P-J photo by Tim Frank

When Tom Langworthy was serving as an assistant on the Jamestown High School junior varsity football staff, he always thought that becoming the program’s varsity head coach someday would be his “dream job.”

“Fourteen years later,” he said, “it still is.”

“Time flies when you’re having fun,” Langworthy continued. “It’s been a great ride so far, and we feel like we have a long way to go.

” … When you’re in a program like Jamestown and you’re the head coach, you understand the tradition,” he added. “I’ve always felt it was my job to carry the torch as the leader … to advance the legacy, the history and the tradition of the program because it’s a special program.”

Langworthy helped add another significant entry to the Red Raiders’ gridiron resume this fall, guiding them to a 12-1 record and Class A South, Section VI Class A and Far West Regional titles.

And although Jamestown fell to Christian Brothers Academy in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association semifinal — a controversial defensive penalty helped extend the Brothers’ go-ahead touchdown drive in the final minutes — it didn’t detract from another remarkable season. In fact, in the last three campaigns, Langworthy has compiled a 25-4 record. One loss was in overtime to South Park in the sectional championship game last spring. The other was the 20-18 loss to CBA in the state semifinal last month.

“Sometimes, as a competitor, you always want one more,” Langworthy said. “I think what makes you good at what you do is the chase, but sometimes it’s important to stop and be thankful for what you have. For us, I’m super thankful and I try to operate out of joy. The players bring me great joy. We’ve got to remember what we lost in the fall of 2020 (because of COVID-19). We lost everything. We didn’t have football. We didn’t have a season.”

Langworthy made up for lost time in the last nine months and appreciated the opportunity to get back on the field more than ever.

“If yesterday you lost everything you had and today you got it all back, then today would be the best day of your life,” he said.

In 2021, Langworthy had plenty of good days.

That’s why he is The Post-Journal/OBSERVER’s Coach of the Year for the second straight season.