Huron Heights Warriors are a Canadian high school football team out of Newmarket, Ontario – located 30 miles north of Toronto. The Warriors have been one of the most dominant teams in recent Canadian secondary school football history. Gridiron Football is proud to welcome our first international School Spotlight. The team is lead by long time coach of the program Heath Weir.
Head Coach Heath Weir was born and raised in a small town outside of Toronto, Canada. He attended and played football for Acadia University, then later coached at the university after graduating. Acadia is a part of U Sports, the national governing body of university sport in Canada. After his time at Acadia University, Heath Weir became strength and conditioning coach for the football team at Arkansas State University for two years. He later went to coach at Memphis University for a few years before returning home to Canada. In 2004, Weir took the coaching position at Huron Heights Secondary School; a team that had a rough stint prior to Coach Weir’s entrance.
In the three year before 2004 the Warriors won one game. The 19 seasons since, Huron Heights has a record of 169-21-2, making them the winningest team in Canada during that time. Coach Weir believes in putting his athletes in the weight room, and was ahead of the curve bringing in offseason training and weight lifting into Canadian secondary school football. In 2006, Heath Weir took the opportunity to learn about the triple-option offense. It was originally a risk bringing the triple-option into three down football, but it seems to have worked out for the Warriors. Huron Heights is one of the only teams in Canada to run this style offense and they are committed to it, not having taken a shotgun snap since 2011.
The coaching staff at Huron Heights consists of three other coaches that Coach Weir insists are the reason this program is in top shape. Alex Paterson is the Warriors Defensive Coordinator. Brent Weir works with the offensive line. Bryan Kokola works with the defensive line, as well as does tech and social media for the football program.
The Huron Heights program prides themselves on family. They have developed a culture of physicality on the football field. Off the field, the Warriors conduct themselves as if Army or Navy would. The program has a foundation of trust, loyalty, and community. I had the opportunity to speak with Huron Heights Head Coach Heath Weir, where he went into detail about some of the talent he will have on the field next season:
No. 73 Blake Labelle the starting center for the Warriors. Labelle is listed at 6’4″ 290 pounds. He has had multiple universities reach out in interest for this athlete. He is a bruiser in the interior offensive line at Huron Heights. Blake is in the class of 2024, giving him one more season with the Warriors.
No. 18 Ethan Schwarz is the Warriors quarterback listed at 6’0″ 185 pounds. Schwarz is a truly accurate dual-threat quarterback who runs Huron Heights offense with ease. This QB obviously can run, a factor in the triple-option offense. Yet, he can also be seen throwing the deep ball through a play action play. Schwarz is in the class of 2024 as well, leaving him one more season with the Warriors.
No. 27 Alex Figen is Huron Heights starting free safety. Figen is listed at 6’0″ 170 pounds. He was 1st-Team All Ontario DB in 2022.
No. 4 Robert Wood is linebacker for Huron Heights. Wood is listed at 6’0″ 210 pounds. This student-athlete is in the class of 2024, and is someone who can get it done on the field as well as the classroom with a 3.7 GPA.
No. 91 Alex Ouellet is the teams starting defensive end. Ouellet is listed at 6’3″ 230 pounds. He is a premier pass rusher at this level and will expect to get looks from the next level throughout next season. Ouellet is in the class if 2024 as well, giving him one more season at Huron Heights.
Huron Heights Warriors are in an interesting situation. While they are one of the best teams in Canada, it can be a challenge for the team to find matchups willing to play their style of offense. The Warriors are a legitimate program that consistently pumps out top talent in our neighboring nation. It will be exciting to see what the future holds for this top school in Canada.
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