For the first time in his 27-year coaching tenure, Rich Stuart will lead his Miami Belen Jesuit Wolverines into the elusive FHSAA Class 3A Championship on Friday, Dec. 18 in the Citrus Bowl. Stuart, Belen's head coach and USA Football's 2010 Junior National Team running backs coach, says this moment was well worth the wait.
"This game means a great deal to me and our school as a whole," Stuart said. "I've been the head coach here for 27 years and I have some assistants who have been here close to 20. We've had plenty of heartaches - good times and bad - but to see how far we've come as a small school just makes it all worthwhile."
Stuart and Miami Belen Jesuit (11-3) will square off against defensive juggernaut Pensacola High (13-1) at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando for the 3A crown on Friday at noon. Belen Jesuit lost its first two games but won 11 of its last 12 and is currently riding a nine game win streak. Stuart and his offense are averaging 27.7 ppg, while Pensacola High has recorded six shutouts and only allowed opponents 6.2 ppg.
"Pensacola has a really stingy defense. They've only given up six points throughout the entire playoffs," Stuart said. "We certainly have to score more than six points to take this thing. I'm just going to coach to our strengths and do the things that have brought us success all year."
At the beginning of Stuart's season, he faced his good friend Chris Merritt, head coach of both the 2010 Junior National Team and Miami Christopher Columbus High. Merritt looks forward to having Stuart on his coaching staff and expects Belen to play a mistake-free game.
"Rich has a tremendous amount of experience and his team is successful because they are always well-prepared and out-discipline other teams," explains Merritt, who was also defensive backs coach for the gold-medal winning 2009 Junior National Team. "He was having a tough time early on in the season, but boy did he sure turn it around. I'm very excited for him - it couldn't have happened to a better guy."
Stuart has ensured his team will be focused on the task at hand by implementing a tight schedule to avoid any potential distractions.
"This is a very big game and fortunately my guys haven't shown any nervousness yet," Stuart said. "We've got them on a pretty tight schedule, so hopefully they won't have any time to be nervous.
"Before the game, I'm just going to say the traditional things to get them fired up. I think they know what's at stake."
Before Stuart leads his country against the best the world has to offer, he hopes to continue his magical run and cap off his historic season with his school's first-ever state championship.
"Just this whole experience is sort of surreal," he said. "The school and student body are very excited and I'm just looking forward to the game itself. Hopefully I'll be able to coach our team to victory and cap off this dream season."
Game Notes:
The first "Team USA vs. The World" game will be on Jan. 30, 2010 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The game will match USA Football's 2010 Junior National Team - 45 of the country's top high school seniors - against a "World" team composed of the best players aged 19 and under from outside the United States, spanning four continents.
