Foxborough, Mass. – With a 28-14 victory over Brockton on Friday Night, Franklin High School's Eian Bain has been named this week's New England Patriots High School Coach of the Week.
Franklin continued to impress in the MIAA Division I South semifinals, taking advantage of a breakout second quarter performance to propel them to a win over Brockton. The Panthers scored 21 points in the second quarter and added another touchdown in the third to separate themselves from the Boxers in the Division I South playoffs for the second consecutive season. The victory snapped a four-game winning streak for the Boxers. Senior quarterback Thomas Gasbarro established himself as a dual-threat in the game, completing 15-of-21 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 35 yards and another touchdown on the ground.
With the win, Franklin High School moved to 7-2 on the year and advanced to the final round of the MIAA Division I South playoffs. They'll look to push their winning streak to five games and capture the Division I South finals title when they face off against Catholic Memorial 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 Franklin 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 Bain. 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 Bain's Panthers put together an outstanding offensive performance to pull away from Brockton," said Tippett. "Franklin used their big second quarter scoring surge to their advantage and never looked back against the Boxers. We look forward to seeing how they perform when they play Catholic Memorial for the chance to bring home the Division I South title."
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.
