New LHS Football Coach Prepared for What's Ahead

George Peterson knows full well what he’s gotten himself into. In fact, many of the applicants vying for the job Peterson was recently awarded knew what they were signing up for: the chance to succeed a local legend as head coach of the  football program.

As Peterson put it, difficult it would have been to be a high school football coach and not have heard of Bill Tighe. The man roamed the sidelines for 62 years, 36 of which as the Minuteman coach, and last fall retired at 86-years young as the nationally recognized oldest high school football coach in America.

LHS athletic director Naomi Martin said if any of the finalists didn’t know of Tighe’s status within the coaching ranks then they probably made the cut by accident.

Luckily for Peterson, a native of Chippenhook, Vt., he had heard of Tighe. Coaching in New England, as Peterson has done his entire career, including the past three years at Bedford High School in New Hampshire, it’s kind of hard not being aware of Tighe’s accomplishments.

“I’m excited about (succeeding Tighe),” Peterson said in a telephone interview on Wednesday afternoon while driving home from Bedford High, where he teaches wellness and physical education. “I think it’s an opportunity to bring something new to the program.”

So, Peterson heard of the man long before he saw the local news feature Fox 25 ran around the annual Thanksgiving Day game, which was Tighe’s last as the Minutemen’s coach. What Peterson knew after watching the piece was that a great opportunity had just opened up.

“It was just an unbelievable opportunity with the history of the program and Coach Tighe,” he said. “I put my name in and it went through the process and I’m very excited to have landed the position.

“This is my first varsity head coaching job. I think, well, I don’t think, I know I’m ready for it. I’ve definitely prepared and know the situation.”

Peterson spent this past fall as the Bedford’s defensive coordinator, his highest coaching position since finishing an All-America career at the University of New Hampshire in 2005. After watching the newscast featuring Lexington’s outgoing coach, Peterson knew this could be his shot to run a program, so he applied when LHS began accepting resumes in mid-December.

His application was one of many the Minutemen received. Martin said the school had its pick of coaches from across the country. Some were looking for a fresh start, some were former areas residents that had moved on and were looking to get back home and some, like Peterson, were young coaches looking for a break.

A committee that consisted of Martin and other school administrators (she said Tighe was not involved with the search for his successor) whittled the pool down to 10 finalists. The interview process weeded out several more until just a handful stood out. None more than Peterson, Martin said.

“There was something that happened during the interview process, both the first, second and subsequent interviews, where he stood out to us,” she said. “He became kind of the standard within the process. We started judging the other candidates against him.”

No one could quite stack up, and Lexington had its man. The decision ultimately came down to Martin and the LHS administration.

Martin said the decision to hire Peterson was followed by several sleepless nights, but not because she was second guessing the choice. Instead, Martin said, she tossed and turned with excitement thinking about what lies ahead for Lexington football, fresh off an injection of new blood.

“I expect there to be a positive buzz about Lexington football,” Martin said of the upcoming fall season. “I’m looking for the team and the coaching staff to become a family environment. I think they will be a close-knit group.”

Inevitably, roles will be reversed and Peterson will be judged against Tighe. That’s only natural when you’re just the second man to coach Lexington football since the Gerald Ford administration. And, though the two don’t appear to be similar on the surface, one beginning his head coaching career as the other finishes his, there may be more to this Peterson-Tighe comparison.

Following his graduation from UNH in Durham, N.H., where he played under current University of Oregon coach Chip Kelly (Kelly was the Wildcats’ offensive coordinator and Peterson played defensive end), Peterson got a job as the freshman coach at Wakefield Memorial High School. It’s the same Warriors program that helped Tighe get his start some half a century ago. Tighe began as an assistant coach and took over the top job at Wakefield in 1957. He’s now a member of the Warriors’ Hall of Fame.

“There definitely are a couple of parallels going on,” Peterson said, admitting that he was aware of the tie between himself and his predecessor. “The run that he’s had, the length of time, the longevity, is just unbelievable, so it’s cool to kind of follow in those footsteps.”

Also like Tighe, Peterson’s stint at Wakefield was short. He left the school and headed north of the border to Bedford High to become the Bulldogs’ freshman coach in 2008. A year later, he was promoted to linebackers and quarterbacks coach for the varsity squad and last year was named the defensive coordinator.

Peterson perks up when speaking about leading Bedford’s defensive unit. The school itself is just four years old and competes in New Hampshire’s Division III with state powerhouse Souhegan High School of Amherst, which as won the past three D-III titles and appeared in the championship game eight of the past nine years. The Bulldogs won their first five games of 2009, but finished with four straight losses to miss the playoffs by a single game.

The crowning achievement for Peterson, he said, was a close loss to Souhegan. Bedford held the Sabers without an offensive touchdown, which Peterson said hadn’t happened to Souhegan in “a long period of time,” and narrowly lost 14-6. The Sabers returned two punts for touchdowns.

Perhaps out of habit, in an interview Peterson still referred to the Bulldogs as “we.” However, it’s obvious by his enthusiasm that he has moved on and is ready to take over the Minutemen. He said he’ll continue working Bedford High, but is looking to land a job within the Lexington school system to be closer to his team and home, as he currently lives in Chelmsford with his wife.

Still, little time has been wasted in transitioning from Tighe to Peterson. Martin said snow days and other factors somewhat delayed the school’s search for a new coach, a process that lasted about 10 or 12 weeks, but she made Peterson’s hiring official on March 9. Five days later, the new coach had already started next year’s Minutemen on a weight-lifting program.

On Wednesday, Peterson said about 30 players showed up for the first two days of the offseason program.

“They came in and worked hard for an hour, 1:15, 1:20, and were excited to be there and excited to learn something new,” he said. “I really think it’s something we can build on and continue.”

Peterson and Tighe have yet to meet in person. Martin said she’s currently working to make it happen soon rather than later. But whether it’s starting out at Wakefield or coaching the Minutemen, rest assured the two have enough in common that they should get along just fine as the past, present and future of Lexington football.