Harriott and McCartney are the Broward Football 7A-5A Coaches of the Year
West Broward’s football program has achieved more in the past couple of seasons than it had in its previous 15 years of existence.
And St. Thomas Aquinas continued to set the bar high as the state’s most dominant program.
The coaches at the helm of both programs, West Broward’s Brian McCartney and St. Thomas Aquinas’ Roger Harriott are this year’s Miami Herald Broward County Football Coaches of the Year for Classes 7A-5A.
Following a berth in the regional finals the prior season, McCartney guided the Bobcats to their first ever appearance in a state championship game in Class 6A.
Harriott took another talented group to national prominence, culminating with the Raiders’ state-record seventh consecutive state championship and state-record 17th overall.
West Broward opened the season by losing its first two games to out-of-state competition.
The Bobcats then turned things around quickly, winning 12 consecutive games on the way to the state finals in Miami.
That path included a dramatic 30-27 win over Miami Southridge in the regional finals, which came a year after the Spartans had eliminated West Broward, 51-21, in the same round.
The Bobcats would then score an impressive road win in Gainesville against Buchholz in the state semifinals before falling to reigning state champion West Boca Raton in the final.
West Broward’s talented squad included multiple top Broward County talent including sophomore sensation A’mir Sears and senior Jason Farfan.
Aquinas’ journey got off to a shaky start after a season-opening loss to Mater Dei Prep in the annual Broward County Football Showcase. A Raiders’ comeback bid fell short that day in a 26-23 loss, but Aquinas would not taste defeat again.
Aquinas put together 14 consecutive wins including an international triumph in London against the NFL Academy team based in England.
The Raiders also avenged losses last season against Chaminade and Plantation American Heritage on their way to the playoffs and capped their championship run with a shutout victory over Lakeland for the second consecutive season.
St. Thomas’ squad was led by Miami Herald Offensive Player of the Year Mason Mallory and Defensive Player of the Year Jermiyah Douglas.
