FOXBOROUGH, Mass. â?? Winthrop High School's Tony Fucillo has been named the New England Patriots High School Coach of the Week in recognition of his 100th career victory.
Winthrop moved to 5-0 on the season with a 27-3 win over Beverly High School on Oct. 8. Winthrop now tops the Northeastern conference with an undefeated conference record. With the win, Fucillo notched the 100th win of his 18-year head-coaching career at Winthrop.
Fucillo is a graduate of Winthrop High School, and served as an assistant coach before taking the reins as head coach at the school in 1986. He played his collegiate football at Xavier, where he was a defensive back.
"Tony runs an outstanding program here," said Peter Finn, the athletic director of Winthrop High School. "He constantly wins against much larger schools in our area. The award will be a huge boost to both the team and the morale of the athletic department."
This season marks the ninth 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.
Patriots Hall of Fame linebacker Andre Tippett, who is now the team's director of football development and promotions, oversees the program as part of the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation's commitment to youth football initiatives. Each week during the season, Tippett, along with WCVB Channel 5 sports anchor Mike Lynch, will honor the selected coach on the team's weekly magazine show, Patriots All Access. The broadcast airs on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. and 7 p.m. on WCVB.
"We understand how much dedication, time and commitment it takes to achieve 100 career victories," Tippett said. "Coach Fucillo knows how to run a successful program, and we are happy to present this award to him."
The New England Patriots Charitable Foundation will donate $1,000 to Winthrop High School's football program in Fucillo's name in recognition of his selection as Coach of the Week. At the conclusion of the season, one of the previous weekly honorees will be named the New England Patriots High School Coach of the Year, and will receive a $2,000 contribution to go toward the school's football program.
The New England Patriots Charitable Foundation, Inc. is the non-profit organization through which the Patriots support charitable and philanthropic organizations throughout New England. This support comes in the form of both direct grants and in-kind donations, and through player appearances at a number of charity functions and educational programs. The foundation assists a variety of charitable organizations and programs throughout New England by supporting their educational, family and health initiatives.
