NEWPORT – Coach Rob Beaudrie said it would take about four years to turn the Monroe Jefferson football team into a playoff contender when he took over before the 2023 season.
Anyone who saw his work at Erie Mason wasn’t surprised the Bears made it happen a year ahead of schedule.
And they didn’t just sneak into the postseason in 2025. Jefferson had arguably the greatest season in program history, qualifying for the playoffs for only the third time in almost 20 years and smashing school records along the way.
The Bears went 11-2, shared the Huron League championship with Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central and Riverview, won Division 5 district and regional titles, and advanced to the state semifinal for the first time since 1999 and only the third
time ever.
Led at quarterback by Grand Valley State commit Luke Beaudrie, coach Beaudrie’s son, the Bears set program records for points in a season (545), rushing yards (4,039), passing yards (1,341) and total offense (5,380). Several long-held individual records fell, too.
That success, plus the fact that the Bears return eight players on offense and seven on defense, has some media members picking Jefferson to make it to Ford Field and win it all.
Which is saying something considering the Bears won only three games combined in Beaudrie’s first two seasons.
So, with the season kicking off Friday against Burton Madison, it’s been a challenging offseason of silencing the outside noise and doubling down in practice to make sure 2025’s success wasn’t a fluke.
“Last year didn’t go to their heads, but last year was last year,” coach Beaudrie said during practice Aug. 26. “We can’t look at last year’s success and expect the same thing this year without working hard. We’ve got to work harder, plus we’ve got a bullseye on our backs now.”
Beaudrie would know.
He worked similar magic at Erie Mason from 2018 to 2021.
He took over a team that had won only 13 games over the previous 11 years. During his first two seasons, the Eagles won only three games combined, just like his start at Jefferson. Then, in 2020, his son Noah led them to a Tri-County Conference title, an undefeated regular season and a district championship appearance.
Noah finished his career with 5,747 passing yards and 56 TDs, along with 4,503 rushing yards and 59 TDs.
Luke has been helping Jefferson’s offense at a similar clip. Only this time, he doesn’t just have his father helping him. Noah is also calling some of the plays as one of Jefferson’s assistants.
“It’s like a brotherhood around here,” said Luke, the 5-foot-9, 166-pound senior who rushed for 2,100 yards and 31 TDs and threw for 1,287 yards and 14 TDs in 2025. “Everybody is so close together, and we all hang out all the time. We’ve built the connection we have by just staying together and buying into the program, and that’s just what helped us win last year.”
It also helps that the Bears are loaded with talent, including a nice mix of homegrown players and transfers from around the region.
Junior running back Drake Jones, who received an offer from Eastern Michigan University in June, is back for his second season after transferring from Gibraltar Carlson. He rushed 188 times for 1,500 yards and 20 TDs, averaging 7.98 yards per carry in his debut season with the Bears.
His goal this season? Rush for 2,000 yards and 30 TDs.
“When I got here, they welcomed me into the offense and taught me everything I needed to know,” said Jones, who is 6 feet, 205 pounds. “Colleges like Eastern have told me they like my size and that if they put more weight on me, I could have NFL size, and a lot of what they like about me I’ve learned from being in this program and around the people here. Some of my best friends are on our front five, even some of the rotational guys are like my brothers here.”
Expect the camaraderie to continue, especially after the Bears learned just how far it can take them in the playoffs.
“Nobody expected what happened last year to happen,” said senior linebacker Bret Gennoe, who led the Bears with 118 tackles in 2025. “Our expectation was to just make the playoffs and see what we could do from there. But that success set the tone for this year, just to see how far we can get now. We want to get even further.”
That starts in the regular season.
While the Bears were happy to earn a share of the league title last season, it’d feel much better to win it outright. That’s easier said than done, since Jefferson remains the smallest school district in the Huron League and has tough battles against rival SMCC and D-3 Riverview coming up.
But maybe remaining the underdog is a good thing for a team coming off a Final Four appearance. Keeping that motivation going should help the Bears have another great season.
“That’s been our mantra, and we’re still playing with a chip on our shoulder every game because we had only one great year,” coach Beaudrie said. “We’re not gonna be a one-hit wonder. That’s not what we want to be.”
Brandon Folsom covers high school sports for the Detroit Free Press. Follow him on X at @folsomwrites.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why semifinalist Monroe Jefferson football won't be a 'one-hit wonder'
