Mike Newsome didn't sugarcoat it. He didn't ah-shucks it either.
The Butler (Matthews, N.C.) football coach stood tall after his team finished a 15-0 season with a 48-17 win over Jack Britt for the school's first state title. The perfect season and state championship didn't happen by luck, fortune or stars aligning.
Mike Newsome
Photo by Ron McCann
“We put a tremendous amount of work into this,” Newsome said. “This is a year-round program. The kids and coaching staff deserved everything they got.”
Newsome not only earned MaxPreps Football Coach of the Year, but he was selected earlier this month the top coach for all boys sports in the 2009-10 season.
Butler finished No. 8 in the final MaxPreps Freeman Rankings.
The Bulldogs outscored opponents 726-222 but clearly their biggest win came against the kings of North Carolina gridiron Independence (Charlotte, N.C.) on Nov. 6. To show it wasn't a fluke they came back four weeks later and ended Independence's season in the state semifinals, winning 38-14.
Independence had a 109-game win streak snapped in 2007 and came into 2009 with seven straight state crowns.
Newsome kept his team focused and unwavering until the final goal was accomplished.
“We kept emphasizing to win this championship for this group, this year,” Newsome said. “When we walked off the field that last game it would be the last time this group would walk off together. Sure, we’ll get together again down the road at a dinner or a banquet, but there will always be someone missing. No one was missing after the final game. It was an unbelievable season.”
The same could be said for the girls basketball team at Ben Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.).
Stan Benge
Photo courtesy of Ben Davis High School.
Following the state’s first perfect 30-0 season in 2008-09 and a 5A championship, no one could have expected the Giants to repeat perfection.
But with the strong steady leadership of Stan Benge, Davis was even better, earning him the MaxPreps Coach of the Year for all female sports. The Giants went 28-0 and almost doubled their opponents score, averaging 66.2 points per game while giving up a scant 34.2.
They finished in style, setting a state record for points in a title game, beating Merrillville (Ind.) 99-52. The win also gave them a state-record 58th consecutive win.
Benge said the Giants, in their final four games, played the best ball he’s ever seen by a girls basketball team. Considering he’s coached 25 years and won five state titles, that’s saying something.
Considering the team had lost two key players, sophomore starting center Shawnece Teague (6-foot-3) and 5-11 sophomore wing Brionna Arnold with season-ending ACL tears, it was even more amazing.
No one came within 12 points all season of the Giants, who committed a mere 12 turnovers a game.
“Coach (Benge) is pretty demanding, but he makes the game fun too,” junior All-American forward Bria Goss said. “He wouldn’t let us be satisfied.”
Benge said it was actually one of his easiest years in coaching because of the team’s camaraderie and willingness to work.
“People don’t realize but most of these girls played together since the fourth and fifth grade,” Benge said. “They were never considered the most talented group (in the area), but they just kept getting better and better and better. Individually they were good for sure, but somehow when they got together they became an elite team.”
Newsome and Benge had fierce competition to claim top coaching awards. Here is a short, but accomplished and in many cases inspiring list of finalists.
Male sport coaches
Ed Azzam (Westchester, Los Angeles, basketball): The MaxPreps basketball Coach of the Year led the Comets to a second straight California Division I championship.
Jeff Buxton (Blair Academy, N.J., wrestling): The most accomplished prep wrestling coach in the land, Blair Academy once again finished No. 1 in the country.
Joe Hay (Garden Grove, Calif., football): After the tragic death of Garden Grove player Kevin Telles in Week 1, Hay held the team together and led them to a 13-1 season and into its first section championship game since 1942.
Larry Knight (Sumrall, Miss., baseball): His team had its remarkable 67-game win streak snapped, but the Bobcats still finished No. 1 in the final MaxPreps Xcellent 25 rankings for a second straight year.
Grant Rice (basketball) and Tony Sanchez (football): The Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) coaches led their teams to state titles and national rankings.
Troy Thomas (Servite, Anaheim, Calif., football): Playing arguably the toughest schedule in the country, Servite not only defeated longtime nemesis Mater Dei (Santa Ana) for the first time in 20 years, but also won the state Division II Bowl Game title.
Greg Toal (Don Bosco Prep, Ramsey, N.J., football): Led the Ironmen to an undisputed national crown with a rock solid defense. Bosco (12-0) outscored foes 553-131.
Charlie Warner (Pace, Fla., baseball): Team finished second in both MaxPreps national rankings and on a 25-game win streak.
Jeremy Williams (Greenville, Ga., football): Fighting through ALS, Williams led his team to its first 10-0 regular season and first region title since 1992. His inspirational story was shared on television’s popular “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” season-finale.
Greg Wise (Yates, Houston, Texas, basketball): Some didn’t like 32-minute-pedal-to-the-metal style, but no one argued that he pushed his team to a unanimous national championship. The Lions (34-0) averaged an astounding 116.2 points per game while giving up 65.8.
Female sport coaches
Bret Almazan-Cezar (Archbishop Mitty, San Jose, Calif., volleyball): Not only led the Monarchs (39-0) to their state-tying record eighth championship, but their first mythical national crown as well.
Kevin Fagan (Dunnellon, Fla., softball): Voted the two-time Florida state coach of the year by the Dairy Farmers Association, the former NFL standout led Dunnellon to another Florida and national title. His daughter Kasey Fagan was the Gatorade National Player of the Year.
P.J. Kesmodel (Cape Henlopen, Lewes, Del., lacrosse): Led the first public school team to win a state title and finish 18-0.
Kevin Kiernan (Mater Dei, Santa Ana, Calif., basketball): Despite losing three starters – two with season-ending injures and one transferred – Kiernan led the Monarchs to a state Division II title and the No. 1 national spot according to the MaxPreps Freeman rankings.
Doug Myers (Mater Dei, Santa Ana, Calif., softball): Despite the death of one of the nation’s top pitchers, Bri Matthews, 10 days before the season, Myers somehow held the Monarchs together through a 24-3 season against a national schedule.
Doris Oldaker (Mt. Lebanon, Pittsburgh, Pa., basketball): She led her team to a second straight PIAA Class AAAA title and third straight title game appearance.
Anthony Smith (Bolingbrook, Ill., basketball): Led team to its second straight Illinois Class 4A title and fifth straight state title game overall.
