St. Thomas Aquinas’ Roger Harriott is the Broward 4M-3M Football Coach of the Year

Roger Harriott has accomplished just about everything in his nine years at St. Thomas Aquinas and still he found a way to pull off a first in 2023.

The Raiders, who already had more state championships than anyone else, set a new record by winning a fifth straight state title.

St. Thomas Aquinas has long been the best in Florida and the Raiders are just getting better, which is why Harriott is the Miami Herald’s Broward County Football Coach of the Year for Classes 4M-3M.

Harriott, who also won a state championship at NSU University in 2012, arrived at St. Thomas Aquinas in 2015 and immediately won back-to-back state titles in his first two years. After an uncharacteristically fallow period without a championship in either 2017 or 2018, the Raiders have been near unbeatable, becoming the first ever school in the state to win five straight championships.

Harriott is now 116-11 in his nine seasons in Fort Lauderdale and 65-3 in the last three years. He has won seven state titles in nine years at St. Thomas Aquinas and his eight state championships are the third most in the history of the Florida High School Athletic Association behind only Jacksonville Bolles legend Corky Rogers’ 10 and Jacksonville Trinity Christian’s Verlon Dorminey.

With his eighth state championship, Harriott also broke a tie with Roland Smith, who won state titles at both Miami Central and Miami Northwestern, for the most state championships by a South Florida coach. Only five schools have more state championships than Harriott’s eight.

The 2023 season was also one of Harriott’s most impressive recent coaching jobs. The Raiders were lifeless in a loss to St. John Bosco of Bellflower, California, in Week 1 and nearly got upset by Cocoa two weeks later at home, but still finished the season with 14 straight wins and as the No. 9 team in the nation, according to MaxPreps.

After the close call in Week 3, St. Thomas Aquinas outscored its opponents 502-73 across the next 11 games, including 181-20 in the first four rounds of the playoffs, to reach the Class 3M championship. In the 3M title game, the Raiders beat Homestead, 31-28, in a rematch of the 2022 championship.

“We’re really fortunate to have a great foundation that was established by (former coach George) Smith and we continue to build, and it’s a routine,” Harriott said after the title game last month. “Our faith in God and our resources from our community. It’s a whole family effort.”

This story was originally published January 18, 2024 at 7:34 AM.