Salem High Coach Honored As New England Patriots 'Coach Of The Week'

SALEM, MA — The Salem High football team is catching the eyes of plenty across the state this fall with its 6-0 start.

That includes the New England Patriots, who honored 10th-year head coach Matt Bouchard as their High School Coach of the Week after he guided the Witches to a 48-44 victory against Lynn Classical this past Friday night.

Bouchard was presented with the award at an event with the team in the Salem High fieldhouse on Tuesday.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Andre Tippet came to Salem to present the award along with a $1,000 donation to the program from the Kraft family and New England Patriots Charitable Foundation.

The CBS Boston All-Access show will air portions of the ceremony at 7 p.m. on Friday. It will also be available on the stream of the show on the team's website.

"I want to thank the Patriots organization," Coach Bouchard said at the ceremony, who also credited his coaching staff, wife and players. "I know for our program this is a high honor and we're grateful."

Salem's latest victory was its most thrilling yet this season as it beat Lynn Classical for the first time in 19 seasons. The Witches trailed by four points into the final minute before quarterback Corey Grimes for Albert Pujolz for a 7-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

Salem next travels to Winthrop Friday night for a 6:30 kickoff.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)