Foxborough, Mass. –After taking down Billerica in a come-from-behind, 19-18 victory to capture the Division 2 North Sectional Championship last Friday night, Beverly High School head coach Andrew Morency has been named this week's New England Patriots High School Coach of the Week.
The win helped advance the Panthers to the Division 2 State Semifinal of the 2016 MIAA Tournament as they're now set to face South Sectional Champion Duxbury this Saturday afternoon at Cawley Stadium in Lowell. This season's success comes in Morency's first year at the head of the Beverly football program as he returned to his alma mater after spending a decade in the head coaching role at Hamilton-Wenham High School. Morency played for the Panthers during the mid-1980s and was inducted into the Beverly High Hall of Fame in 2009 after captaining three sports as a senior.
Patriots and Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Andre Tippett, now the team's executive director of community affairs, visited the Beverly players and coaching staff Tuesday afternoon to present the Panthers football program with a $1,000 donation on behalf of the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation, in honor of Coach Morency. 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 21st year in which the Patriots join the National Football League in honoring local schools and coaches in the High School Coach of the Week program, which recognizes outstanding performances and promotes a strong foundation for youth football across New England. The 2016 season marks the sixth year Tippett has taken the award on the road to visit the schools that are honored each week as part of the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation's commitment to youth football initiatives.
"We are honored to recognize Coach Morency this week as he has led the Panthers to such an exciting season and playoff run this year," Tippett said. "Best wishes to the team and coaching staff as they continue on their quest to the Division 2 State Final here at Gillette Stadium next month."
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 a $2,000 contribution towards the school's football program.
For the sixth 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 are encouraged to send submissions right after teams have played their games on Friday or Saturday to **nominatecoach@patriots.com**. Only nominations submitted after each game will be considered.
The New England Patriots Charitable 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.
