Schmutz to Retire after Thanksgiving Game

After 36 years on the sideline, Thursday’s Thanksgiving season-ending matchup between and Canton High will be the last game for Bears football head coach Paul Schmutz, who will retire when the final whistle blows.

“It’s time,” Schmutz said in an interview Tuesday. “You know when it’s time. You can feel it. Either as a player or as a coach, I’ve been involved in football for 40 years. I’ve got two little grand kids at home, one is five the other is six months old, so, I want to spend some more time with them, spend some time with my wife. She’s been really really good about this. We started going together in ninth grade in high school.”

Schmutz has been the Granby Memorial’s only head coach since its inception four years ago.

During that time, the team has seen its share of ups and downs. The Bears had some success at the junior varsity level, though that hasn’t necessarily translated to victories since moving up to the varsity level last season, as the team has just one win in 19 games leading up to tomorrow’s clash against Canton.

The lone victory came in rousing fashion against Windsor Locks/Suffield/East Granby on Oct. 1, thanks in no small part to that preserved a tenuous 13-12 lead. The Bears are 1-8 this season.

But to measure the program’s, and, by extension, coach Schmutz’s, success based solely on wins and losses would, without question, miss the impact that the team and the coach has had on the players.

Consider the following comments by the team’s four co-captains:

“[Coach Schmutz has] been a mentor to me for these past four years,” said junior Ben Marlor. “I’ve loved being with him. He’s really helped me out become a better football player and a better overall person. He’s taught me a lot of leadership skills. He’s really brought this program together.”

“Four years ago this program was absolutely nothing,” senior Ryan Dirienzo said. “There was one guy who made a difference - who started it. Coach Schmutz was that perfect person. He’s a great coach. I think he did an excellent job. I love what he did for me for four years in terms of football and in terms of being a person. He’s going to be missed.”

“For the last four years, Coach Schmutz has made me a better football player and a better person,” said senior Zach Balboni.

“I’ve only been playing here for two years, but [coach Schmutz] made us better leaders, better overall players,” junior Stephen Blake said. “He started the program by himself. He’s always going to be family. When we all get older, he’s going to be like a dad to us.”

Such loyalty has inspired the players to dedicate the game to Schmutz, and the Bears would love nothing more than to send their coach out with a victory. It’s possible, as Pequot Uncas rival Canton, with an 0-9 record, hasn’t won a game this year.

“We’re just going to give him a nice Gatorade bath,” Blake said. “We just want to give him a win.”

Dirienzo agreed.

“It means everything to me,” he said. “Just seeing that win on that scoreboard would mean the world to me.”

Schmutz, for his part, isn’t thinking about the end or his departure. He’s worried about defeating Canton.

“I’m thinking about hopefully we play well and win the game for the seniors and the kids here,” Schmutz said. “It would be good for the program. Looking at both teams, we’re pretty equal. It should be a tight game. It could come down to one or two plays.”

As for the players he’s coached in Granby, Schmutz said that it would be difficult to say goodbye.

“Some of them started with me when we first started the program, so I’ve been with them for four years, so it’s going to be kind of sad to see them go and myself too,” he said. “I’ve developed a good relationship with them. They’re all real good kids.”

Granby faces Canton at Ahrens Park Thursday, Nov. 24 at 10 a.m.