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He wasn't far away, either.

Brian Lark, who coached the junior varsity team last fall and served as former coach Don Crossley's assistant the last couple of years, takes over the program.

Hiring someone already familiar with the program was a plus, athletic director Ron Stremlow said.

"We had three great applicants at the end, and he was a step above everybody," Stremlow said.

"He has the experience. He's familiar with the varsity program, and I think he's going to try to follow the same steps.

"Everybody on the interview committee was real impressed with him. I think he can keep the program going in the right direction.

"The kids all seem to be positive about it. I think the kids feel comfortable, knowing they won't have to change their numbering system."

The 45-year old Lark is a retired military man, having spent 22 years in the United States Army.

"Been in 48 states and 32 countries," Lark said.

He is married and has five children, one boy and four girls. The oldest is 24 and the youngest 7.

A graduate of Elk Rapids High School, Lark built up the varsity defense and will run basically the same offense as last year.

Lark is the assistant varsity wrestling coach at Elk Rapids, and coaches the middle school wrestling team.

He's also the middle school track coach, and says he intends to keep all those jobs if he can.

Defense was his specialty for the Warriors.

The year before he started coaching at Forest Area, the Warriors gave up 318 points.

Last year, the Warriors' defense surrendered only 117 points in finishing 6-3 and qualifying for the playoffs for the first time.

"I had applied for the head coaching job at Kalkaska (which went to Ted Collins), and when I fell short on that one Don called me," Lark related.

"When I came over, he gave me a bunch of film and asked me to analyze it.

"After I looked it over, I told Don that there was nothing wrong with the offense. The defense was broke and it needs to be fixed."

Fix it is what Lark did.

He made some changes at halftime of the Bellaire game, and the Warriors gave up an average of 14 points a game the rest of the season.

"The talent was always there," Lark said. "It was the fundamentals that had to be learned.

"We have good kids, good support from the community and the staff at the school.

"Along with that, you needed to change the atmosphere. It's an atmosphere of winning."

Lark admits to stealing some of what he'll run at Forest Area from other coaches, most notably Ed Schindler at Elk Rapids.

But he's not going to run any exotic alignments.

"You don't have to re-invent the wheel," Lark said. "You run a consistent program, with good, solid plays and teach the basics.

"Teach blocking and tackling. It's still a pitch and catch game. Understanding that is critical to being successful in this business."