Columbus’ Dunn and Palmetto’s Mujica are the Miami-Dade Coaches of the Year
Columbus football coach Dave Dunn continues to elevate its program to new heights.
Meanwhile at Palmetto, Kevin Mujica took his young program to heights no Miami-Dade County flag football team had reached.
Dunn led the Explorers to back-to-back state championships for the first time in program history after Columbus won the Class 4M crown.
And Mujica not only led the Panthers to a state flag football title, but the first ever by a Dade school when they won the Class 2A crown.
In recognition of those successful milestones, Dunn and Mujica are the Miami Herald’s Miami-Dade County Sports Coaches of the Year for the 2023-24 high school sports season.
Dunn, who is the Boys’ Sports winner, led the Explorers to their third state title in five seasons since returning to the program in 2019.
Columbus is 56-11 since Dunn started his second stint as coach, including a Tri-County championship in 2020 when the Explorers and several other South Florida schools opted out of the state series at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Explorers have advanced to at least the state semifinals every season they have competed in the state series since 2019. The highlight for Columbus this season came in the state championship when it routed Jacksonville Mandarin 38-19.
MAKING HISTORY
Mujica started Palmetto’s flag football program three years ago. The Panthers had never made the playoffs until this season when they lost only one game, won their first GMAC championship and then proceeded to win their first six postseason games by 112 points.
In the Class 2A championship, the Panthers trailed by five in the final seconds. Mujica got creative, taking the ball out of the hands of quarterback Ava Alvarez — the Herald’s Dade Flag Football Player of the Year — and scoring a touchdown on a lateral play to Serenity Simon with four seconds left to beat Ruskin Lennard, 26-25.
It was the first state championship by any Dade school since the sport became sanctioned by the FHSAA in 2003.
OTHER BOYS’ SPORTS FINALISTS
▪ Frankie Ruiz, Belen cross-country: Ruiz led the Wolverines to their seventh consecutive state championship and 15th overall — both FHSAA records — as well as the Nike NXR Southeast Regional championship and a fourth-place finish at Nationals.
▪ Scott Davidson, Gulliver soccer: Davidson guided the Raiders to an unbeaten season where they gave up just seven goals, won their second consecutive state title and ninth overall, matching a state record.
▪ Carroll Vaughan, Gulliver water polo: Vaughan’s squad knocked off the top-ranked team in the state Orlando Dr. Phillips in a thrilling state final to clinch the Raiders’ sixth state championship since the sport became sanctioned by the FHSAA.
▪ Lawton Williams III, Miami Norland basketball: Williams led the Vikings back to state after a nine-year absence and helped them do what they do best once they’re there - win state titles. Norland won its seventh state crown in seven tries under Williams’ tutelage.
OTHER GIRLS’ SPORTS FINALISTS
▪ Emilio Rodriguez, Gulliver volleyball: Rodriguez led a talented Raiders’ squad to the Class 4A state championship, marking the first ever for their program.
▪ Ochiel Swaby, Miami Country Day basketball: Swaby continued to add trophies to the Spartans’ case as they won their second consecutive state championship and a staggering ninth in an 11-year span.
▪ Allison Bustamante, Doral basketball: In her first season coaching the Firebirds, Bustamante led them to their first state final four appearance in what could be only the first of a sustained run of success.
▪ Krystal Cabrera, SLAM basketball: Cabrera continued to build up the Titans’ program helping them advance to the state final four for the first time since 2019 and third time in school history.
