A past president of the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association, Jack Schugars solidified his place in local history on a cold and rainy night in Hart back in 2004.  After an extremely rare 0-3 start, his Oakridge Eagles stormed to a 43-8 win over Hart.  The victory was Schugars’ 210th as a head coach, breaking the area record for career victories, long held by Muskegon Heights legend Okie Johnson.

“I never dreamed about getting this many wins way back when I started,” said Schugars, who took the reigns of the program back in 1979 after the Eagles had posted a 1-8 mark a season earlier.  Over the years, he has served as a father figure to many and remains a strong role model for Oakridge athletes. On that night of accomplishment, in typical fashion, he turned the focus to the kids.

“But right now, I’m most excited for these kids. They could have quit and walked away the way this season started. But they stuck together and climbed out of the hole.”

The mentor’s focus on the positive has allowed the school, located on the eastern edge of Muskegon, to carve out their own identity in an area of the state with a long tradition of winning on the gridiron. In 30 years as head coach, the Eagles have won state titles in 1997, 2005, and 2008, to go along with two runner-up finishes. Schugars’ teams have won 17 titles in the outstanding West Michigan Conference, including nine of ten crowns between 1999 and 2008.