Already a high school coaching legend in the Muskegon area, only a prolonged career as an active coach delayed Pete Kutches’ induction into the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame. Kutches’ credentials as a winning football coach at several local high schools rank him among the elite of all-time gridiron mentors in the area – indeed, in the state of Michigan. His 126-25 overall record in 15 years as head football coach translates into a remarkable .833 winning percentage. He was the first head coach in Michigan history to guide two different schools to state football championships.

A native of Escanaba in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Kutches earned all-state honors in both basketball and football at Escanaba St. Joseph High School. He played college football at the University of Wyoming. A two-way starter for the Cowboys, Kutches also was called upon to serve as the Cowboys’ place kicker in the 1956 Sun Bowl match-up against Texas Tech, when their regular kicker was lost to injury in Wyoming’s regular season finale. Kutches delivered on all three PAT attempts and recovered a fumble deep in Texas Tech territory late in the game to set up the game-winning touchdown.

Following college graduation, he returned to Michigan and began his long coaching career at Hudson, Michigan in 1958. The following year, he moved to Muskegon High School, becoming an assistant coach. He made a major contribution in re-establishing winning football at Muskegon under head coach Roger Chiaverini in the late 1960s. When Chiaverini became head coach at Muskegon Catholic Central in 1971, Kutches was persuaded to join him as an assistant. Kutches became the Crusaders’ head football coach in 1980 after Chiaverini departed. His MCC football teams in the next four years were the stuff of legends. From 1980 to 1984, MCC gridders won 40 games, three Lake Michigan Athletic Conference championships, and Michigan High School Athletic Association Class B state championships in both 1980 and 1982. The team finished state runner-up in 1981 and compiled a string of 20 consecutive victories during the span.

Kutches’ reputation as a winning coach was soaring by this time, and he was lured by Reeths-Puffer High School to become their head football coach in 1984. Kutches spent the next 11 years there as head coach, where he continued his winning ways with a 86-20 record. During that span, he led the Rockets to a Class A state championship in 1992, becoming the state’s first coach to lead two different schools to MHSAA gridiron crowns. His teams earned four playoff appearances and seven conference titles before his retirement.