TCPalm's 2023 Football All-Area: Who brings home Coach of the Year?
A new era in Fort Pierce Westwood football should be celebrated on the eve of the new year.
Westwood head coach Chris Kokell has been named the 2023 TCPalm Football Coach of the Year after leading the Panthers to a 7-4 finish this fall.
Kokell took the Panthers back to the FHSAA state playoffs in his second season at the helm of the Westwood program as the No. 6 seed in Region 3 of Class 3S.
The achievement is made all the more impressive given the destitution of the Panthers program prior to Kokell's hiring in January 2022.
Westwood finished 0-9 in 2021 with an average margin of defeat of 20 points. The winless season came after back-to-back winning seasons, including the program's first playoff victory in a decade in 2020.
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Westwood's path back to success
The Panthers bookended the 2023 regular season with three-game winning streaks, opening the year with wins over Royal Palm Beach, South Fork and Inlet Grove before closing the season with wins over Central, Port St. Lucie and Boca Raton.
Westwood's victory over Boca Raton in the regular-season finale was likely the most impressive of Kokell's tenure: The Panthers pinned down the Bobcats for three quarters before running away with a 26-7 victory.
Boca Raton — a state qualifier in Class 4M — was itself enjoying a breakthrough season with the program's first district title since 2001. In addition to playing Broward powerhouse Cardinal Gibbons competitively two weeks prior, Boca Raton rebounded from the Westwood loss to win at Jupiter in the first round of the Class 4M playoffs.
Panthers produce college talent
Westwood's rise has been steady under Kokell. The Panthers finished 5-5 last season and have become more competitive as the roster gained talent and experience.
The Panthers touted several student-athletes with collegiate interest this season. Two-way standouts Jaylyn Monds and Braylon Vincent earned several Division I offers before choosing to play for Eastern Michigan and Long Island University, respectively.
Can Westwood build on its progress?
The next test for Kokell and the Panthers will be sustaining the improvements after the departure of a hugely productive senior class.
Westwood's top three offensive playmakers — Monds, Vincent and running back Todd Jackson — will graduate while four of the Panthers' five top tacklers are also seniors.
The Panthers were drawn into District 13 of Class 5A in the FHSAA's new classifications for the 2024 and 2025 high school football seasons.
It won't be easy opposition with Martin County, Heritage (Palm Bay) and South Fork also in the district.
While Westwood beat South Fork (4-6; No. 313 overall) in its only matchup with the team in 2023, the Panthers (7-4; No. 201 overall) finished significantly lower than Palm Bay (9-2; No. 85 overall) and Martin County (5-4; No. 143 overall) in the final state rankings.
Eric J. Wallace is deputy sports editor for Treasure Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at ejwallace@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Westwood football head coach Chris Kokell named 2023 Coach of the Year
