Schutt Sports 2002 Regional High School Coaches of the Year

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.”