High School Football: Lakeland, Homestead among state powers with new head coaches

Turnover in the high school football coaching community is an annual occurrence and 2023 is no exception.

Several schools have new coaches this season, including a handful of prominent programs.

Defending Class 4S state champion Lakeland and Class 3M state runner-up Homestead — two schools opening the year ranked in the top 100 nationally — are among the programs with a first-time head coach at the helm.

Here are some of the new coaches taking over perennial state powers or teams expected to contend for a championship this fall.

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Bartram Trail: Cory Johns

The former Nature Coast Tech coach moves across the peninsula to take over for the retired Darrell Sutherland, the only coach in Bartram Trail history (182 victories, 19 playoff appearances in 23 years). The Bears went 12-1 in 2022 and look like Class 4S contenders once more under Johns, who played quarterback at nearby Interlachen High and Jacksonville University and compiled a 40-17 record in six seasons at Nature Coast.

More: Inside the coaching carousel: See where Northeast Florida's new coaches are moving in 2023

Buchholz: Chuck Bell

Buchholz didn’t take long to find its new coach as Bell was promoted from defensive coordinator at the same time former coach Mark Whittemore announced his retirement in December. Whittemore was a staple at Buchholz, his alma mater, as coach for 26 years – 16 as an assistant and 10 as head coach – and led the team to back-to-back Final Four appearances. Bell also is a Buchholz graduate who was an offensive lineman for two seasons at Navy. Bell has college coaching experience at Florida, South Carolina and Tusculum. He was the Bobcats’ defensive coordinator the past five seasons.

More: 'You have to truly love the program.' Why Alachua County coaches return to their alma mater

Columbia: Brian Allen

He's back: The former Columbia linebacker, a national champion at Florida State and a member of a Super Bowl team with the Carolina Panthers, returns to the sidelines in Lake City after two years away. Allen takes over for Demetric Jackson, who likewise returned to his former program, Fort White. There's no doubt about Allen's track record with Columbia: He went 86-33 and qualified for regional playoffs in all 10 of his seasons between 2011 and 2020. He also inherits a Class 3S semifinalist from last fall.

More: A Tiger returns: NFL veteran Brian Allen back for second stint as Columbia coach

Homestead: Ronnie Thornton

Thornton replaces former coach Philip Simpson, who led the Broncos to a 23-4 record the past two seasons and an appearance in the Class 3S state championship game in 2022 before leaving to become a defensive quality control coach at Nebraska. Thornton was an obvious choice as he was Homestead’s associate head coach and defensive coordinator. Thornton, a Miami native, was a linebacker at Southern Miss and played a key role in the Eagles' Conference USA championship game win in 2011. Thornton’s team, which returns more than 20 seniors, begins the season at No. 42 in MaxPreps’ national rankings.

Lakeland: Marvin Frazier

Frazier replaces the legendary Bill Castle, who coached the Dreadnaughts for 52 seasons. Castle’s storied career included 473 wins – a state record at one school – as well as eight state titles and nine championship game appearances. Frazier has been coaching at Lakeland the past four years, most recently as the program’s wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator. Frazier, a North Carolina native, has been coaching for more than a decade with stops at Washington (N.C.), Pine Force (N.C.) and Sebring.

More: 'The same grit, grind that he had in '79': Lakeland's Frazier adds voice to winning ways

Miami Northwestern: Michaelee Harris

Northwestern fired former coach Max Edwards during the offseason. Edwards won three state championships and led the Bulls to seven consecutive playoff appearances, including the 2021 state semifinal. Northwestern now turns to Harris, who played wide receiver on the Bulls’ 2007 national championship team. Harris played college football at Louisville and Akron and has college coaching experience at Illinois and Miami. He also spent time as Northwestern’s wide receivers coach before spending the past two years at the offensive coordinator at Carol City.

Pine Forest: Tony Carter

Carter inherits a program that went wire-to-wire as the top-ranked team in Class 3S during the regular season in 2022. Carter spent the past 13 years as the running backs coach at Navarre. He replaces Ronnie Douglas, who coached the Eagles for three seasons and led the team to the Class 6A state championship game in 2021. Carter, the father of New York Jets running back Michael Carter, is tasked with trying to lead Pine Forest to its fifth consecutive district title.

More: 'Where I'm supposed to be': Pine Forest's Jonathan Daniels discusses commitment to Florida State

Seminole: Karl Calhoun Jr.

Calhoun was promoted from Seminole’s defensive coordinator after former coach Eric Lodge — the 2020 Florida Dairy Farmers Coach of the Year — left to become the head coach at Berkeley (S.C.). A Seminole graduate, Calhoun played linebacker at Virginia Union University. He was an assistant coach for three seasons before leading the Seminole defense the past two years.

Florida Times-Union sports writer Clayton Freeman contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Lakeland, Homestead among state football powers with new head coaches