Foxborough, Mass. - With a last-second 37-35 victory over Lincoln-Sudbury on Friday night, Acton-Boxborough head coach Tim Bassett led the Colonials to a 4-0 record and has been named this week's New England Patriots High School Coach of the Week.
The win was especially notable because it marked Acton-Boxborough's first victory over Lincoln-Sudbury in more than a decade. The Colonials led 21-0 at halftime and 28-0 early in the third quarter before Lincoln-Sudbury stormed back to take a 35-31 advantage with just over a minute to go. On the ensuing drive, senior quarterback Finn Murray found senior receiver Victor Otero for a 47-yard completion and converted a key fourth down to set up a play from the 5-yard line with four seconds on the clock. With time running out, Bassett diagrammed the winning play and Murray found Otero in the end zone to seal the victory for the Colonials. Overall, Murray completed 23 of 45 passes for 256 yards and four touchdowns and added 129 rushing yards on 14 carries. Otero caught 12 of Murray's 23 completions for 152 yards and two touchdowns. For their performances, Murray earned a star of the week nod from the Boston Herald, while Otero received player of the week honors from the Herald and the Boston Globe. Following the victory over then-No. 3 Lincoln-Sudbury, the Colonials sit at eighth in in the state in both the Boston Herald and Boston Globe rankings. The Colonials will look to add to their 4-0 record when they travel to Dracut to play the 3-0 Middies at 7 p.m. Friday evening.
Patriots and Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Andre Tippett, now the team's executive director of community affairs, visited the Acton-Boxborough players and coaching staff Tuesday afternoon to present Acton-Boxborough's football program with a $1,000 donation on behalf of the New England Patriots Foundation, in honor of Coach Bassett. The visit and check presentation will be featured on the Patriots weekly television show, "Patriots All Access," which airs on Friday night at 7 p.m. on WBZ-TV in Boston and will be available immediately after on Patriots.com.
This is the 23rd year in which the Patriots have joined the National Football League in conducting the High School Coach of the Week program, which recognizes outstanding high school coaches and promotes youth football throughout New England. The 2018 season marks the eighth year that Tippett has taken the award on the road to visit the schools that benefit from the program.
"Congratulations to Coach Bassett and the entire Acton-Boxborough football program on their thrilling win over rival Lincoln-Sudbury," Tippett said. "The Colonials showed great poise and execution to pull out the last-second victory and we wish them the best of luck for the rest of the season."
At the conclusion of the fall, one of the weekly winners will be named the New England Patriots High School Coach of the Year and will receive an additional $2,000 contribution towards the school's football program.
For the eighth straight year, the Patriots will also be accepting nominations for High School Coach of the Week honors. Those who wish to nominate a high school football coach in New England who leads a team to an exceptional weekly performance or reaches a personal career milestone is encouraged to send submissions to nominatecoach@patriots.com. All nominations must be submitted following a team's Friday night or Saturday afternoon game to be considered for that week's Coach of the Week award.
The New England Patriots Foundation is the non-profit through which the Patriots support charitable and philanthropic organizations throughout New England. This support comes in the form of direct grants, in-kind donations and player appearances. The foundation assists a variety of charitable organizations and programs throughout New England by supporting their educational, family and health initiatives.
