Telegraph Staff Writer
Jamie Rodgers and Andrew Thomas, the head football coaches at Bradford and Union County high schools, respectively, each placed third after votes were tallied for Florida Dairy Farmers Coach of the Year honors in their respective classes.
Cocoa’s Ryan Schneider was Coach of the Year in Class 2S with 176 votes. Jarrod Hickman of state runner-up Florida HIGH had 102 votes, followed by Rodgers, who had 82. Bishop Verot’s Richie Rode and South Sumter’s Ty Lawrence had 54 and 15 votes, respectively.
Cornelius Ingram, the coach of state champ Hawthorne, was Coach of the Year in Class 1R with 187 votes. Wes Summerford of state runner-up Northview had 108 votes, followed by Thomas with 45. Former UCHS coach Robby Pruitt, who’s now Williston’s head coach, collected 31 votes, while Sneads’ Bill Thomas had 22.
Rodgers, in his first season at BHS, guided the Tornadoes to the state semifinals and a 12-2 record after a 31-21 loss to Cocoa.
It was Bradford’s first appearance in the state semifinals since 2017 and just its fourth appearance in 19 years.
The Tornadoes were dominant defensively, giving up a total of 79 points and setting a school record for shutouts in a season with nine.
Thomas, who has coached Union for three years, led the Tigers to their first state-semifinal berth since 2011. The Tigers finished 8-3 after a 21-11 loss to Northview.
The Tigers have won at least eight games in each of Thomas’ three years at the helm.
Union played state champ Hawthorne during the regular season, losing 28-21 when the Hornets scored on a 35-yard pass play with 5 seconds remaining. The Tigers held a 21-0 lead at one point.
The only other loss suffered by the Tigers during the regular season came against a University Christian team that advanced to the state semifinals in Class 1M.
One of Union’s wins this season came against Class 3S state semifinalist Columbia.
