Baker football's Matt Brunson set to be enshrined in FHSAA HOF
Matt Brunson has won everywhere he's been, including a 13-year run at Baker with a 132-26 mark and 2020's state title. Now the FHSAA HOF is calling.
BAKER — It's funny to think of Baker football coach Matt Brunson as an accountant. But there he was in the late '80s at Troy State University taking accounting classes at the behest of his mom, who saw a son gifted at math and wanted the same comfortable future of the family's accountant. "Our accountant had a house on the water in Milton," Brunson said.
"That was a big deal. " In the end, of course, his heart sought out a different career path on the gridiron. He's proceeded to change the course of high school football success in Okaloosa County, and now he's set to be enshrined in the FHSAA Hall of Fame in September.
Vote now: Florida Power & Light Athlete of the Week "Being a Baker Gator has kind of defined my life, and I'm grateful to everyone who's allowed me to run this program and build this culture to my best ability," he said. With the appearance of a 40-year-old, Brunson remaining in peak shape as a reminder to his players that state titles are won in the weight room, Brunson's resume is peerless in Okaloosa County. The man is 132-26 over 13 years at Baker, leading the Gators to a 27-14 win over Hawthorne at Doak Campbell Stadium for the 1A crown in 2020 to break a 25-year, state-title drought for Okaloosa County schools.
That came four years after the Gators finished 14-0 after Pahokee vacated its state title and FHSAA recognized the Gators as state champs in the state program during its 2020 run. If you include 2016, that's six state titles won by Brunson as a player, assistant coach and head coach. He was a member of the three-peat Gators from 1983-1985 that won 42 straight games, he was an assistant on the 1993 state championship Gators and then came the 14-0 runs in 2016 and 2020.