Players and coaches of the year announced at Miami Herald’s All-County Awards ceremony
Even in the midst of a global pandemic, the Miami Herald continued its tradition of more than 60 years in recognizing South Florida’s top high school student-athletes.
And, like always, the best awards were saved for last.
The main group included three of South Florida’s top running backs and one of the area’s top players both on the gridiron and the basketball court. Also two of the area’s top soccer players and one of the most decorated high school cross-country runners Florida has ever seen. And a volleyball player who once again guided her team deep into the postseason.
These eight players — Miami Columbus’ Henry Parrish, Deerfield Beach’s Jaylan Knighton, Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna’s Thad Franklin, Miami Gulliver Prep’s Gabe Taylor, Miami Lourdes’ Mia Atrio, Weston Cypress Bay’s Megan Morgan, Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest’s Tsion Yared and Miami Westminster Christian’s Saskia Hernandez — were named the Miami Herald’s overall athletes of the year at Wednesday’s 2020 All-County Awards ceremony.
The Miami Herald’s All-County Athletic Awards — sponsored by Baptist Health South Florida’s Miami Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute and presented by the Orange Bowl — took place virtually this year because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and honored the top athletes and coaches in 10 sports for their achievements during the 2019-2020 school year.
It capped off a season in which South Florida schools won 24 team state titles despite the Florida High School Athletic Association calling off the spring seasons. The Herald recognized the more than 2,500 seniors from the two counties who were on rosters for those sports — baseball, softball, track and field, tennis, lacrosse, water polo, boys’ volleyball and flag football — as part of the ceremony.
Sports columnist Greg Cote served as host and members of the Miami Marlins, Miami Dolphins, Florida Panthers and Inter Miami also announced some of the night’s biggest awards.
More on the Athletes of the Year
Miami Marlins pitcher Pablo Lopez introduced Miami-Dade’s four athletes of the year, each of whom was pivotal to his or her team’s success this season.
Parrish, the Miami-Dade 8A-6A football offensive player of the year for a second consecutive season, led Miami-Dade County with 2,318 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns as helped the Explorers to a Class 8A football title. He’s heading to Ole Miss next season.
Taylor, the younger brother of the late Sean Taylor and a first-team All-Dade recipient in both football and boys’ basketball, intercepted nine passes for Gulliver’s football team and averaged 22.1 points for the Raiders’ basketball team. He’ll play football at Rice.
Atrio, a University of Miami signee, scored 91 goals over the past three seasons — including 30 this year — as she led Lourdes to its second state soccer title in three years.
Hernandez, a junior, was once again the focal point for the Westminster Christian volleyball team during its run to a Class 3A state runner-up finish. She recorded 319 kills, 237 digs, 30 aces and 21 blocks this year.
Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad and team radio announcer Doug Plagens gave out the athlete of the year awards for Broward County and includes a group of record setters.
Knighton, who enrolled early at UM, rushed for 1,414 yards and 19 touchdowns this season to guide Deerfield Beach to a third consecutive Class 8A state semifinal appearance. He finished his career as the Bucks’ all-time rushing leader and second in Broward County history with 5,164 yards.
Franklin, a junior and UM commit, rushed for 2,282 and 28 touchdowns — including a staggering 333 yards and five touchdowns in the Class 3A state title game. The star running back also played on the Lions’ basketball team.
Morgan, a junior, scored 32 goals and added 13 assists to lead the Cypress Bay girls’ soccer team to just its second-ever state championship appearance.
Yared, who is off to Princeton this fall and has run for Pine Crest since the sixth grade, tied the state record with four individual cross country state championships (2014, 2017, 2018, 2019). Yared also won three individual track and field titles in her illustrious prep career, two in the 3,200-meter run and one as part of the school’s 3,200-meter relay team.
Don Shula Coaches of the Year
This year, the Miami Herald renamed its overall coach of the year awards to the Don Shula Coach of the Year to honor the legendary Dolphins coach who died on May 4 at age 90.
Dolphins tight end Durham Smythe presented the award for the two winners from Miami-Dade schools: Booker T. Washington football’s Ben Hanks and Miami High girls’ basketball’s Sam Baumgarten.
Hanks took over the Tornadoes football team shortly before the season started when coach Tim “Ice” Harris left to become the inaugural head coach at Florida Memorial. He guided the team to a 13-2 record and a Class 4A state title.
Baumgarten and the Stingarees finally won a state title after falling short in the final seconds each of the past two years.
Inter Miami goalkeeper and captain Luis Robles announced the top Broward coaches — St. Thomas Aquinas football’s Roger Harriott and Archbishop McCarthy girls’ soccer’s Mike Sica.
Harriott led the Raiders to yet another state championship in Class 7A, went a perfect 15-0 on the season and wrapped up the year with a GEICO State Champions Bowl win over Honolulu’s St. Louis.
Sica, meanwhile, finally broke through and led the Archbishop McCarthy girls’ soccer team to its first ever state title.
Courage and lifetime achievement awards
▪ The Deerfield Beach football team and Booker T. Washington assistant football coach Earl Tillman earned the annual Leo Suarez/Walter Krietsch Courage Award.
The Deerfield Beach football team has rallied together throughthe healing process following the loss of teammate Bryce Gowdy, who took his own life Dec. 30 just weeks after he helped them reach the Class 8A state semifinals and weeks before he was set to enroll at Georgia Tech on a football scholarship.
Tillman, who has been dealing with pancreatic cancer for more than a year, stayed by the Tornadoes’ side all season and served as an inspiration for the team throughout their state championship run.
▪ Longtime Cardinal Gibbons wrestling coach Frank Pettineo and Braddock boys’ basketball coach Willie Diaz were named the Miami Herald’s Lifetime Achievement recipients.
Other notable awards
▪ Doral Academy (Miami-Dade 7A-5A), Gulliver Prep (Miami-Dade 4A-1A), St. Thomas Aquinas (Broward 7A-5A) and American Heritage (Broward 4A-1A) won the All-Sports Award for their respective classifications.
▪ Yared, Stranahan’s Dave Herard, South Dade’s Bretli Reyna and Miami Country Day’s Sofia Benenson were the Miami Herald’s four Scholar Athletes of the Year.
▪ With Miami-Dade and Broward winning seven of the eight football state championships this year, the first time that has ever been accomplished, the Herald awarded all seven head coaches as co-football coaches of the year. The seven: Columbus’ Dave Dunn (Class 8A), Harriott (7A), Central’s Roland Smith (6A), Northwestern’s Max Edwards (5A), Hanks (4A), Chaminade-Madonna’s Dameon Jones (3A) and Champagnat’s Hector Clavijo (2A). Dillard’s Eddie Frasier, who led the Panthers to a 12-0 record before losing to Central in the Class 6A regional finals, was posthumously honored as a co-football coach of the year, as well. Frasier died on April 13 due to complications with diabetic ketoacidosis.
The awards were decided before news surfaced that Edwards was being indefinitely suspended while Northwestern investigates the Bulls football team about holding unauthorized practices during the coronavirus pandemic.
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