First & Goals: Bear Lake's Samantha Mullet debuts as first female football coach in MHSAA history

Aug. 8—BEAR LAKE — Football is back for all high schools as the vibes were immaculate and hot at Bear Lake High School for the Lakers' first football practice of the season on Monday.

The Lakers are entering their seventh season in program history, and the players are excited to be a part of it. Especially considering the history that the program is making.

"I definitely love building this team and building the reputation of this team to carry on for many generations," junior center Phillip Putney said.

Bear Lake is made a generational move by hiring Samantha Mullet to be the new 8-player football coach after coach John Prokes retired.

"It's good to be back out on the field instead of summer mini camp," Mullet said. "It's good to start seeing everybody rolling in the parking lot."

Mullet, 28, is the first female high school football coach — 8-player or 11-player — in Michigan High School Athletic Association history, but she doesn't want the attention to stray from the players on the field.

The 28-year-old is also one of the youngest football coaches in the state.

Mullet came home after graduating college to help newly retired coach John Prokes in 2017. Mullet coached under Prokes on the offensive and defensive side for Bear Lake. She also was a coaching intern at two NFL organizations and was an assistant coach at a high school in Georgia for a year.

With the coaching experience in her pocket, she is excited to get started with the players they have.

Mullet addressed the players before taking the field for warmups and spoke vocally about the standards and goals they wanted to achieve before the season ends.

She also told the players the attention — for now — is going to be about her, but it should be about the players on the field.

"Everyone is pumped for the season," senior running back Cole Merrill said. "We're young and have nothing to lose."

The team got together over the summer at Mullet's house to discuss some of the goals and standards they wanted to set and achieve. They agreed on 15 goals, with one being to have a winning record.

The Lakers haven't had any luck since revamping their football program seven years ago. Bear Lake won just one game last season, finishing 1-8 overall, and was winless in the West Michigan D.

"We've been talking all summer about what the expectations are and what the standards are going forward," Mullet said. "They all know that we're building on what we have, and we're going to push forward."

Merrill had a goal on the board specifically for himself. The senior running back and linebacker said he wants to be named all-state before his time at Bear Lake ends.

"It's senior year, and I don't have a lot of time," Merrill said. "I mean, this is the deadline and getting all-state this year is important to me."

Bear Lake opens the season Aug. 25 on the road at Bellaire before hosting West Michigan D champion Marion in Week Two. The Lakers also want to make program history by beating Onekama and Brethren for the first time ever.

The Lakers host Onekama in Week Four and travel to Brethren the following week.

"Onekama is one of our biggest rivals when it comes down to 8-man football in the region," Putney said. "That's our biggest reason for wanting to beat them."

As the first day transitions into the second day and prep sports begin in earnest with live-game action in the coming weeks, let's take a look at some of the questions lingering around northern Michigan as the 2023 fall season approaches.

1. Who will emerge from a wildly talented crop of area volleyballers as the best of the best?

The monsoon of volleyball stars that will be raining down on the competition this season is far from a passing storm. These spikers, setters and blockers have staying power, and they all will be battling for wins and championships as well as the Record-Eagle Player of the Year.

The favorite — undoubtedly — is the reigning R-E PotY. Cadillac's Carissa Musta returns for the senior season with the Vikings after helping lead them to the state championship game where they fell short to Northville. Musta was a beast on the court with more than 500 kills and nearly 200 blocks.

Also entering their final prep season with eyes on team and individual glory are Traverse City West's Audrey LaFaive, Leland's Fiona Moord, Kingsley's Grace Lewis, Boyne City's Ava Tarsi, Kalkaska's Alyssa Colvin, Elk Rapids' Morgan Bergquist, Charlevoix's Addison Boop and Frankfort's Payton Miller to just name a few. Each one has the potential to put together a history-making final season, and those not mentioned now have a chip on their shoulder to push them forward.

A few in their penultimate high school year also possess the skill, talent and drive to throw their hat in the ring for top honors come the end of the season. Juniors Elyse Heffner (Traverse City Central), Avery Nance (Traverse City St. Francis), Cassie Jenema (Cadillac) and Brianna Ager (Boyne City) were all Dream Team selections last season, and they should only improve in 2023.

2. Will Aiden Harrand be to Buckley what Hunter Jones was to Benzie?

In some people's minds, Aiden Harrand — the sensational runner for the Bears — is already hot on the heels of possibly the greatest high school runner in Michigan prep sports history in Benzie Central's Hunter Jones. And she might just follow in his steps and head to Wake Forest when her impressive prep career is in the books.

Harrand won both the Record-Eagle Runner of the Year awards during the 2022-23 school year, taking home the girls cross country honor and the girls track and field honor while also winning an individual cross country state championship, three individual track state titles and helping the Bears to their first-ever team state crown in track and field.

She won 11 of her 12 cross country races as a junior and had an average margin of victory of 34.5 seconds. She won the Division 4 finals by nearly 15 seconds after winning the regional by 49 seconds. She also took home the gold at the Michigan Class D Cross Country State Championship by 63 seconds.

But Harrand's accomplishments go beyond just collecting trophies. Her success is ground zero for a growing program in Buckley as last season marked the first time in her three years at Buckley that the small-town rural school had a girls cross country program after not having an official girls team in more than two decades.

3. What football team — if any — will represent northern Michigan at Ford Field come November?

Traverse City Central made the trip in 2021, only to be turned away from state championship glory. The same happened to Traverse City St. Francis in 2022. Is there a team that can not only earn a four-hour bus ride to Detroit but can break through and hoist a title trophy?

The Trojans went more than three decades between appearances in the state championship game, and the Gladiators — despite being a perennial contender — have not won the big one since 2009 to end a stretch of claiming five state championships in 11 years. Still, while some are predicting a "down year" for St. Francis, it would be unwise to prematurely count out a program and a system that consistently churns out winners and gets the most out of their gridiron student-athletes season after season after season.

TC Central is still under the steady watch of Eric Schugars, which means that each and every Trojan will play for the guy lining up next to him. And across town at Traverse City West, the Titans find themselves under new leadership as James Wagner takes over with the hopes of turning around a program that lost a little zip in the last couple of years. Wagner is no stranger to such feats, and he looks to duplicate his previous successes.

Cadillac will also find itself under new leadership as Nick Winkler takes the helm. Benzie Central and Manistee pulled off surprise playoff wins last season, and that might translate to confidence and early-season success. Boyne City and Charlevoix will hope to build on an already solid foundation.

But is there a state champion among the nearly 50 teams that dot the Record-Eagle's coverage area? This season, it looks like, will be a game of wait-and-see.

4. Can Grace Slocum pull off the two-title feat in golf and cross country?

The Traverse City St. Francis cross country team is coming off of a team state championship in 2022, and the girls golf squad is coming off its best state finals finish in program history with a 10th-place effort. Slocum has been an integral part of the success of both teams, and 2023 could see the Gladiator pull off the rare feat of winning an individual state championship on the links while helping the cross-country team to another state crown.

Slocum won every event she played in last fall but two, with one of those exceptions being the state finals where she placed third — only two shots off the lead. She was tied for the lead after one round of the two-day event, but she said she struggled on the final three holes which proved to be her undoing. That experience, however, helped her grow as a golfer as she heads into her junior season as the favorite to win the Record-Eagle's Golfer of the Year Award for the second straight season.

Her golf game will no doubt be steady, which means the last year's bronze could turn into this year's gold. And if the Glads' cross country team continues to excel under the direction of head coach Julie Duffing, there is a very good chance that Slocum could add state championships in two different sports in the same season to her already glowing prep resume.

5. Does Elk Rapids soccer have what it takes to finally reach the final game of the season?

The last three seasons have been wildly successful for Elk Rapids. That is until the state semifinals roll around.

In 2020, the 19-win Elks lost to Grand Rapids South Christian by a 4-1 final at Red Hawk Stadium in Cedar Springs, In 2021, the 19-win Elks lost to Grand Rapids South Christian by a 2-1 final at Red Hawk Stadium in Cedar Springs, In 2022, the 18-win Elks lost to Holland Christian by a 4-1 final at Red Hawk Stadium in Cedar Springs.

The talent and ability was there to bring Elk Rapids to the precipice each time. The talent and ability was there to bring them further. But the promise and potential just couldn't fully bloom to get them to the promised land.

The 2023 season sees the Elks come in with the loss of a bevy of great players, not only skill-wise but by virtue of their leadership as well. The 2022 Record-Eagle Player of the Year Spencer Ball, Charlie Parrish and Jared Barcenas are all gone. But head coach Nate Plum is a master at preparing the next guy up to take over and fill the void, so another appearance at Red Hawk Stadium could be a possibility.

If it happens, hopefully — for the Elks' sake — the trip is better than the last three.

6. Is a second state championship in the cards for Traverse City St. Francis tennis?

The Gladiators nabbed the boys title in 2021 to earn the program's first state championship in 60 years of existence. St. Francis finished third last year, but the Glads boast a robust roster that includes state champion and reigning Record-Eagle Player of the Year Owen Jackson as well as a stacked group of veterans the likes of Chris Bobrowski, Tristan Bonanni, Eli Schmude, Max King, Carson Poole and David Ansley along with a solid contingent of youngsters brimming with potential.

Jackson followed up a three-singles state championship as a freshman with a two-singles state title as a sophomore after winning a team championship with the Gladiators in 2021. Bonanni made it all the way to the Division 4 state championship semifinals as a junior before falling short of individual glory. Bobrowski was the 2022 Division 4 state runner-up in three-singles and put together a fantastic junior campaign.

Schmude and King were the top seed in the two-doubles bracket of the 2022 Division 4 state finals and fell in the semifinals. They still finished the 2022 season with regional and conference titles, so a successful 2023 campaign is a high probability. Poole and Ansley finished as the 2022 state championship runner-up in the Division 4 three-doubles tournament. They also took second place in the regional, and the pair really came on strong at the end of the regular season.

All of that mixed with a winning culture and top-shelf leadership has that state championship trophy well within reach.