(4-25-22) Brandywine has named a new head football coach, Justin Kinzie. Kinzie has been the head coach at South Bend Riley for the past two seasons.

In two seasons with the Wildcats Kinzie finished with a 4-13 record, in 2020 he went 3-7. Riley’s lone win in 2022 was a 42-6 win over South Bend Clay.

In mid-December Kinzie tweeted the following about leaving the Wildcats program –

“This afternoon I was informed by the administration at Riley High School of their intention to move in a different direction at Head Coach for the 2022-23 school year. While nothing about the past two seasons has gone according to plan, the young men of this football program have remained resilient through it all. Riley went from 39 players on their roster in 2019 to nearly 60 this past season, during a time when many programs have seen participation dwindle. 

“In spite of the academic woes brought on by the COVID pandemic, we saw 5 ineligible players work to successfully return to eligibility through the season. Education-based athletics is a toll that can “stand in the gap” for many young people who would otherwise be lost, and it has the power to change family trees. I only hope that in my time at the helm of the Wildcats my staff and I were able to positively impact the young people in our care.”

In a tweet in mid-January Kinzie announced he would be joining Scot Shaw;s staff at Niles-

Kinzie replaces Mike Nate who led the Bobcats to a 73-49 record in13 years with seven playoff appearances. Brandywine won the school’s first-ever playoff game in 2020.

Nate coached for 40 years. He was an assistant at Kalamazoo Christian in 1979 and was also an assistant at Decatur, Dowagiac and Niles before becoming the head coach at Bridgman from 2003 to 2006. He was the head coach at South Bend Riley in 2007 and 2008 before taking over at Brandywine.

Interesting point…

Coach Kinzie and Nate were both the head coach at South Bend Riley

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