Coach from Texas football now at Westminster Christian. Plus more state award winners
Westminster Christian football is entering a new era, and the Warriors are doing it with a coach whose résumé stretches from Texas high school football to Division I college football.
Westminster has hired Josh Kirkland as its new head football coach, bringing to Miami a veteran leader with experience as a college head coach, Division I assistant and recruiting architect, along with deep relationships across the Texas and national football landscape.
Most recently, Kirkland served at the University of North Texas, where he joined the staff as Director of Player Personnel before being elevated to General Manager and Senior Offensive Assistant. In those roles, he helped oversee roster construction, recruiting operations and offensive planning while working inside a Division I program competing at the FBS level.
Before North Texas, Kirkland built an extensive coaching résumé that included head coaching stops at New Mexico Highlands and Southwestern Oklahoma State, where he became known for energizing programs and producing offensive improvement. He also served at the University of the Incarnate Word as assistant head coach, running backs coach and recruiting coordinator, helping guide the Cardinals to one of the most successful stretches in program history, including a conference championship and the school’s first FCS playoff appearance.
Long before his college success, Kirkland made his mark in Texas high school football, serving as both head coach and athletic director at Parkland and Lehman high schools. His teams developed a reputation for offensive production and player development, and his recruiting background helped numerous athletes continue their careers at the collegiate level.
Now, he brings that experience and those connections to Westminster Christian.
And he wasted little time getting started.
After moving to South Florida, Kirkland immediately stepped into action and led the Warriors through spring football, quickly establishing energy and momentum around the program.
The first glimpse of the new era came in Westminster’s spring win over Coral Shores.
The Warriors showcased an exciting young nucleus that has Westminster optimistic about the future.
Sophomore quarterback Ant Vera sparked the offense with 137 total yards and a touchdown in just over one quarter of action, displaying poise and explosiveness at the position.
Seventh grader Kash Kirkland delivered perhaps the most eye-opening performance of the day, totaling 261 yards and two touchdowns while flashing game-breaking speed and versatility.
Freshman Micah Bishop added 65 yards, a touchdown and a game-sealing interception, providing another glimpse into what appears to be one of the younger and more promising cores in South Florida football.
That blend of youth and upside is part of what makes the excitement surrounding Westminster’s new coach feel different.
Kirkland arrives not only with college coaching experience, but with years spent building recruiting relationships and navigating the talent-rich football culture of Texas and the Division I level. Those connections, combined with Westminster’s tradition and emerging playmakers, have already generated momentum heading into the offseason.
For Westminster, according to Athletic Director Benjamin Warren, this is more than about a coaching change. It is the beginning of a new chapter, one built around a coach with Texas roots, Division I experience and a vision centered on developing the next generation of Warriors.
State flag football honors
Junior quarterback Aubrey Fogel of Class 3A state champion Loxahatchee Seminole Ridge High School is the 2026 Florida Dairy Farmers Miss Flag Football in voting by a statewide panel of flag football coaches.
Fogel led her squad to the state title by completing 432-of-594 passes for 5,185 yards with 76 touchdown passes and 15 interceptions.
Fogel, who was named the Class 3A Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, won the Miss Flag Football award over three other quarterbacks, Class 4A POY Gabby Werr of Tampa Alonso, Class 2A POY Annie Keith of Tampa Robinson and Class 1A POY Rakyia Louis of Edison.
Travis Combs is state Coach of the Year after leading Ruskin Lennard to a 14-7 record and the school’s first state championship. In six years at Lennard he posted a 94-27 record. He has been hired as the head coach for Indiana Wesleyan University’s inaugural flag football team.
Combs, won the top coaching award over Class 3A COY Scott O’Hara of Loxahatchee Seminole Ridge, Class 2A COY Joshua Saunders of Tampa Robinson and Class 1A COY Vince Hall of Edison, all of whom won state titles in their classifications.
State softball honors
Junior pitcher Hannah DeMarcus of Santa Rosa County Pace High School is the Florida Dairy Farmers 2026 Miss Softball following a final round of voting by a statewide panel of high school softball coaches and media representatives.
DeMarcus led her squad to the Class 6A state title with a 20-2 record. She posted an 0.90 ERA while striking out 315 batters in 156 innings pitched. She has committed to play softball at Auburn University.
DeMarcus, who was earlier named Class 6A Player-of-the-Year, won the overall award with nine of the 18 first-place votes and 128 points to finish ahead of Rural Class POY Addison Allaire of Trenton, who had 80 points and Class 3A POY Courtney Wahlbrink of Coral Springs Charter (47).
Fourth in the voting was Co-Class 5A POY Chloe Bailey of Niceville (43), followed by Class 7A POY Mattingly Klein of Oviedo Hagerty (30), Co-Class 5A POY Lauren Daugherty of Winter Springs (29), Class 2A POY Aubrey Vital of West Palm Beach Oxbridge Academy (19), Class 4A POY Alannah Lord of Lake City Columbia (15) and Class 1A POY Dixie Tessier of Jacksonville University Christian (5).
Joe Saucier of Lake City Columbia High School was named the Florida Dairy Farmers 2026 Softball Coach of the Year following a final round of voting by a statewide panel of high school softball coaches and media representatives.
In his second year as Columbia’s head coach, Saucier led his squad to a 29-3 record and the Class 4A state title, the school’s first state championship since 2013. In two years at Columbia, Saucier has posted a 44-15 record.
Saucier, who previously was selected the Class 4A Coach-of-the-Year, won the overall award with six of the 18 first-place votes and 100 points, to finish ahead of Class 6A COY Lexi Alexander of Santa Rosa County Pace, who had five first-place votes and 81 points.
Rural Class COY Kevin Benson of Trenton finished third in the voting (55 points), followed by Class 5A COY Farrah Gordon of Winter Springs (48), Class 3A COY Mark Montimurro of Coral Springs Charter (45), Class 7A COY Tom Kreahling of Oviedo Hagerty (39), Class 2A COY Kevin Drake of West Palm Beach Oxbridge Academy (15) and Class 1A COY Keith Stroud of Jacksonville University Christian (10).
All eight finalists led their teams to state titles.
State weightlifting honors
Senior Sebastian Stodel of St. Johns Beachside High School is the winner of the 2026 Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Weightlifting award.
Stodel won the 154-pound Class 2A state titles in both Traditional (615 pounds combined lifts) and Olympic-style competition (580 pounds). He set a state record in the 154-pound class with his 335-pound clean-and-jerk lift.
The other finalists included Peyton McKenzie of DeLand, who won both the Traditional and Olympic titles in the Class 3A 238-pound division, and Jay’s Chase Dooley, who won both titles in the Class 1A Unlimited division.
Chris Gauntlett of Bushnell South Sumter High School was named the 2026 Boys’ Weightlifting Coach of the Year after leading his squad to the Class 2A state title in Olympic competition with 28 points, the school’s first state championship.
The other coaching finalists included Class 3A COY Ty Wise of Santa Rosa County Pace and Class 1A COY Leavy Alvarez of Keystone Heights.
The Florida Dairy Farmers Sports Awards program exemplifies Florida Dairy Farmers’ commitment to the state’s youth. This is the 34th year of these unique awards honoring the state’s top athletes and coaches in sanctioned FHSAA sports. The program also emphasizes to young people the importance of keeping dairy products a primary part of their diet in their overall nutrition plan,
Send sports results
If you have spring and summer sports results (with stats) on high school-aged athletes or middle school-aged athletes -- who are from Broward or Miami-Dade counties -- email hssports@miamiherald.com.
They will run in the newspaper and online. Photos accepted, too. No deadline. You will be alerted when it will appear.
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Compiled by Jim Varsallone
jvarsallone@miamiherald.com
