Foxborough, Mass. –Following the fifth victory of the season for his undefeated Warriors, Lincoln-Sudbury's Tom Lopez has been named this week's New England Patriots High School Coach of the Week.
Coming off a successful 2016 season in which they won the Dual County League Large championship, Coach Lopez entered his 40th season as Lincoln-Sudbury's head coach with a revamped squad after graduating 16 of 22 starters last year. This year's team has picked up right where their predecessors left off, sprinting out to a 5-0 undefeated record in their 2017 campaign. Due to the efforts of junior quarterback Braden O'Connell who threw one touchdown, caught another and rushed for three more scores, the Warriors defeated Wayland High School 45-14 this past Friday to keep their undefeated season alive. The win put Lincoln-Sudbury alone atop the Dual County League Large division standings. Next up for the Warriors is a date with Acton-Boxborough this Friday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.
Patriots and Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Andre Tippett, now the team's executive director of community affairs, visited the Warriors players and coaching staff Tuesday afternoon to present Lincoln-Sudbury's football program with a $1,000 donation on behalf of the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation, in honor of Coach Lopez. 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 22nd year in which the Patriots 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 2017 season marks the seventh year that Tippett has taken the award on the road to visit the schools that benefit from the program.
"It appears to be business as usual for Coach Lopez and the Warriors," Tippett said. "This team hasn't skipped a beat on their way to another impressive start to the season. We wish them the best of luck through the rest of their 2017 campaign."
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 seventh 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.
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.
