Scrappy Coach of the Year finalists examples of overcoming obstacles

Jun. 23—Overcoming obstacles to guide their teams to a memorable season was a common theme for the six finalists for this year's Scrappy Moore Best of Preps Coach of the Year award.

Each of these mentors found success — a combined seven state titles claimed last season — despite adversity, standing as an example to their players.

This year's finalists are Ringgold's Daniel Hackett, Coahulla Creek's Aurelio Jacobo, Red Bank's Mandi Munn, Baylor's Gary Patrick and McCallie's Ralph Potter and Mike Wood.

The winner will be announced during Thursday's Best of Preps banquet which, due to COVID-19 concerns will again be a virtual event, airing on timesfreepress.com at 7 p.m.

Hackett's Lady Tigers softball team, which graduated nearly all of its pitching following 2020's GHSA Class AAA championship run, didn't find footing until the postseason and then needed to find a way to get past a region rival to successfully defend their title. Ringgold lost both regular season games to region champ Rockmart, then fell to the Lady Yellow Jackets in the region championship game. The two matched up again in the winner's bracket final of the GHSA Championships in Columbus, with Rockmart again winning, this time 7-6 in extra innings. Undaunted, Ringgold made it back to the title round and this time defeated its nemesis 9-2 and 7-6 in eight innings to win it all again.

It wasn't just the fact that Coahulla Creek's boys' soccer team won the first state championship in school history in any sport, it was how it happened that will forever be talked about in Varnell. Jacobo's Colts had an up-and-down regular season, going 9-2-2, but a regular season-ending 2-2 tie with Chattanooga power Baylor seemed to ignite the team. What followed was a 5-0 run through the GHSA Class AAA playoffs, including two memorable wins.

The Colts needed PKs to get past favored Morgan County in the quarterfinal round, then, after pulling off a 6-1 win over Greater Atlanta Christian, they faced nine-time champion Westminster in the finals, the same team that defeated Coahulla Creek two years earlier in the title round. This time the Colts prevailed, 3-1, with two goals in overtime despite playing most of the second half and both OT periods a man down.

Despite starting the season without enough players to field a full team, Coach Munn's Red Bank softball team made up for its lack in numbers with heart on the way to a final four finish in the Class AA state tournament — the program's first appearance since 2005. Due to injuries and two players being under quarantine, Red Bank won two postseason games despite having just nine players in the lineup.

His ninth season as Baylor's golf coach was one filled with personal obstacles for Partrick, but he helped his players maintain their focus and ultimately both the boys' and girls' teams won the TSSAA Division II-AA state championship last fall.

Just before the season began, Partrick was diagnosed with prostate cancer and underwent surgery on July 31. Days later he contracted COVID-19, and said he's still recovering from the effects of the virus. The Lady Red Raiders proceeded to finish first or second in every tournament they played in, capping the season by winning the program's first team state title in seven years. Baylor entered the second day of the state tourney down two strokes but wound up blistering the course to pull away and win by 17 strokes.

The boys' team, which had graduated four of its top six players from the previous season, won the City Prep and region titles before claiming the state championship by nine strokes.

In his 19th season as McCallie's football coach, Potter guided his alma mater to its second consecutive Division II-AAA state championship and third overall. The Blue Tornado finished with an 8-3 record, including an impressive 19-point win over rival Baylor during the regular season and an even more impressive 44-0 win over Memphis University School in the state title game, where the Owls were held to just 97 yards of total offense.

That shutout in early December also came against an MUS team that had scored an average of 45 points per game in the playoffs and capped a four-game run in which Mc-Callie — with Potter calling the defense — held opponents to an average of just 11.5 points per game in double-digit wins. Three of those wins came in the playoffs, where McCallie outscored opponents by an average of 23 points.

Wood's Blue Tornado runners swept both the cross country and track state championships in Division II-AA last season, an incredible feat that occurred after Wood recovered from a massive heart attack he suffered in late December 2019. At the time, doctors feared Wood might need a heart transplant, but that turned out not to be necessary and after a year spent recovering, the veteran mentor returned to coaching and guided his teams to unforgettable seasons. The track state title was the first in program history.

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.