Foxborough, Mass. – Mystic Valley Regional High School's Craig Turner has been named this week's New England Patriots High School Coach of the Week in recognition of his team's 47-28 victory over visiting St. Joseph Prep on Saturday, Oct. 4. The Eagles improved to 4-0 with Saturday's win, and are off to the best start in the program's nine-year history. Mystic Valley built a 27-22 halftime lead and dominated the second half to secure the victory. The New England Patriots Charitable Foundation will donate $1,000 to Mystic Valley Regional High School's football program in Turner's name in recognition of his Coach of the Week selection.
Patriots and Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Andre Tippett, the team's executive director of community affairs, visited Coach Turner and his team on Tuesday, Oct. 7, at Mystic Valley High School. The visit and check presentation will be featured on the team's weekly television show, "Patriots All Access," which airs at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 10, on WBZ-TV in Boston and will be available immediately after on Patriots.com.
This is the 19th year in which the Patriots join 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. Tippett oversees the program as part of the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation's commitment to youth football initiatives.
"From the very first pass of the game, when they intercepted the opposing quarterback, you knew the Eagles had come to play on Saturday. They turned a close game at halftime into a decisive victory with a strong second half," Tippett said. "What an impressive turnaround by the Mystic Valley program these past few years – for a program that had never started a season 2-0 to now be 4-0 speaks to Coach Turner, his team and the support of their community."
At the conclusion of the season, one high school coach will be named the New England Patriots High School Coach of the Year and will receive an additional $2,000 contribution toward the school's football program.
This is the fourth year that Tippett has taken the award on the road to visit the schools that benefit from the program. This year is also the fourth year the Patriots will accept nominations for High School Coach of the Week. Anyone who knows a high school football coach in New England who has a great week or reaches a personal career milestone is encouraged to submit a nomination 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.
