Foxborough, Mass. – Coming off a dominating 42-6 win over Holliston this weekend, Milton High School's Steve Dembowski has been named this week's New England Patriots High School Coach of the Week.
Coach Dembowski, currently in his eighth year as head coach of the Wildcat football team, led Milton to their third-straight win on Friday night to improve to a perfect 3-0 on the season. It's the fourth time the Wildcats have started a season 3-0 under Coach Dembowski. Coming into the week, the game was set to be a showdown as both teams are perennial title contenders and were off to hot starts. Milton's senior quarterback, Owen McHugh, took over the game, going 7-for-10 for 215 yards and four passing touchdowns. McHugh added 87 yards rushing and one rushing touchdown for five total touchdowns to help lead the team to a statement victory.
Patriots, College, and Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Andre Tippett, now the team's Executive Director of Community Affairs, met with the Milton Wildcats captains and coaching staff Tuesday morning to present the football program with a $1,000 donation on behalf of the Patriots Foundation in honor of Coach Dembowski. 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.
"Coach Dembowski's Wildcats sustained their offensive excellence this week as they beat the Panthers to keep their undefeated record," said Tippett. "They benefited from great quarterback play, and the rest of the team fed off that energy. We wish them luck ahead of entering league play."
The Wildcats can continue to ride their hot streak into their Bay State Conference slate of games starting this week against Walpole, who has also started 3-0.
This is the 27th 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 2022 season marks the 11th year that the Patriots have sent Tippett to present the award to the coach at their school.
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.
Fans are encourage to nominate any New England high school head coach who leads a team to an exception win, a record-breaking performance or reaches a personal career milestone by emailing 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 Patriots High School 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.