Three former football coaches in the Huron League will be inducted into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association on Saturday March 25th, 2017 in Ann Arbor.
Former SMCC and current Carlson Head Football Coach Jack Giarmo, former Huron Interim Head Coach and long time Huron Assistant Coach Jim Kalbfleisch and retired Jefferson Middle School Coach Dave Spaulding have all been tabbed by their peers for the 2017 Hall of Fame Class.
Giarmo posted a 144-54 record in 17 seasons as the Head Coach at SMCC. The Falcons were in the playoffs fourteen times during Giarmo’s tenure and made it to Ford Field four times. In his final season at SMCC, the Falcons captured the 2014 Division 6 State Championship with a 22-12 victory over Ithaca which had won 69 straight games and 4 consecutive State Titles.
Kalbfleisch will enter the Hall under the banner of the Lincoln Park Railsplitters. Kalbfleisch started coaching in the 1970’s with the legendary Bill McCartney and was the Head Coach at Lincoln Park 3 different times. He was the head coach from 1984-1993 and amassed a record of 53-37 He returned as head coach at the turn of the century and led the Railsplitters to the playoffs in 2002 while finishing 7-4. His last stint came in 2011 in an attempt to turn around the Lincoln Park program that was in the midst of a long losing streak. Kalbfleisch’s Huron League coaching stint was as the defensive coordinator for his son Dan and he helped lift the Chiefs out of football obscurity. It culminated last season as the Interim Head Coach after Dan left to be the AD at Gibraltar Carlson. He led the Chiefs to the playoffs for just the 4th time, finishing with a record of 6-4.
Spaulding was a middle school coach at Jefferson Middle School from 1976 until his retirement in 2015. He was mentored by the great Marc Cisco who led the Bears to the 1994 Class BB State Title over East Grand Rapids. Spaulding teamed with fellow coach Mike Centala as Co-Coaches of the Jefferson 8th grade team for 38 straight years. Spaulding amassed a 174-54-6 record while coaching football for the Bears.
Coincidently, Giarmo and Kalbfleisch will be coaching together during the 2017 season as Giarmo takes over the Marauder program with Kalbfleisch serving as a volunteer assistant.
For tickets and more information on the induction please visit: http://www.mhsfca.com/assets/1/16/D3_Ticket_Order_Form_Web_Site1.pdf
Congratulations great coaches and great role models , my son loved playing for jack !
Coach Giarmo is very well deserving. It is a great time to be in Carlson! Hire a new coach who happens to have won a state title and is being named to the state Hall of Fame. Not a bad hire at all…Who is next from the area to be inducted?
Congratulations to all these coaches! All yhree are quality men.
Congrats to both Coach Giarmo and Coach Kalbfleisch, I have the honor of knowing both men. I have coached with Coach Kalbfleisch and hope to coach with Coach Giarmo in the near future.