Foxborough, Mass. - Following a 27-0 blanking of Norwood last Saturday as Wellesley High School notched its third shutout in the last four games, Raiders head coach Jesse Davis has been named this week's New England Patriots High School Coach of the Week.
With the win, Wellesley improved its undefeated record to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the Bay State Conference. Prior to last week's victory over Norwood, Davis and the Raiders edged Walpole High School, 10-7 on October 7 after going nearly two decades, since 1998, without defeating the Rebels. With Coach Davis in his fifth season at the head of the Raiders football program, Wellesley's early success has been attributed to strong team efforts on both sides of the ball. The Raiders defense is averaging just 3.3 points allowed per game while the offense has put up an average of 27 points in each contest.
Patriots and Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Andre Tippett, now the team's executive director of community affairs, visited the Wellesley players and coaching staff Tuesday afternoon to present the Raiders football program with a $1,000 donation on behalf of the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation, in honor of Coach Davis. 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 pleased to recognize the impressive recent accomplishments of Coach Jesse Davis and the Raiders football team," Tippett said. "Coach Davis has Wellesley off to a dominating start this season and we wish the team the best as they look to keep their unbeaten streak alive."
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.
