Miami Southridge’s Pierre Senatus is the Miami-Dade 7A-4A Football Coach of the Year
When Pierre Senatus became head coach at Miami Southridge, he was well aware of the rich football tradition at the school.
And he knew even in this era of so much transitory talent moving from school to school, it was possible to build a consistent winner there.
Senatus saw that process take a big step forward this season.
After guiding the Spartans to the Class 6A state semifinals, Senatus is the Miami Herald’s Miami-Dade County Football Coach of the Year for Classes 7A-4A.
Southridge went 12-3 this past season and made its furthest playoff push since winning its most recent state championship in 2016. The Spartans nearly made it back to the final before losing a 14-11 controversial heartbreaker to West Boca Raton in the semifinal.
But with numerous underclassmen and juniors set to return including Miami Herald 7A-5A Offensive Player of the Year and starting quarterback James Perrone, Southridge might just be getting started.
After a tough loss to Class 7A state semifinalist Columbus in the season’s first week, Southridge won seven in a row and secured the District 16-6A championship by defeating rival Homestead, which had reached the state finals in three consecutive seasons.
The Spartans proceeded to beat another rival South Dade in the regular season before beating South Broward, Monarch and West Broward in the playoffs.
They also scored wins over Miami Palmetto, Doral Academy, Goleman, Miami Edison and Hialeah - all playoff teams.
At the heart of these efforts was a prolific offense led by Perrone, wide receiver Darius Clements and up front by sophomore center Ryan Miret.
Southridge traditionally has tough defenses and this year’s unit was no different as the Spartans allowed only 10.8 points per game. The young squad was anchored by linebacker Joshua McDowell, defensive lineman Spencer Voss and edge rusher Kamron Wilson.
“It’s what you expect from a program like Southridge. It’s a traditional program with a great program, great kids, great parks and great parental support,” Senatus said after his team’s regional semifinal win over Monarch. “You see it reflected in how the kids are playing here. We have a great foundation here.”
