Berkeley Prep football secure state title, lasting legacy for their coach
TAMPA, Fla. - As the Berkeley Prep football team turned in their uniforms and cleaned out their lockers Monday afternoon, the Buccaneers got one final chance to reminisce and look back on all they had accomplished.
"It's something so crazy that I'm trying to wrap my mind around it, but it doesn't feel real," said senior defensive back Darius Green.
Saturday, Green and the other 11 members of the Bucs' senior class walked off the field for the final time, this time as state champions. The 28-20 win over Miami Norland in Tallahassee delivered the school it's first football state title.
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"I told our players that we're playing for all the alumni and every player that donned a jersey for Berkeley Prep. It's been a special thing," said head coach Dominick Ciao.
The title was especially memorable for Ciao. After a coaching career that spanned more than 40 years, the legendary coach finally wound up on the winning side of a state title game and felt just as good as the 70-year-old Ciao had always imagined.
"Of course! And even better, and better," he said.
And that was exactly what fueled the Buccaneers from the start, as the players wanted to give back to a coach that had given so much to them.
"He's more than just a coach, he is a role model," said senior linebacker Dion Cooper. "We wanted to make sure that if we are going to leave, we're going to leave giving him something that can never be replaced."
In the process, the Bucs' 12 seniors delivered pride to their program, but also a parting gift to Ciao.
"Just being able to see the joy and the happiness on his face when he was presented the trophy and seeing that we were able to complete everything, we were the group to get it done," Green said.
Now, as those same 12 seniors walk off the field for the final time, they do so, having left a lasting legacy.
"You'll never find someone that has a bad testimony about Coach [Ciao] and there's a reason for that," said senior kicker Brad Paxton.
And at the same time, those seniors helped immortalize another legacy, too.