Four of the best high school head coaches in the nation, including Katy High’s Gary Joseph, highlight the 2019 Regional Power of Influence Award winners.

The award is given jointly by the American Football Coaches Association and the American Football Coaches Foundation. The winner of the 2019 Power of Influence Award will be announced at the American Football Coaches Awards on January 14 during the 2020 AFCA Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. The regional winners are finalists for the national Power of Influence Award.

The regional winners are Joseph, Region 4’s winner; Region 2 winner Terry Curtis of UMS-Wright Preparatory in Alabama; Region 3 winner Dave Nelson of Minnetonka High in Minnesota; and Region 5 winner, the late Lou Farrar of Charter Oak High in California.

This is the first year the AFCA has recognized regional winners for the Power of Influence Award. Coaches who receive the award are recognized for their impact on their team, as well as the legacy they leave with the school and surrounding community.

The award is not based on wins and losses; however, it should be noted that coaches of powerful influence have longevity and success. The winners are selected by members of the AFCF Board of Directors.

GARY JOSEPH: Joseph led Katy High to the third round of the Class 6A Texas high school playoffs in 2019, finishing with a 12-1 record. In 16 years as a head coach, Joseph has an overall record of 213-21 with four state championships, eight championship game appearances and 15 district championships. He reached 200 victories faster than any other high school coach in Texas high school history. Joseph has led his players to participate in “Say No to Drugs” programs in local elementary schools around the Katy community, and when Hurricane Harvey decimated the Houston area in August 2017, he and his players went door to door, helping people move furniture, remove carpet and sheetrock and feed local volunteers. He is a multi-time coach of the year honoree at the state and national level and has been inducted into the Greater Houston Football Coaches Association Hall of Honor, the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame and the Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Honor.

TERRY CURTIS: Curtis has been the head coach at UMS-Wright Preparatory School for 21 years. Prior to his current stint, he was the head coach at Murphy (Ala.) High School from 1993-98, and at Shaw (Ala.) High School from 1989-92. Curtis has an overall record of 317-85 with eight state championships. He has a playoff record of 75-20 and has guided UMS-Wright to at least the quarterfinal round of the state playoffs in 19 of his 21 years. This season, Curtis led the Bulldogs to a 14-0 record and their third straight Class 4A state championship. He currently serves as president of the Alabama Football Coaches Association and on the Alabama High School Association’s governing body. Curtis was a founding member of the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star game and has been chair of the selection committee for over 30 years. He is a member of the Alabama High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame, the Mobile County Hall of Fame and the UMS-Wright Hall of Fame, to name a few. Curtis has also won multiple Coach of the Year awards in Alabama.

DAVE NELSON: Nelson completed his 18th season as head coach at Minnetonka High School and has a record of 115-74 with one state championship in 2004, one runner-up finish in 2017, four section football championships and two conference titles. When you include his 18 years as head coach at Blaine (Minn.) High School, Nelson has an overall record of 267-124 with two state championships, four runner-up finishes, 12 section championships and 13 conference titles. He has served as president of the Minnesota High School Football Coaches Association, been on the selection committee for the Minnesota All-Star Football game since 1987 and served as chairman of the Minnesota Hall of Fame Banquet since 1989. Nelson is the founder and chairman of Tackle Cancer, which has raised over $2 million since its start in 2012. He has been inducted into the Anoka High School Hall of Fame, the Minnesota Football Coaches Hall of Fame and the University of Minnesota-Duluth Hall of Fame.

LOU FARRAR: Farrar passed away in November after a battle with leukemia. The 2019 season was his 52nd year in coaching and his 39th as head coach at Charter Oak High School. Farrar coached five California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section champions and his 322 wins ranks No. 6 in California High School football history. He led Charter Oak to the CIF playoffs 26 straight seasons and won 19 league championships. Farrar was on the Board of Directors for the Pasadena/San Gabriel Valley Chapter of the National Football Foundation and the Southern California Football Coaches Association. He was a five-time CIF Coach of the Year honoree, two-time Los Angeles Times Coach of the Year and National Football Foundation Coach of the Year, just to name a few. Charter Oak renamed its high school football field to Lou Farrar Stadium on November 1, 2019.