2021 - a season like no other for the Lawton Blue Devils, one for the ages. As the Blue Devils prepare to play for a state title Saturday morning at Ford Field in Detroit against Pewamo-Westphalia (the two towns are northwest of Lansing and about 45 miles east of Grand Rapids.), another accolade is possible for Lawton. WWMT reports Lawton football coach Wade Waldrup is in the running for the Detroit Lions High School Football Coach of the Year.

But as any coach will tell you, it's about the kids, and playing for a state title is something that galvanizes a community, especially a small one like Lawton. All of the sudden, everyone is behind you, everyone is talking about the team and its chances. At every reunion in the next 50 plus years, everyone will have a memory and a story to share. This is forever territory.

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The coach of the year award is voted on by a state media committee and one vote is from a fan vote. Voting started Sunday and you can vote once per hour until Saturday night at Midnight. Certainly, a win on Saturday would help, but the folks in Lawton know who they're voting for already.

Here's where to vote

(Blue Devil Sports Network via YouTube)
(Blue Devil Sports Network via YouTube)
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Should Waldrup be chosen the Lions High School Coach of the Year, then he'd be eligible for the National Football Leagues national High School Football Coach of the Year, named after legendary Baltimore Colts and Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula. This has been a weekly program all season long, with all the weekly winners getting a certificate signed by Lions' head coach Dan Campbell and National Football League (NFL) commissioner Roger Goodell as well as acknowledgment at an in-game ceremony at the Lions game with Arizona on December 19. The Detroit Lions High School Football Coach of the Year will also get his school a $3,000 donation.

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