|
Article Categories
|
Schutt Sports 2002 Regional High School Coaches of the Year© More from this issue
Southwest
Regional
J.T. Curtis
John Curtis Christian (River Ridge, La.)
2002: 14-1, Class 4A state champs
Record at school: 393-43-6, 27 years
Career record: 393-43-6
J.T. Curtis began his head coaching responsibilities at John Curtis
Christian in River Ridge, La., in 1975 (27 years) and he has been
winning football games ever since.
All J.T. Curtis has done is rack up a monster record of 393 wins,
43 losses and six ties, along with 23 trips to the New Orleans Superdome
for the state championship. Oh, by the way, he won 18 of those –
including a 16-14 win over O.P. Walker in 2002 to capture their
second consecutive Class 4A state crown.
“This is an absolute honor,” said Curtis. “First
and foremost, you have to be at a place where the environment is
conducive for you to be successful. I think the philosophy of the
school in terms of wanting the children to succeed in every area
of the school, not just athletics, not just academics, not just
extra curricular activities.”
Football is about fundamentals and the John Curtis football team
will admittedly never run over anyone with physical dominance. However,
this team will be well coached, well prepared and ready to execute.
That is the key.
“You’ve got to make a special effort to help kids succeed
and you have to have staff consistency,” said Curtis. “For
any program to consistently win, you have to have staff consistency.
The revolving door just would not work for us.
“Winning never becomes old hat,” he added. “You always
have a new group of kids and there is always a new challenge.”
Midwest Regional
Tony Severino
Rockhurst High School (Kansas City, Mo.)
2002: 13-0, Class 6A state champs
Record at school: 190-45-1, 20 years
Career record: 233-66-1
Winning national awards and high school championships are becoming
quite common for Rockhurst High School head football coach, Tony
Severino.
Severino, who won the 2000 USA Today National Coach of the Year
award, won his sixth large-class Missouri state championship this
year after being loaded down with a schedule containing national
powers, such as Joliet Catholic, Edina (Minn.), Gulf Shores Academy
(Houston) and Dallas Jesuit.
“You just have to count your blessings each year,” said
Severino. “Each year it gets harder and harder, and if it were
to all end today – we would still be very fortunate.”
Rockhurst completed perhaps its most impressive football season
ever with a 41-7 thrashing of St. Louis Lindbergh. It was the largest
blowout victory in a Missouri big-class state title game since 1995.
Rockhurst had 269 yards of offense in building a 34-0 halftime lead.
The final score likely would have been more lopsided if not for
the 35-point mercy rule, which meant the clock was running from
5:27 in the third quarter.
“I have a great staff,” he said. “But more importantly,
I have a great family. That is what keeps me grounded and appreciative
of team accomplishments and individual awards. There are a lot of
people that have helped me be the best that I can be, and I thank
them for that."
Southeast Regional
Tommy Knotts
Independence High School (Charlotte, NC)
2002: 16-0, Class 4A state champs
Record at school: 47-1, 3 years
Career record: 222-34
Tommy Knotts was the perfect image of health. Knotts, an avid weightlifter,
looked more like a poster child for physical fitness, rather than
a symbol of illness and fatigue.
However, after Knotts was diagnosed with a viral infection that
sent him immediately to a hospital bed, Independence High School’s
44-game win streak and two straight North Carolina state championships
appeared to be in jeopardy.
But not even a life-threatening illness could keep a good man down
as Knotts attended the state championship as Independence crushed
New Bern 41-20 to capture yet another Class 4A state title. Independence
has gone 16-0 in back to back seasons, while capturing three straight
championships.
“It has been hard,” said Bill Geiler, Independence defensive
coordinator and 20-year associate of Knotts. “I’ve seen
him rip a cast off his arm after three days because it got in the
way of what he wanted to do. I have seen him take his own stitches
out. Then you realize that he is not ‘Superman’ anymore
and that is scary, but we got through thanks to the program that
he has developed.”
Knotts is recovering nicely and should be back to full-strength
by spring.
West Regional
John Barnes
Los Alamitos HS (Los Alamitos, Ca.)
2002: 13-0-1, CIF Southern Section, Division I championship
Record at school: 217-60-6, 24 years
Career record: 219-66-6
Los Alamitos, led by John Barnes, spent the last five out of seven
years taking an exit in the CIF Southern Section Division I semifinals
before capturing the crown in 2002 with a 41-14 victory over Mater
Dei (Santa Ana).
“We have spent the last 11 years competing against California’s
hottest teams,” Barnes said. We have captured titles in Division
3, Division 2 and Division 1, which is the largest division. We
are pretty proud of that. No one else has done that, but we have
moved up and won.”
Los Alamitos was aided with a defensive and offensive front that
was more physical than ever.
“We really worked on that during the offseason,” said
Barnes. “Our staff and our players made the commitment to get
better and they did.
“Winning the Schutt Sports West Regional Coach of the Year
award is pretty amazing,” he said. “This award is great
recognition not just to me, but also my entire staff. I have been
so fortunate to have what I like to call my ‘Old Boys’
with me. We have a couple of coaches that have been here just five
years and we think of them as babies. After all, they are just getting
their feet wet."
East Regional
George Novak
Woodland Hills HS (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
2002: 13-1, WPIAL Class 4A state title
Record at school:138-56, 16 years
Career record: 193-87-1
Although George Novak’s Woodland Hills football team lost in
the PIAA state final, 34-12, to Parkland, the Wolverines dismantled
Altoona, 46-22, to capture the WPIAL Class 4A state title the week
before.
“Overall, I am very pleased with this season,” said Novak.
“We fought hard and did what we had to do when we had to do
it - it’s that simple.”
Woodland Hills – along with De La Salle (Concord, Calif.),
Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.), Independence (Charlotte, N.C.), Trinity
(Louisville), Los Alamitos (Calif.) and John Curtis (River Ridge,
La.) – was one of only seven schools in the nation to both
begin and end the season ranked nationally in the USA Today Top
25.
“The main thing is that we never lost focus,” he said.
“This was a talented senior group and we relied on their leadership.
This team was about effort ... effort from the coaches, the players
and the supporters. That kind of effort is what builds championship
teams.”
Past Winners
2001:
National: Dave Logan, Chatfield HS, Littleton, CO
East: Mark Schmidt, Neshaminy HS, Langhorne, PA
Southwest: John Roderique, Webb City HS, Webb City,
MO
Midwest: John Herrington, Harrison HS, Farmington
Hills, MI
West: Bob Johnson, Mission Viejo HS, Mission Viejo,
CA
Southeast: Cecil Flowe, Parkview HS, Lilburn, GA
2000:
National: Mike Mischler, Cathedral Prep, Erie, PA
Southwest: Allen Trimble, Jenks High School, Jenks,
OK
Midwest: Tony Severino, Rockhurst HS, Kansas City, MO
Southeast: Nick Coleman, Venice High School, Venice,
FL
West: Jerry Jaso, Poly High School, Long Beach, CA
East: Darrell Mayne, Upper Arlington HS, Columbus,
OH
|
|
|