HATE WEEK PART III
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Suspended Ferris Institute coach Tony Annesse to return Friday
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – In 26 years as a head coach, Tony Annese never missed a game for any reason, but his Nov. 6 suspension by Ferris State administrators broke that streak.
Following a one-game absence as part of an eight-day penalty, the 52-year-old coach is scheduled to return to the Bulldogs on Friday, one day before the team plays their regular season finale at home against Northern Michigan.
“It had been 290 straight weeks and then I missed 291,” he said. “Actually, it goes back further than that (1987), but that was as a head coach.
Annese, whose coaching past includes stops in Jenison, Muskegon and Grand Rapids Community College, was suspended Nov. 6 by the university following a locker room incident during halftime of a game Oct. 26 at Michigan Tech.
Neither Annese nor the university has discussed the details of what happened.
Junior defensive end Carlton Johnson said the incident was part of a tactic to pump up the team during halftime, according to a story in the Ferris State student newspaper.
“I know what it was and it wasn’t that serious,” Johnson told the Ferris State Torch. “It was just to get us hyped.”
Annese said he planned to speak with university officials about holding a press conference Friday to further discuss his return.
“When it first came out, there wasn’t a lot of clarity,” he said of what was seen by him as a motivational tactic in a game Ferris State trailed 21-10. “I think more and more people are kind of getting a grasp of what occurred, and hopefully I can fill in more blanks at some point.”
Ferris State came back to win the game, 30-27.
In its statement on the suspension, the university said he would be reinstated Thursday, Nov. 14. Annese said his first practice with the team will be Friday. He said that was the date he was first given.
The suspension period was pushed back by one day from what Ferris State cited in its original statement due to an error made between the time of the draft and when it was issued, said Sandy Gholston, news service and social media manager for the university.
“The terms of Tony's suspension and reinstatement date, as he was notified, did not change,” Gholston said.
Assistant coach Rob Zeitman, a former head coach at Northview, was in charge of the Bulldogs on Saturday, Nov. 9, when they defeated visiting Northwood 42-10 to improve to 7-3 overall, 7-2 and in second place in the GLIAC North.
The Bulldogs still cling to slim NCAA Division II playoff hopes, and look to reach eight wins for the first time since 2006.
Pete Wallner covers sports for MLive/Grand Rapids Press. Email him at pwallner@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google
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