Mike Ridaught
Editor’s Note
This is the fifth of five stories unveiling the 2023 Bosshardt Realty All Area Football Teams. Click here to read about the Small School Offense, Small School Defense, Big School Offense and Big School Defense. Go to our 2023 All Area football landing page by clicking here.
The Hawthorne football team won its second straight Class 1R state title this past December, becoming the first Alachua County school to win back-to-back state football titles.
Meanwhile, Bradford (Starke) won a program record 14 games and finished as Class 2S state runners-up.
Head coaches Cornelius Ingram of Hawthorne and Jamie Rodgers of Bradford have both been recognized as the 2023 Bosshardt Realty All Area football coaches of the year for their accomplishments.
The Hornets (13-0), who advanced to their fourth straight state title game, went undefeated for the second straight year.
They defeated Madison County, 22-13, in the 1R state championship game to repeat.
“Unbelievable,” said Ingram, who was recognized as the small coach of the year for the fourth straight year. “Man, you talk about being a former Gator great and people recognizing me just for that, but not anymore. It’s high school football coach (now). The amount of text messages that I’ve received from family, friends, teammates…my wife and I we’re at dinner and people taking care of our bill, or just coming by the table to say, ‘congratulations,’ it’s special.”
Hawthorne outscored its opponents by an average of 32 points per game despite playing a schedule that included 2S regional finalist South Sumter (Bushnell), unbeaten Williston in the 1R-Region 4 Final, and Newberry twice, including a 27-7 win against the Panthers in the 1R regional semifinals.
Despite the pressure, which includes a 25-game winning streak, the Hornets overcame adversity.
“We played some great teams this past season,” Ingram said. “It was so hard to do, be prepared to play every Friday night, especially when you’re going to get maximum state championship effort from every team you play. There were teams with talent, there were teams with great coaches, so we’ve seen them all and played them all, but our guys did an unbelievable job of really focusing in and buying in the entire year because one slip up and anything could have happened.”
Coaches Robby Pruitt of Williston and Andrew Thomas of Union County were honorable mention selections.
Pruitt led the Red Devils (11-1) to their second straight unbeaten regular season, before falling at home to Hawthorne, 36-16, in the 1R-Region 4 Final.
Thomas led the Tigers (8-4) to their second straight regional final appearance, which ended with a narrow 17-14 loss to eventual state runner-up Madison County in the 1R-Region 3 Final.
Bradford advanced to its second straight 2S state semifinal, except this time the Tornadoes punched their ticket to the title game by edging Pensacola Catholic, 22-21 in overtime, in the final four.
Cocoa won its second straight state title with a 20-6 win against Bradford in the 2S state championship game, handing the Tornadoes (14-1) their only loss of the season.
“It’s been a whirlwind two years,” Rodgers said. “The immediate buy-in that I had from the players who were super hungry. You get recognized for awards and things like that when you’ve got really good football players and good assistant coaches. We’ve got both, and we’ve had both for the past couple of years.”
Defense was a big reason why the Tornadoes played in their first state championship game since 1985.
Bradford held 12 opponents to seven points or less, including six shutouts.
They outscored their three regional opponents, 113-7, to advance to the state semifinals again, but the Tornadoes finished just short of their first football state championship since 1966.
“The community rallied behind our kids so much and it was just fun to be a part of,” Rodgers said. “It was one of those special times where everything kind of came together at the right time, the right staff, the right players, the right people behind us in the community, and that’s what it’s a product of.”
Chuck Bell of Buchholz was an honorable mention selection after leading the Bobcats to their first undefeated regular season since 2001.
Buchholz (13-1) defeated Mosley (Lynn Haven), Ponte Vedra, and Bartram Trail (St. Johns) in regional play, but lost by one point, 21-20, to eventual state champion Lakeland in the 4S state semifinals.
It was the Bobcats’ third straight state semifinal appearance.
Small School Coach of the Year
Cornelius Ingram, Hawthorne
Honorable mentions – Robby Pruitt, Williston; Andrew Thomas, Union County (Lake Butler)
Big School Coach of the Year
Jamie Rodgers, Bradford (Starke)
Honorable mentions – Chuck Bell, Buchholz