GAINESVILLE – Mandarin head coach Bobby Ramsay has been named the 2018 Florida Dairy Farmers Football Coach-of-the-Year following a final round of voting by a statewide panel of high school football coaches and media representatives.
Ramsay, who was previously selected as the Class 8A Coach-of-the-Year, led his team to an 11-4 record and the school’s first state championship a year after finishing with a 2-8 record in his first season at the school.
Prior to going to Mandarin, Ramsey posted a 77-48 record in nine years at Yulee, where he coached 2012 Florida Mr. Football and 2015 Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry.
Ramsay garnered 11 first-place votes and 155 points in a tight battle with Class 7A Coach-of-the-Year Bill Castle of Lakeland, who picked up eight first-place votes and 137 points to finish as the runnerup.
Raines head coach Deran Wiley (Class 4A Coach of the Year) finished third with 56 points followed by Class 1A Coach of the Year Mike Coe (Madison County) 46 points, Class 5A Coach of the Year Matt DuBuc (Cardinal Gibbons) 41 points and Class 6A Coach of the Year Max Edwards (Northwestern) 29 points.
Rounding out the rest of the voting were Class 2A Coach of the Year Steve Price (NFC) 15 points, Class 3A Coach of the Year Dameon Jones (Chaminade-Madonna) 12 points and Independent Coach of the Year Guerschom Demosthenes (Orlando Christian Prep) 8 points.
Ramsay becomes just the sixth area coach to win the award joining Bob Withrow (Sandalwood), Robby Pruitt (Union County), Danny Green (Columbia), Joey Wiles (St. Augustine) and Deran Wiley (Raines).
The Florida Dairy Farmers High School Sports Awards program exemplifies Florida Dairy Farmers’ commitment to the state’s youth. This marks the 27th year of these unique awards as we honor the state’s top athletes and coaches in all 30 FHSAA sanctioned and recognized sports.
2018 FINAL VOTING RESULTS (Note: Points awarded on a 10-7-5 basis)
Player Total Points 1st-place Votes
Bobby Ramsay 155 11
Bill Castle 137 8
Deran Wiley 56 2
Mike Coe 46
Matt DuBuc 41 1
Max Edwards 29
Steve Price 15 1
Dameon Jones 12
Guerschom Demothenes 8
Past Football Coaches of the Year:
1992 – Wally Dunne, Coral Springs
1993 – Paul Maechtle, Bradenton Southeast
1994 – Rod Shafer, Lake Wales
1995 – Bob Withrow, Jacksonville Sandalwood
1996 – Robby Pruitt, Union County
1997 – Danny Green, Lake City Columbia
1998 – Bill Castle, Lakeland
1999 – Milton Watson, Glades Central
2000 – Nick Coleman, Venice
2001 – Al Morrell, Clewiston
2002 – Richard Wood, Tampa Wharton
2003 – Bill Kramer, Naples
2004 – Bill Castle, Lakeland
2005 – Joey Wiles, St. Augustine
2006 – Robert Weiner, Tampa Plant
2007 – Billy Rolle, Miami Northwestern
2008 – Robert Weiner, Tampa Plant
2009 – John Wilkinson, Cocoa
2010 – Dale Salapa, Orlando Dr. Phillips
2011 – Robert Craft, Tallahassee North Florida Christian
2012 – Tim Harris, Sr., Miami Booker T. Washington
2013 – Tim Harris, Sr., Miami Booker T. Washington
2014 – Tim Harris, Jr., Miami Booker T. Washington
2015 – Deran Wiley, Raines
2016 – Billy Rolle, Southridge
2017 – John Peacock, Venice
My ballot
1 Bobby Ramsay (Mandarin)
2 Max Edwards (Northwestern)
3 Bill Castle (Lakeland)
4 Matt DuBuc (Cardinal Gibbons)
5 Deran Wiley (Raines)
6 Steve Price (NFC)
7 Mike Coe (Madison County)
8 Dameon Jones (Chaminade-Madonna)
9 Guerschom Demosthenes (Orlando Christian Prep)
To be nominated for the Coach of the Year, coaches first had to be named their respective classification Coach of the Year winners, which were released a few days ago.
Class 8A
1 Bobby Ramsay (Mandarin) 191
2 Chris Merritt (Columbus) 105
3 Joshua Smithers (Sarasota Riverview) 47
4 Richard Bedesem (Wekiva) 22
5 Jevon Glenn (Deerfield Beach) 20
Class 7A
1 Bill Castle (Lakeland) 181
2 Cameron Duke (Edgewater) 100
3 OJ Small (Lee) 37
4 Roger Harriott (St. Thomas Aquinas) 31
5 John Peacock (Venice) 24
Class 6A
1 Max Edwards (Northwestern) 143
2 Tim Hatten (Crestview) 79
3 Bill Kramer (Naples) 59
4 Edwin Farmer (Vanguard) 44
5 Evan Davis (Armwood) 33
Class 5A
1 Matt DuBuc (Cardinal Gibbons) 137
2 Willie Offord (North Marion) 103
3 Verlon Dorminey (Trinity Christian) 30
4 Matt Thompson (Jesuit) 22
5 Corey Fuller (Godby) 20
Class 4A
1 Deran Wiley (Raines) 181
2 Ryan Schneider (Cocoa) 72
3 Richard Pettus (Villages) 39
4 Daniel Lugue (University) 17
5 Price Harris Dunnellon 15
Class 3A
1 Dameon Jones (Chaminade-Madonna) 118
2 Keith Allen (King’s Academy) 92
3 Chris Harvey (Clearwater Cent. Catholic) 79
4 Brandon Tidwell (St. Joseph) 24
5 Jarrod Hickman (Florida High) 20
Class 2A
1 Steve Price (NFC) 167
2 Hector Clavijo (Champagnat) 59
3 Kendrick Stewart (Victory) 52
4 Rick Kravitz (Admiral Farragut) 33
5 Damon Jones (St. John Neumann) 17
Class 1A
1 Mike Coe (Madison County) 169
2 Matt Brunson (Baker) 84
3 Cornelius Ingram (Hawthorne) 73
4 Greg Jordan (Port St. Joe) 32
5 Clarence Williams (Crescent City) 17
Independent
1 Guerschom Demosthenes (Orlando Christian Prep) 88
2 Tod Creneti (St. Stephen’s) 75
3 Jamie Gamel (Cedar Creek Christian) 52
Other nominees: Jim Stomps (Christ’s Church)
