Detroit Lions name Manchester High School coach Josh Lindeman as Coach of the Week for Week 7

The Detroit Lions recognized Manchester High School head coach Josh Lindeman as its 2026 Detroit Lions High School Football Coach of the Week for Week 7, presented by Carhartt. The honor follows a Oct. 9 victory for Lindeman’s Flying Dutchmen, who defeated the Vandercook Lake Jayhawks to move to 6-1 on the season.

For Lindeman and Manchester, the timing matters. The Lions’ weekly recognition comes as the high school regular season is narrowing into conference-title decisions, with programs increasingly measuring themselves not just by weekly results but by how they handle pressure games. In this case, Manchester’s next step is the Cascades Conference Championship.

According to the Lions, Manchester will host Hanover-Horton for the conference title this Saturday, Oct. 17. The matchup is set as the programs prepare for their 41st meeting, a long-running series that typically adds an extra layer of familiarity and intensity for coaches, players, and families alike.

The Flying Dutchmen’s road to that championship has included the momentum built by their most recent win over Vandercook Lake. With the Oct. 9 result pushing Manchester to a 6-1 record, the program enters the title game positioned as one of the league’s top contenders, at least by the measure of season-to-date performance that coaches and administrators routinely cite when evaluating postseason readiness.

Coach of the Week selections from the Detroit Lions are designed to put a spotlight on high school programs and the leadership behind them, not just on individual athletes. For Lindeman, the recognition reflects both the team’s on-field production and the emphasis that high school football staffs place on fundamentals across the season, including preparation habits that matter most in conference championship weeks.

What to watch in the Cascades Conference Championship is how Manchester manages the shift from a typical late-season game to a title environment where the margin for error tends to shrink. With the contest in Manchester, the Flying Dutchmen will also look to carry the confidence of their 6-1 season and convert their week-to-week execution into an extended performance across all four quarters.

For Lindeman, the Lions’ honor is a short-term acknowledgment, but the larger objective remains the same as it does for every program at this point in the calendar: win the conference championship and set the tone for what follows next. The result of the Oct. 17 matchup against Hanover-Horton will determine whether Manchester’s strong run translates into a league title on its own home field.