BAKER — On an early August morning in 2020, Matt Brunson and a sports writer sat down in his office to talk football.

Much of the past four months had been null and void due to COVID-19. Spring football was skipped. The offseason brought with it uncertainty that a fall season would even be played.

But Baker, a town so small that the census pegged it at 900 residents in 2007, felt oddly immune to the pandemic. Players lifted weights without a care, no masks to be seen. Life, centered around football in the fall, moved on.

One of those players was senior Joe Brunson, Matt's son. He'd be backed up by a freshman by the name of Kayleb Wagner. Paired with a defense featuring Ethan Edge, Jared Raybon, Brandon Moss and Brody Sharpe, the team's preseason preview read: "Wing-T and a Veteran D."

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That year, Baker punched its sixth straight ticket to the Final 4, then ended a 25-season drought of state championships for the Daily News' coverage area.

Four years have passed since that 27-14 win over Hawthorne at Doak Campbell Stadium for the 1A crown, Brunson's fifth at Baker after winning three as a player from 1983-85 and one as an assistant in 1993. Three years have passed since Brunson rode off into the sunset, nothing more to accomplish.

Only, even as he he plowed a new path last year at Opp just over the state line into Alabama, he never left Baker. This is where his kids graduated, where he graduated. This is where he lives. This is where his wife works. And now where'll he walk the halls once again.

Yes, Matt Brunson is back. Not as a visitor. Not as athletic director. Not as the legend of the past who led the Gators to a 114-21 record during an 11-year stint that concluded in 2021. Brunson is the future, once again the head coach of the Baker Gators.

"Baker is my home," Brunson said. "That's where I graduated, where my kids graduated and where my wife still works. I never moved. It's a great place to live and Ive always felt supported here."

The blue-collar community is built around its faith and educational system. Football might as well be a religion in the community, its five state titles by far the most in the area.

Brunson offers no guarantees of adding another ring in his new tenure, but he does promise one thing: "Baker kids are tough. I guarantee no one will work harder or compete harder than us."

Amid his 213-73 mark as head coach in the state of Florida, he's lifted Vernon and Crestview from the basement to the Final 4. Now he'll inherit a Baker crew coming off a 3-6 season under Barry Gardner, who went 11-10 in his two years at the helm.

Brunson benefits from not having to double-dip as AD. That'll afford him more time to spend with family, prioritize life off the gridiron. Of course, without a spring to acclimate to his team, the offseason will be integral of Brunson to hit the ground running. First day of football practice is July 29, with the opener on Aug. 23 vs. FAMU at Douglas Griffith Memorial Stadium.

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Matt Brunson returns to coach Baker football