Western’s James O’Brien is Broward County Flag Football Coach of the Year for 2023
Western followed up its first state championship with another trip to the final four and, for the third straight year, James O’Brien is the Miami Herald’s Broward County Flag Football Coach of the Year.
The Wildcats went to the Class 2A championship in 2021, won the 2A title in 2022 and continued an incredible run of success by getting back to the 2A semifinals this year, and they went on this run despite losing six key seniors from the year before.
It has all been the result of more than a decade of work in Davie.
Western made its first trip to the Florida High School Athletic Association tournament back in 2012, in O’Brien’s second season as coach, and then didn’t make it again until 2018. The Wildcats made it all the way to the Region 4-2A title game in 2018.
Palm Beach County opponents were a road block for two years before Western finally broke through to make the 2A championship in 2021, only to fall short by a single point.
It “became the driving force” for the Wildcats’ next season, O’Brien said, and they won their first state title. A year later, Western was still the best team in the county, even after losing so much from its championship roster.
The Wildcats went undefeated against Broward opponents and only lost to one other South Florida team — Edison, which made the Class 1A semifinals — on the way to another deep postseason run. They outscored opponents by more than 18 points per game and held team to an average of just 8.37 points. They had the Broward County Flag Football Player of the Year for the second straight season, as wide receiver Nandi Ramessar ascended into Western’s leadership role with more than 1,000 receiving yards, and did it all with a new quarterback.
There was nothing new or novel about this Wildcats run. They’re just one of the best programs in the state and continued their run with another great season.
