46 | DECEMBER 19 • 2019

sports HIGHlights

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quick hits
BY STEVE STEIN

Billy Slobin and Doug Lemberg helped

the North Farmington High School foot-

ball team reach heights this season the

Raiders hadn’
t reached in decades.

Slobin and Lemberg were two of the

former Farmington Hills Harrison High

School assistant football coaches who

took their talents to North Farmington

after Harrison closed at the end of the

2018-19 school year.

Slobin continued as a volunteer

strength and conditioning coach.

Lemberg, a North Farmington graduate,

continued as the outside linebackers

coach.

North Farmington finished 9-1, los-

ing only 34-21 to University of Detroit

Jesuit on Nov. 2 in a playoff opener.

The Raiders went undefeated in the

regular season for the first time since

1978, outscoring their opponents 372-

95. That was the most points scored

during the regular season in program

history and the least allowed since

1989.

North Farmington won the Oakland

Activities Association Blue Division

championship with a 6-0 record

that included a 13-9 win over rival

Farmington in Week 8.

Both teams were undefeated com-

ing into the game.

North Farmington was a combined

5-22 the previous three seasons

(2016-18) including 0-9 in 2016 and

had made only one playoff appearance

in 13 years. That was in 2013.

The Raiders are still looking for their

first playoff win since 1978.

Harrison is arguably the most suc-

cessful high school football program in

the state.

Under John Herrington, the team’
s

only coach, the Hawks piled up a

state-record 443 victories and 13 state

championships starting in 1970. They

were 93-21 in playoff games.

Herrington was a volunteer coach at

North Farmington this fall. Jon Herstein,

his former longtime assistant coach,

was the head coach.

CONTRIBUTED

Doug Lemberg
and Billy Slobin


Young Jews
Making Moves:
Will Bloomberg
W

ill Bloomberg, a high school
senior at Frankel Jewish
Academy (FJA), has always
been a leader both on and off the
athletic field. Now, he is combining
his leadership abilities and love of
sports and channeling them toward a
charitable cause.
Bloomberg, 17, has been the captain
of the varsity soccer team since his
sophomore year and plays varsity
basketball for FJA. Bloomberg was also
named “All-Catholic” by the Catholic
High School League for the 2018-2019
season for both soccer and basketball.
“Ever since I was young, I’
ve been
a leader,” Bloomberg says. “When I
started playing sports here, I developed
my leadership skills even more. Being
a captain of athletes who are older than

you is a challenge, but it allowed me to
show who I really am as an athlete and
as a person.”
Since Bloomberg’
s athletic career has
been a positive impact on his personal
growth, he decided he wanted to
give back to the community through
sports. With the help of friends Tal
Rubin, Alex Aisner and Rafi Iframov,
Bloomberg started his own charity
basketball three-on-three league.
In the charity’
s inaugural season
this year, Bloomberg and his friends
welcomed 36 students from different
high schools and raised more than
$400. The event took place this
past March at Friendship Circle of
Michigan.
The money raised goes to benefiting
Friendship Circle and Friends of
the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF).
Bloomberg and his friends felt strongly
about choosing the FIDF as their
charity of choice because of their love
for Israel.
“My experiences with Jewish day
school and Jewish camps have shown
me how Judaism can shape someone,
and how important religion and
tradition are in supporting your
passions,” Bloomberg says.
“Learning about Judaism in school

CORRIE COLF STAFF WRITER

PHOTOS COURTESY OF WILL BLOOMBERG

Will Bloomberg of
Farmington Hills is
committed to strengthening
his community through
his devotion to sports.

continued on page 48