Belmont Hill turns to Fucillo
Anthony Fucillo knows what it takes to maintain success as the head coach of a program.
The son of Hall of Fame coach Tony Fucillo, who won more than 100 games over 20 seasons as head coach and led Winthrop to the 2006 Division 2A Super Bowl, Fucillo takes over at Belmont Hill after six seasons as an assistant coach at Harvard. He will also serve as the school’s assistant atheltic director.
After starring at quarterback under his father at Winthrop, Fucillo went on to play at Colgate and captained Tufts for two years, graduating as the program’s highest-rated passer. Since 2012, he’s spent stints coaching at Amherst, Stonehill, WPI, and Harvard, where he coached in the secondary under 30-year veteran Tim Murphy.
“I’ve worked for some great coaches over the years and some great coaching staffs, and have learned so much from them,” Fucillo said. “It’s about having a constant message to the kids, putting in the time and the work and having the kids see that. When they see that you’re putting in the time and the work, they will reflect that.”
Belmont Hill faces a tough slate in the ISL-7 after going 4-12 the past two seasons. The talent pool continues to expand throughout the Independent School League, with new coaches taking over five programs.
At Milton Academy, Mike Mason steps in for Kevin MacDonald after spending 34 seasons as his assistant (at Archbishop Williams and Milton Academy). Mason inherits a loaded roster that includes running backs Matt Childs and Keith Nally, and highly touted sophomore quarterback Qur’an McNeill.
“We’re going to continue what Kevin brought to the program,” said Mason, who takes over after MacDonald won 141 games and led the Mustangs to seven ISL titles in his 27-year-tenure. “We want high academic kids that love to play football. We play hard-hitting football.”
Another experienced assistant, Joe Lang, takes over at St. George’s after spending nine years learning from John Mackay, who retired in 2022 after 26 years at the helm. Lang can look to all-league selections Julian Pollard and Diego McCray to lead the way during the transition.
Jeff Moore is the new coach at Tabor Academy after coaching tight ends and serving as a recruiting coordinator for Don Brown at UMass. In 2019, the UMass alum (’12) led Loomis Chaffee to a program-best 8-1 mark after the team went 3-6 the previous year. Reclassified freshman wideout Kaiden Drinkwater could make an immediate impact after transferring from Leominster.
New St. Mark’s coach Ken Goodwin also has experience at the collegiate level. A Foxborough native and former linebacker at Springfield College, Goodwin spent six seasons as a defensive coach at Stonehill and the past four seasons at Bryant. Now he takes on the challenge of building up a program that has struggled in recent years.
“Everyone looks at the wins and losses right away, but taking over a team that had one win in the last three years, it’s more of a culture thing that we’re improving on,” said Goodwin.
Tabor, St. Mark’s, and St. George’s will be working to unseat the top powers in the ISL-9, with Brooks and Rivers looking to follow up on their 7-1 seasons.
Belmont Hill and Milton Academy finished on the outside of a four-way tie atop the ISL-7 last season. St. Sebastian’s, Governor’s Academy, Lawrence Academy, and Buckingham, Browne & Nichols have all reloaded in an attempt to gain sole supremacy this season.
Senior quarterback Michael Landolfi leads Lawrence, with wide receiver Jovon Mobley his top target. St. Seb’s is young but talented, with junior quarterback Ty Ciongoli at the controls. Governor’s welcomes Bridgewater-Raynham transfer Dawson DuBose as a potential featured back, and BB&N will keep riding workhorse Bo MacCormack behind a massive offensive line.