By Sue Wambolt, Contributing Writer
Northborough/Southborough – Not only have the Algonquin Regional High School Tomahawks received recognition on the field, wrapping up the their first winning season since 1997, but they have received recognition off the field as well. Captains Trevor Fuce and Eric Sweeter were recently named athletes of the week by Scholastic Sports Zone Central Mass. High School Sports Talk Radio. Joining them as coach of the week was T-Hawks Head Coach Justin McKay.
Each week, Scholastic Sports Zone Central Mass. High School Sports Talk Radio, hosted by Howie Kahn and Dan McAuliffe, recognizes outstanding high school athletes and coaches. On Nov. 2, the T-Hawk honorees were picked up at their homes by a limousine and taken to the studio at the CNXS TV studio in Shrewsbury for an on-air live interview – broadcasting locally and on Ustream as well.
McKay believes that the success of the team this year is due, in part, to the players believing that Algonquin football can be successful. As the season got under way, players really stepped up and made great individual efforts, he said, including Fuce and Sweeter.
“Trevor and Eric were selected for this honor because of their leadership and outstanding play this season,” McKay explained. “They have both been big parts of the team’s success. Trevor has been a staple to our success both in running the football and stopping teams. He plays very physical and aggressive and is a large part of the aggressiveness of our team this year. He is involved in many tackles from his hustle and effort. Eric is an inside linebacker who has been key to improving our defense this year. He is a tough physical downhill type of football player that plays relentless. He been able to really help create an identity for our linebackers as physical aggressive players.”
Neither Fuce nor Sweeter was surprised to be joined at the studio by Coach McKay.
“Coach McKay earned Coach of the Week because of his dedication to our team and because he truly believes that we can beat each team on our schedule,” Sweeter said. “He has reestablished our program by making it into a family instead of just another high school sport, and he opened our eyes and told us that we have the skills and the passion to win football games. He is a coach who cares about every player in our program which is important because it shows us that he has faith in us even when we aren’t at our best.”
Fuce concurred: “Coach McKay is the coach of the week every week. He is a great leader and coach and really has taught us how to win. He gives everything for the team. He frequently stays at the school until all hours of the night going over film. Because of his hard work and dedication we practiced harder and fought harder and had a winning season.”
McKay is planning to continue to build off the ideas that the coaching staff has installed throughout the season to continue to win football games. The learning process is important to the future of the program, he said, as the team prepares to hit the ground running with its off-season program.
“It’s a big deal that our program and our kids were recognized,” McKay said. “Our coaching staff being represented as Coach of the Week is an honor to all of the kids on our program working hard and earning the respect. I believe that honor of coach of the week is a real honor to our kids and I’m very happy for them.”
To listen to the Scholastic Sports Zone radio interview, visit http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/54825031. For more information on Scholastic Sports Zone, visit http://www.scholasticsportszone.com.
