06/24/2022
https://www.facebook.com/ghostsoftheorangebowl/photos/a.446756302025217/1608673369166832/?type=3
In 1973, Hollywood Hills High School became the first Broward County school to win a state football championship. Back when the Miami Dolphins were winning Super Bowls, the Hollywood Hills Spartans were dominating South Florida high school football. Led by head coach Dick Saltrick, the Spartans used a wishbone offense modeled after Barry Switzer's Oklahoma teams to run wild over their opponents. Photo courtesy of Steve Rochelle.
Hollywood Hills put Broward County football on the map. One year earlier in 1972, the Spartans crushed an Elvis Peacock-led Miami Central team in the playoffs at the Orange Bowl. It was the first time a Broward school had beaten a Miami-Dade County team in the postseason. The Spartans didn't have any big name players, instead relying on superior fundamentals and cohesive team play. But the team wasn't lacking in great talent. Quarterback John Kurowski was a master at executing the triple option and went on to play for the United States Naval Academy. Receiver Gerald Bain went on to play at Oklahoma State.
It would take 13 years for a Broward County team to win another state title. (Dillard High in 1986). Prior to the early 70s, Broward County football was considered the inferior little brother to their neighbors to the south. Since then, several Broward schools, such as Dillard, Ely and St. Thomas Aquinas have won state championships, producing some of the best players in Florida.