Homestead hit new heights under coach Philip Simpson. Can they keep it going without him?
Homestead coach Philip Simpson spoke to his team after Thursday’s state championship loss to St. Thomas Aquinas and said much of the same things he has to them over the past four years.
He expressed his pride in the way they resiliently battled a top-5 national powerhouse until they ultimately lost 38-21 to the Raiders in the Class 3M final.
“This is not the last time you’re going to hurt like this…Handle victory like a man and handle defeat like an even bigger man,” were among the words of wisdom he offered his players.
But then Simpson waved over assistant coach Ronnie Thornton, gave him a hug, and then said to his players, “I love you guys.”
He then turned to Thornton and said, “Talk to your team, Coach.”
Thursday’s loss was the final game Simpson, 37, will coach at Homestead.
He recently accepted a coaching position at the University of Nebraska as an assistant defensive line coach and recruiter. He’s scheduled to travel to Nebraska on Saturday.
Thornton, the Broncos’ associate head coach and defensive coordinator who has coached all four seasons with Simpson, will take over as coach.
And so the question for a program that made its first-ever appearance in a state final this year becomes: Where does Homestead go from here?
“It’s going to get better and we’re going to elevate,” said Homestead quarterback Joshua Townsend, one of several key juniors and sophomores who have been part of the program’s rise during Simpson’s tenure. “We’re all coming back and we’ll be here next year.”
In an era of so much transferring in high school, which tends to pick up when there’s a coaching change, the offseason will tell if Homestead can continue to build or be a “one and done.”
Townsend’s comments seem to indicate, at least initially, that the Broncos have a chance to remain intact.
Keeping the rest of the current coaching staff aside from Simpson intact, which he said is the plan at the moment, is even more important.
“We won and lost with our community guys. We have maybe two Division-I players from this year’s senior class,” Simpson said. “Next year, we’ll have 10 seniors. We’ll be back in the finals. We’re a young group and the coaches will stay intact. There’s no reason for the kids not to stay intact. Run it back. That’s what it’s about.”
Thornton, a former linebacker at Southern Miss who was with Simpson as a linebackers coach when the two coached at Southridge, said he was Simpson’s choice to be his successor for some time.
“When he got the job, I was his first hire,” Thornton said. “It’s something we’ve always talked about. On a personal level, he’s been a big brother to me. He’s my daughter’s godfather. He’s always seen things in me that I didn’t quite see in myself and he’s been grooming me for this moment since I started at Homestead. Over the years just watching this thing build has been really special. It’s a wonderful feeling even though we came up short, but the expectation is to be back.”
Thornton said one of the biggest lessons he’s learned from Simpson was to “Love the kids. The amount of love and passion he poured into this program through the kids and love for the community and give the city something to root for and take care of your coaches.”
Townsend, junior running back Isaac Brown, sophomore linebacker Eduardo Nunez, who recovered a fumble in Thursday’s final, sophomore receiver Cortez Mills and junior strong safety Sir Robertgeau are among the key players who would form a strong core of players for the Broncos next season.
“We’re staying. Nobody’s going anywhere,” Brown said. “We want to get back to this game next year and find a way to win it all.”
The loss may have been a regrettable punctuation to Simpson’s tenure at Homestead. But it didn’t eclipse the long-term results of what he and his staff built over the past two seasons, taking a team that went 2-8 his first season and bringing them within one win of its first-ever state championship.
“When you come into a situation like this, you had kids who came home and came in from programs that didn’t have success,” Simpson said. “We showed them how to lead and how to have success. To see them where they’re at now is a phenomenal experience.
“We have a strong pulse at Homestead now. We have a strong culture. We keep going to work.”
This story was originally published December 15, 2022 at 11:30 PM.
