SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) — The Booker High School football program is aiming for its first-ever state championship title. The Tornadoes (9-4) will travel to Cocoa (12-1) on Friday to see if they can make history.
Before Scottie Littles took the head coaching job two years ago at Booker High, the Tornado football team won just a single game over two years.
However, Littles is writing a new story and completely changing the culture of the program.
“We took some lumps during the season, trying to learn what it means to be processed, and I mean, we have 85 kids and only 15 seniors, and I think that once we got to the playoffs, they learned our process, and they started to see the benefits of that work,” said Littles.
“I feel like he changed my life all the way,” said Booker senior wide receiver Josiah Booker.
“Before he got here, I really wasn’t on head with football, so when he came and changed the program around, I actually abided by what he said and what he had going on,” said Booker.
Littles started his coaching career at Booker High School in 2012. After moving around a few states in the last decade, he’s back where he belongs. Littles even met his wife at a local sports bar in town.
“I was actually by myself, and I ran into my wife. I asked her if I could sit next to her, and the rest is history, but it’s Booker versus Cocoa. Cocoa is the standard. They’ve been there. They’ve got some really good players, so we’re just going to line up and play football,” said Littles.
“Our kids are playing for much more than a championship, and that might be cliché, or people may think that, but it’s Booker, and if you know the history of Booker, it’s bigger – it’s about the community. You have people who went here 30, 40, 50 years ago that still come by and support us and talk about the glory days, so we’re just trying to play for that,” said Littles.
