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– Photo courtesy of Herman Moore’s Facebook page.
Herman Moore, Rob Rubick, Cory Schlesinger, Brock Guiterrez, Scott Conover and George Jamison will battle the Hart teachers
Pirate News is a presentation of Hart Public Schools in partnership with Oceana County Press.
By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor
HART — Retired Detroit Lions football players are coming to Hart High School this weekend to compete against Hart school district faculty members in an epic hoops showdown.
The game is slated for this Sunday, May 4, at 1 p.m. in the Hart High School gym.
The Lions All-Star team includes Herman Moore, Rob Rubick, Cory Schlesinger, Brock Guiterrez, Scott Conover and George Jamison.
The Pirate team includes Dean DeVries, Bud Giddings, Madison Meek, Ken Byard, Mark Fralic, Kara Baker, Joe Tanis, Anthony Brinkman, Calvin Ackley and Sarah Pioli.
Hart’s Spitler Elementary School Principal Brandon Bruce came up with the idea for Hart to host this unique and fun event. “I’ve known Rob Rubick for about 20 years,” said Bruce. “He’s from Newberry (in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula), and I taught up there. We connected, and we’ve been in contact ever since. He has coordinated this kind of event for the Lions organization for about the last 25 years.
“I saw a Facebook post that they were in Coldwater,” said Bruce. “I saw that Herman Moore had posted, ‘Hey Coldwater, we had a great time at your place,’ and I thought, ‘Gosh, that would be great if we could get those guys to come to Hart.’ So, I texted Rob right away.”
Bruce said he was anticipating their appearance would be next school year, but was delighted to find out that they were available to come right away. It just so happened that their schedule was in northern Michigan. “Friday night, they’re in Alpena; Saturday, they’re in Traverse City in the afternoon; and then they’re going to Cadillac Saturday night. And he said, ‘Hey, we can come to Hart on Sunday.’”
Herman Moore, an all-pro for the Lions who set an NFL record during his career, is on the ballot for the Hall of Fame. “Herman Moore is another Lions’ legend,” said Bruce.
Rubick, a Newberry High School graduate, played for the Lions for seven years in the late 1980s/early 1990s after playing for Grand Valley State University. Jamison was linebacker for the Lions in the late ‘80s. Conover was an offensive lineman who blocked for Barry Sanders. Schlesinger was a fullback for Detroit in the early ‘90s, who also blocked for Barry Sanders. Guiterrez, another offensive lineman, who had a short stint with the Lions and played for the San Francisco 49ers most of his 16-year NFL career. “He’s a former teammate of mine,” said Bruce. “I played with Brock when we were in college, so it will be fun to catch up with him.” The elementary school principal was a linebacker for the Central Michigan University Chippewas from 1990-1994. “Brock was an offensive lineman, so he and I locked horns many times. I’m looking forward to catching up with him on Sunday.
“I think it’s going to be a lot of fun and a great event. They engage with the audience — they pull kids out of the crowd and have them shoot free throws. These guys are great ambassadors for the Lions’ organization. They’ve all been a part of some great historic moments.”
Bruce will serve as an official for Sunday’s game, along with Jim Bowen of Ludington.
“We’re pretty lucky to have this fall in our lap,” said Superintendent Mark Platt. “I am very grateful to Brandon for being able to pull this off, and (Executive Assistant of Administrative Affairs) Kelli Campagna has done a ton of work. We have t-shirts for people to purchase and get autographed. We even have a couple of footballs made specifically for autographs. She’s been working with (tech team) Jason Gale and Phil DeBrot, so on our scoreboards you’re going to see some really cool stuff.”
Years ago, active Lions players used to play in the school basketball games until a player was injured, putting the kibosh on that, Bruce.
Advance tickets for $6 can be purchased here. All proceeds from the event go toward supporting the student activities fund in each school building.
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