FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – After besting Greater New Bedford (GNB) Voc-Tech, 22-14, in the first ever match-up between the South Coast's two vocational high schools, Old Colony R.V.T.'s Brandon Mendez has been named this week's New England Patriots High School Coach of the Week.
Coach Mendez, currently in his eighth season as a head coach of the Cougars football team, led Old Colony to their fifth-straight win on Friday night to improve to a perfect start to the season (2-0 in league play). Old Colony is a much smaller school than GNB Voc-Tech and entered the week as the presumed underdog. Old Colony had about 40 less players on their sideline than GNB Voc-Tech.
"This win says a lot about Coach Mendez and his team," said Andre Tippett, Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker. "To go into that game, against a much larger school, and not flinch at all is impressive. Coach Mendez has done a great job of building this program up and preparing his team to stand tall in the face of this challenge."
Tippett, now the team's Executive Director of Community Affairs, met with the Old Colony R.V.T. Cougars football team and cheerleading squad Tuesday morning to present the football program with a $1,000 donation on behalf of the Patriots Foundation in honor of Coach Mendez. 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.
The Cougars set the tone early, scoring all 22 points in the first half. They were led by senior running back Chris Egan, who rushed for 87 yards on 11 carries and scored two of the team's three touchdowns. The Bears pulled within one score in the third quarter, but the Cougars held tough to secure their fifth win of the season. Next week, Old Colony will take on Blue Hills R.V.T. in another non-league match-up.
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 encouraged to nominate any New England high school head coach who leads a team to an exceptional 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.
