Lopez passes test of time
Lincoln-Sudbury coach Tom Lopez needed five tries to get his first varsity win. He liked the feeling so much he went on to taste the fruits of victory 299 more times.
Friday night, Lopez became the fifth high school football coach in the state history to earn 300 wins as his talented Warriors rolled past Wayland, 41-9. Lopez joins an exclusive club which includes the likes of Ken LaChapelle (360), Armond Colombo (316), John DiBiaso (316) and Bill Broderick (303).
“It’s kind of been like the elephant in the room, we knew it was eventually going to happen, so no one really talked about it,” Lopez said. “The kids were great about it, they were pretty excited about it.”
Lopez took over the program in 1978 and learned immediately how tough it was to win. He joked that he led the state in ties that year after starting 0-2-2 before beating Acton-Boxboro, 15-0, for his first win.
Acton-Boxboro would go on to become Lopez’ chief rival over the years. Many times, the Dual County League title would come down to the winner of the Acton-Boxboro/Lincoln-Sudbury contest.
Former Acton-Boxboro coach Bill Maver led his team into battle against Lopez from 1986-2016. While the natural tendency would be to think they were bitter rivals, that notion couldn’t be further from the truth.
“We were and are still very good friends,” said Maver, who is coaching freshmen at Concord-Carlisle. “Many years, the two of us would drive together to the executive meetings. There were times when we might be playing the next week or just played each other and we would talk about the game and the kids. “I always enjoyed playing them because there was never any issues on the field and that’s a tribute to him. They played hard but there was a great deal of respect between the two.”
It took Lopez eight years to get to the promised land, but once he got there, it was with a bang. Lincoln-Sudbury went undefeated and won Super Bowl titles in 1985 and 1986. Lopez laughs when he remembers how that team played and compares it to what his offense consists of today.
“I thought we would always be a Wing-T team,” Lopez said. “Now, we use a spread offense nearly 40 percent of the time.”
Lopez says he is fortunate that football runs in the family. He lauds his wife Nancy for being so supportive as well as filming all the game, a role she’s held from the start. His son Michael is the director of data and analytics for the NFL.
It’s that support system which has helped Lopez to withstand the test of time. He also pays homage to being able to coach in a community which has allowed him to do what he does — coach.
“The parents and kids have been great,” Lopez said. “I’ve been here 41 years and I think I’ve had two issues with parents. In this day and age, if you can stay in one place 41 years and have just two problems, that’s pretty good.
Elsewhere, congratulations to Norwood for snapping a 25-game losing streak, the longest in the state, with a 21-2 victory over Medfield.
“The kids have been great through the whole thing. They’ve had every reason in the world to quit and none of them have done that,” said Norwood coach Jim Tighe.
SWEET 16
1. EVERETT (7-0): Crimson Tide enter the postseason well-rested thanks to a forfeit win they received over Malden.
2. XAVERIAN (5-1): No surprise that an Al Fornaro-coached team is rock solid on the defensive side of the ball.
3. ST. JOHN’S PREP (6-1): I know we should not look this far ahead, but St. John’s Prep and Xaverian at Fenway on Thanksgiving Eve is a must-see event.
4. DUXBURY (7-0): Dragons closed out another dominant run to another Patriot Keenan title with a lopsided win over Quincy.
5. NORTH ANDOVER (7-0): Must be nice to have the type of depth where you lose a running back and have someone like Freddy Gabin step in.
6. ACTON-BOXBORO (7-0): The Colonials have scored at least 28 points in all seven games thus far, dropping 48 on Cambridge Friday.
7. LINCOLN-SUDBURY (6-1): Congrats to longtime local coaching legend Tom Lopez on becoming the fifth coach in state history to win 300 games.
8. MANSFIELD (6-1): Lost in the excitement of Lopez’ accomplishment was the fact that Hornets coach Mike Redding earned his 250th win Friday night.
9. CATHOLIC MEMORIAL (5-2): Weird to say that the Knights defeated Malden Catholic in a nonleague contest.
10. MASHPEE (7-0): If you have to commute three hours to get to a road game, it helps to be driven there by a Ford.
11. NATICK (5-2): Will Lederman has really taken charge of the Redhawks offense.
12. CENTRAL CATHOLIC (5-2): Raiders clinch a share of the Merrimack Valley Conference Large title.
13. TEWKSBURY (6-1): Redmen shut down a good Dracut offense.
14. MARBLEHEAD (7-0): Mason Poission was calm, cool and collected when called upon at the end.
15. READING (6-1): Third straight win by more than 20 points.
16. KING PHILIP (5-2): Defense was very opportunistic against Taunton.