2022 Coach of the Year Candidates

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>My choice of candidates for the 2022 Coach of the Year Award.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Messay Hailemariam - St. Frances Academy</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Head Coach of the SFA Panthers has lost only three games in the last three seasons combined, and he was on the cusp of an undefeated National Championship yet again in 2022. Hailemariam achieved all of this without a home field or stadium, and, since his arrival in 2011, Hailemariam has turned St. Frances Academy into a national powerhouse. The positive impact and change that he has made on the SFA community as a whole is truly spectacular. Messay Hailemariam deserves national recognition for his incredible work at St. Frances, and he continues to be a bright light for young men in Baltimore as an esteemed leader at SFA. The Panthers are ranked in the top five yet again in the preseason rankings, and I truly believe that 2023 could be the year that they achieve an undefeated National Championship under Hailemariam.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pat Ward - St. John's</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The St. John's Cadets just won back to back WCAC Championships under Pat Ward, and they did so competing in the most well-respected conference in all of high school football. With nearly 20 years of coaching experience at St. John's under his belt, Ward has cemented himself as a local legend in the District of Columbia. St. John's has become the standard by which we measure the success of DMV football programs, and the reason for that is the leadership and the tutelage of head coach Pat Ward. Coach Ward is clearly an incredible inspiration to his players and to the entire St. John's community, and I wouldn't be surprised at all to see St. John's finish on top of the WCAC again in 2023. Under Coach Ward, winning is always possible.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bill McGregor - DeMatha</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The long time DeMatha Stags Head Coach, Bill McGregor, had his team competing for WCAC gold in 2022, and he nearly added yet another conference championship to his jam-packed trophy case. McGregor has won 17 conference championships during his time with DeMatha, and he has also never recorded a losing season in his entire career. He has produced hundreds and hundreds of athletes that received scholarships to compete at the next level, and they were all put in those positions to succeed as a direct result of their time at DeMatha under Coach McGregor. There are very few high school football coaches who have served their communities as valiantly and as gracefully as Bill McGregor, and I believe I speak for all of his former players when I say that he should be a premier candidate for a Coach of the Year Award.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Robert Harris - Archbishop Carroll</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Archbishop Carroll Lions finished undefeated and ranked 1st in the WCAC Metro Division last season. The Lions' head coach, Robert Harris, deserves a ton of credit for Carroll's recent success, and the consistency and speed with which he has brought that success is truly amazing. Coach Harris has only lost four total games in the last two seasons, including an undefeated conference record over that same span, and he has truly put the Lions' football program back on the map since his arrival as head coach. Robert Harris and the Carroll Lions are one of the most exciting programs in D.C., and I believe Coach Harris has a lot to do with that fact. In my eyes, he simply must be a candidate for the 2022 Coach of the Year Award. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>John Kelley - Quince Orchard</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Head Coach John Kelley of Quince Orchard is the only head coach on this list that achieved an undefeated season in 2022. Coach Kelley and the Cougars finished #1 in Montgomery County's 4A Division, and they also ended the season ranked #6 overall in the state of Maryland. Kelley is closing in on his 10th season as the head coach at Quince Orchard, and I think it's safe to say that he's there to stay. The work he has done to maintain the positive momentum that was established at QO when he was a coordinator is truly inspiring, and it would be impossible to deny Coach Kelley's clear case for this award. Coach John Kelley and the Quince Orchard Cougars will definitely be competitive in Maryland again in 2023, and I believe that they have a strong chance to continue their unbeaten streak deep into next season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->