Patrick Browning has plenty of reasons to be optimistic about his Edgewater football team heading into the 2026 season. But on Monday night, he did his best to convince everyone otherwise. 

Browning, entering his second season as Edgewater’s head coach, won the 13th annual Dave Powers Crying Towel Invitational at Christner’s Prime Steak & Lobster, taking home the event’s coveted award after an evening of jokes and exaggerated pessimism from five Central Florida football coaches. 

Browning joined Apopka’s Marcus Neeson, Boone’s Charles Sprenkel, DeLand’s Rick Darlington and Bishop Moore’s Matt Hedrick at the annual event, which serves as a lighthearted kickoff to the high school football season. 

Hosted by the “Talkin’ Old School with Roger Franklin Williams” radio program, Williams opened the evening by welcoming the crowd and honoring the event’s namesake, the late Dave Powers. 

Williams was joined by co-hosts Daren Stoltzfus, the sports director at WESH 2 Television, and Despina McLaughlin, who covered high school sports for many years as a reporter for Spectrum Sports. McLaughlin introduced each coach and highlighted their accomplishments before the presentations began. 

Then the coaches took their turns trying to convince the audience that their programs were in worse shape than they appeared. 

Neeson went first and immediately embraced the spirit of the event. With several of the other coaches sitting at the table with championship rings, the Apopka coach jokingly produced a Ring Pop of his own, giving himself a piece of championship jewelry to join the others. 

Sprenkel, in his first season as Boone’s head coach and in his first Crying Towel event, joked about the challenge of filling the shoes of former Boone coach Andy Johnson, a four-time Crying Towel winner. 

Darlington’s return provided another major storyline. The former Apopka coach was back at the event for the first time in seven years after returning to the Central Florida football scene as DeLand’s head coach. 

Darlington showed appreciation for Apopka and the people who have been part of his career while, for the most part showing appreciation for his current team. He joked that the future of DeLand was in shambles because of its upcoming underclassmen. 

“It’s a great night to be here, see so many people that have been such a great part of my past here and stuff,” Darlington said. “Thankful for Roger and Jim, letting me come, and it’s great to be around all the great coaches and fans, and what a great night this is. Not everyone does this. It’s very, very special.” 

Browning kept the audience laughing throughout his presentation, joking about his own team and the challenges of facing Darlington’s DeLand squad. He joked about being repeatedly beaten by the same offensive plays he knew were coming from Darlington and DeLand. 

Hedrick, who has attended all 13 Crying Towel events, also leaned into the tradition. He praised Bishop Moore’s recent success and the large group of returning seniors and juniors before joking that the experienced group isn’tnecessarily the brightest and sometimes asks some of the silliest questions. 

The winner was determined by a three-person judging panel consisting of Stoltzfus, former Orange County Public Schools athletic director Matt Fitzpatrick and Derrick Hicks, president of Thompson Jewelers. 

After hearing from all five coaches, the judges selected Browning as this year’s Crying Towel winner. 

Although the competition is built around humor, the event has become a yearly gathering for Central Florida’s high school football community, bringing together coaches, fans and people with longstanding ties to the area’s football programs.