When Mike Coe left his football dynasty at Madison County back in Florida and headed north into the Peach State to coach the Coffee Trojans a couple years ago, the naysayers came quickly running in South Georgia.
Well take a look at him now.
Raising the Georgia High School Association’s (GHSA) Class 5A state championship in a resounding 31-14 victory over Creekside Wednesday evening in front of what looked like nearly everyone in Coffee County at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
You better believe Coe kept every receipt he could of everyone had to say about him coming from the ole Sunshine State. He took all the negativity and brought home to Douglas the school’s first ever state championship.
Once Coe got onto the podium once the game had concluded, he already knew what to say to GHSA executive director Robin Hines other than congratulating the efforts of his team.
“They told me I couldn’t win in Georgia,” Coe said in the postgame conference after winning the Class 5A state championship.
If anyone knows anything about high school football between Florida and Georgia, it should come as no surprise that Coe is bringing Coffee County home their first state title. That’s because he and the Cowboys of Madison, Florida were always an annual contender in the Class 1A classification.
Now yes, 1A was previously the lowest classification of the Florida High School Athletic Assocation (FHSAA) up until a couple years ago when the Metro-Suburban series was introduced. During Coe’s time with the Cowboys, he had the program competing for small rural town state championships.
During Coe’s time as Madison County head coach from 2010-2021, the Cowboys were dominant under his watch. Through 12 seasons, Coe compiled a remarkable 135-26 record and won four state championships.
It wasn’t always winning state titles right out of the gates for Coe when at Madison County.
Coe’s first trip to the state championship in 2011 was a teaching lesson on the big stage. Madison County went up against Delray Beach American Heritage, falling 30-3 for the Class 3A crown.
It was a pick yourself up and try again moment for Coe and company.
The following season in 2011 was the next trip to the state championship. It ended in heartbreak as his Cowboys fell 24-17 to Fort Lauderdale University School, then coached by current St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Roger Harriott.
Madison County just kept grinding in search of the school’s third state championship, first with Coe at the helm. The Cowboys would get another chance five years later.
That’s when the breakthrough would occur for Coe at Madison County as he led the Cowboys to a 35-20 defeat of Blountstown for the 1A title. That would begin a run of four state championships in a five-year stretch and small town football began and ended with Madison County.
Leaving his post at Madison in early 2022 for the Coffee job, held previously by current Williston (Florida) head coach Robby Pruitt, Coe didn’t take nearly as long in leaving a lasting impression on everyone in Georgia.
The Trojans went 9-4 last year, but many knew Coe was building something really special at Coffee.
All that culminated when Coffee rushed out to a 21-0 lead and never looked back. Challenging a Creekside team, whose only loss came to California powerhouse Mater Dei, it was a crowning moment for the Trojans.
Coe has won state championships in Florida and Georgia, joining a very short list of those to ever do so.
Yeah, he’s graduating some really good ball players from this state championship-winning squad. Make no mistake about it, however.
You might want to think twice before doubting Coe leading his team back to the Benz come 2024.
— Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivega
