wins with a berth in the Division 2 semifinals or finals.  

In addition, Muskegon is within two wins of sixth-place Mount Carmel (Penn.), which enters this season with 890 wins.

“The standards are sky-high around here and the kids are afraid to fail,” explained Fairfield. “We never as a coaching staff lower our expectations, so each team has a choice. One, meet those expectations or, two, be rebellious and say I’m not going to do that.”

Throughout Fairfield’s 13 years as head coach, the Big Reds have repeatedly stepped up to those lofty expectations because, they say, of the love and support and respect they receive from Fairfield and his staff.

A great example is Destin Piggee, now an electrifying senior slotback, who lost his father, Dereko Piggee, to Covid early in his sophomore season.

Piggee recalled that one day after school, the grief overwhelmed him and he could not stop crying.  

“Coach Fairfield finally got me to stop crying,” said Piggee, an all-state candidate who now holds scholarship offers from Alabama State, Ferris State, Grand Valley and others. “He told me about some of the hard things he dealt with growing up and I learned some things from him.

“My teammates and my coaches have helped me like you wouldn’t believe. If I didn’t have football, I probably would have gone out and done something stupid.”   

Fairfield, who grew up without his father in his life, consoled his player and called on experience from raising his two daughters – Raven, an aspiring singer and producer, and Syann, a middle hitter for the Ferris State University volleyball team.

Another good example of the coaching staff’s influence is Anthony Bradford (6-5, 340), a 2019 graduate who played at LSU and was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth round of the NFL Draft earlier this year.

Bradford quickly credited his mother, Latoya Bradford, for being his hero and sacrificing for him. But she was quick to give credit to the Big Red coaches as well.

“Coach Fairfield and Coach (Matt) Bolles and the other coaches made Anthony what he is today,” Latoya Bradford said on draft day. “It’s not me. It’s the male influences on the coaching staffs at Muskegon and LSU and it’s a beautiful thing to see.”

Muskegon Coach Shane Fairfield right) calls out a play during the action. Photo/Tim Reilly

142

Fairfield has a 142-27 record (84 percent) as Muskegon’s head coach, which puts him second all-time for Muskegon coaching wins. 

Leo Redmond leads that list with a 156-42 record and Fairfield passed Dave Taylor (112-52) for second place with a victory over DeWitt in the 2019 Division 3 Semifinals.

A perfect, 14-0 season this fall would tie Fairfield with Redmond at the top. That seems unlikely with opening home non-conference games against Rockford and Warren DeLaSalle and OK Green road tests at Mona Shores, Reeths-Puffer and Zeeland West.

Only one time have the Big Reds finished 14-0 under Fairfield, which came in the 2017 season, culminating with a 28-10 win over Farmington Hills Harrison in the Division 3 championship game.

Twice since then, in 2018 and 2019, Muskegon entered Ford Field unbeaten and left with a loss. Last year’s 56-27 championship game loss to Dante Moore and Detroit King gave Fairfield a 1-7 record in state championship games.

To his credit, Fairfield has never ducked the media or assigned blame after any of those losses, with most of them coming against stacked opponents, such as Moore & Co.

And he maintains his positive attitude.

“I promise you that we’ll be back here again standing next year and the results will be different,” Fairfield said shortly after last year’s finals loss.

He has a chance to back up those strong words, returning 90 percent of his offensive yardage this fall and 7 of 11 defensive starters.

Many of those players are being actively recruited and are likely to join the myriad of Big Reds that Fairfield has guided toward collegiate success.

At the top of that list is Cameron Martinez, a redshirt junior and projected starting safety at Ohio State.

Among the other now-collegiate Big Reds to watch are the defensive line duo of senior Jordan Porter and junior Billie Roberts at Bowling Green. Both are in the running for starting roles.

Clinton Jefferson returns as a starting senior slot receiver at Ferris State, after leading the Bulldogs in receptions last fall.

Muskegon Head Coach Shane Fairfield accepts the state runner-up trophy. Photo/Tim Reilly

114

Muskegon is certainly not resting on its laurels, as no team in the state has won more games than the Big Reds over the past 10 years.

Muskegon has won 114 games since 2013, a gaudy 11.4 wins per season. Not bad considering each team is only guaranteed nine games per season and in the Covid-shortened 2020 campaign, only six regular-season games were played.

“I think during that time period we have had like eight different principals and five different superintendents,” said Fairfield. “But our football program has never wavered. We are very proud of that.”

Muskegon’s program continues to produce success stories off the football field as well – including Cornell University graduate Demetrius Harris (a team captain his senior year), “Hard Knocks” series star and current New York Giant Kalil Simpleton and Quincy (Crosby) Isaiah, who starred as Magic Johnson in the HBO Max series “Winning Time.”

But Fairfield and his staff – which includes long-time assistants Matt Bolles, Tracy Lewis, Don Poole, Montrell Dockery, Kam Williams, Scott Fodrocy, Ted Bartholomew and Lorenzo Rodriguez, among others – are just as proud of the hundreds of other players who have gained the confidence to stay in school and make something better of themselves.

Former players like Taran “TJ” Smith, a 2015 graduate, recently posted on Fairfield’s Facebook page:  

“Love this man for everything he tried to instill in me.” 

The final number that Fairfield remembers is 2 – which is the number of varsity football players in his 13 years as head coach who have failed to graduate, and the number is zero since 2014.

That is an incredible statistic, one which makes the 11.4 wins per year over the past decade and eight state championship game appearances in 13 years seem almost trivial.

“Those kids learned some valuable life lessons in this program,” said Fairfield . “Now they have their degree and can go out and improve their lives and become the best versions of themselves. That’s really what we are doing here.”