After leading Oakland Mills to its first winning football season since 2003, head coach Thomas Browne was named the Ravens High School Coach of the Year this week.
Browne was a wide receiver for the Scorpions when they won the Class 1A state championship in 1998. In his fourth year as coach, he led his alma matter to a 9-2 record, improving from 4-6 in 2013.
"I had such a positive experience as a student-athlete at Oakland Mills," Browne said in a statement. "I played for a head coach in Ken Hovet who I deeply respected. After college, I followed my old head coach to Marriotts Ridge for a few years before he passed away in 2010. It meant the world to me to be able to come back and teach history and coach football at Oakland Mills like Coach Hovet."
After Oakland Mills in September won its first homecoming game in a decade, Browne was named the Ravens High School Coach of the Week.
The Scorpions won with an offense that scored 467 points, led by senior quarterback David Pindell, who was selected as The Baltimore Sun's All-Metro Offensive Player of the Year.
"He saw the potential in me and pushed me to reach my best," Pindell said in a statement. "I owe a lot to Coach Browne. He developed me from a sidearm thrower into a real quarterback. He dedicated himself to me during the season and in the offseason, and I'm grateful for him."
The Ravens pick a coach of the week during each week of the regular season. Each winner attended the Ravens' home game vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, where Browne was named Coach of the Year.
Weekly winners received a $2,000 to their high school's football program. Browne received an additional $4,000 for the Oakland Mills program by being named the Coach of the Year.