Foxborough, Mass. - With a 41-7 victory over Belmont on Friday Night, Danvers High School's Ryan Nolan has been named this week's New England Patriots High School Coach of the Week.
The top-seeded Falcons opened up the MIAA Division III North playoffs with a strong performance to take down Belmont High School and improve to 8-0 on the year. Rich Canova led the way for the Falcons with 110 yards rushing and two touchdowns on offense, in addition to a blocked punt that was recovered for a touchdown by Andrew Chronis.
With the win, Danvers High School advanced to the semifinals of the MIAA Division III North playoffs. They'll look to continue their winning streak and advance to the Division III North finals when they travel to Winchester to take on the 7-1 Sachems on Friday night.
Patriots and Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Andre Tippett, now the team's executive director of community affairs, met with the Danvers players and coaching staff Tuesday afternoon to present the football program with a $1,000 donation on behalf of the Patriots Foundation, in honor of Coach Nolan. 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 24th 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 2019 season marks the ninth year that Tippett has taken the award on the road to visit the schools that benefit from the program.
"Coach Nolan's Falcons showcased why they were selected as the No. 1 seed with their impressive victory over Belmont," said Tippett. "Danvers started the game hot and never slowed down, putting together a dominant effort in all three phases of the game. We look forward to seeing how they perform when they play Winchester for the chance to go to the MIAA Finals."
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 ninth 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 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.
