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John Blankenship, pioneer of the veer offense, remembered

Contributed by Al "Chick” Rodammer

  When Ralph Munger left Frankenmuth to become the head Coach at Rockford High School, Frankenmuth hired Houghton Lake Coach John Blankenship to succeed Munger.

  Blankenship was the head coach at Houghton Lake for 14 years and won eight Jack Pine Conference titles and an overall record of 90-35-1.  Coach Blankenship was the head coach at Frankenmuth for 12 seasons (1992-2000; 2006-2008), compiling an impressive 92 – 29 record, six Tri-Valley Conference championships and two regional championships.

   John Blankenship passed away on June 6 at the age of 80. Statewide, Blankenship is remembered for his offensive expertise for the use of the veer offense and was well renowned among coaches. Following Coach Munger, it took a couple of seasons for Blankenship to fully incorporate the veer offense system in the Eagle offense. 

  After a 5-4 record in 1992 and a 7-2 record in 1993, Blankenship led the Eagles the next seven years to playoffs each season, five conference championships, two regional championships and a 55-10 record in those seven years. 

  In 1995, the Eagle team in the Regional Championship played against undefeated Montrose in the famous “Snow Bowl” game.  With howling winds, driving snow and bitter cold temperatures, the Eagles defeated Montrose 19-12 to claim the Regional Championship.  Frankenmuth in the semi-finals lost 28-15 to the eventual State Champion Detroit Country Day where the Eagle squad fought in a closely played game. The 1995 team ended the season with an 11-1 record. 

  In 1997, Blankenship again led the Eagles with an 11-1 record with the lone loss in the semifinals to Riverview. 

  In 2000, the Eagles lost to Birch Run in the regular season, but a rematch of the undefeated Birch Run squad in the playoffs led to an Eagles decisive 56-12 win. After the 2000 season, Blankenship stepped down to become the Athletic Director at Frankenmuth. 

  Before becoming Athletic Director, Blankenship was an excellent math teacher and coached some junior varsity basketball. Coach John Blankenship also coached at Calumet (1974-76) and Millington (1977) prior to his coaching stints at Houghton Lake and Frankenmuth and coached one year at Kalamazoo Hackett in 2013 and at Northwood University from 2003 to 2005. 

  In 2006, Blankenship returned to the sideline as the head coach of the Eagles and held that position for three years. 

  In 2007, Coach led an underdog team to a Tri-Valley Championship. Coach John Blankenship ended his overall Head Coaching career with a 205-82-3 record in 31 seasons.  His 92 wins at Frankenmuth ranks second behind current Coach Phil Martin. 

  In 1997, John Blankenship was inducted into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame. Fellow Eagle assistant coaches under Blankenship also in the Hall of Fame are Harry Weston and Ric Ruhl. 

  The Frankenmuth Football program has had seven coaches in their 70-year history and has led the program to one of the top programs in the state with an overall record of 520-168-4.

   Coach John Blankenship was one of the contributors to the success of Frankenmuth Football.

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