Chad Walker Named New Bridgton Academy Head Football Coach

Bridgton Academy is pleased to announce the hiring of Chad Walker as the school’s new Head Football Coach. Walker joins Bridgton Academy from Kenyon College in Ohio, where he worked as the Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach for the Lords.

Prior to his position at Kenyon, Walker had worked on both sides of the ball with linebackers and tight ends as well as the punt return unit for his alma mater, Lafayette College.  Walker was a four year Varsity Letter winner for Lafayette, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Anthropology and Sociology.  During his time at Lafayette, Walker was honored in numerous ways: Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, All Conference Patriot League (Football, 2005), All League by nfldraftscout.com (2005), and Nominated and Selected for East Coast Bowl (2005).

Following his graduation from Lafayette, Walker first played professionally in NFL Italy as a player/coach and went on to play in the European Federation of American Football in Sweden. He then returned to the States to coach at Randolph-Macon College in Virginia, working with the defensive line.

“We are very excited to welcome Chad Walker to Bridgton Academy as our new Head Football Coach,” said Bridgton Academy’s Headmaster, Grady Vigneau. “He inherits a long and distinguished tradition of excellence fostered over the last fifty years by coaching legends Tom Austin, Lee Harriman, Tom McCabe, and for the last quarter century, by Rick Marcella.  Chad’s energy, experience, and college coaching network will significantly enhance the already strong reputation that BA football enjoys.  Chad fits the mold of each of his accomplished predecessors, bringing college coaching and recruiting experience to campus along with a foundation of respect for academic rigor and achievement.  His success as a starting college tight end for Lafayette College in the highly respected and academically rigorous Patriot League is a bonus of the highest degree for our aspiring college-student athletes.”

 “I’m honored and excited to be a part of the Bridgton Academy family, and am excited to lead the Wolverine football program in a new direction while continuing to build on the strong foundation that is already in place,” expressed Chad Walker upon his appointment.

Coach John Loose, Defensive Coordinator at Lafayette shared of Walker, “Chad has knowledge of the college recruiting process that will really enable Bridgton student athletes to achieve their goals of continuing their playing careers at the college level. He has tremendous knowledge on both sides of the ball, and has a great work ethic. He will do a great job in every way and will attract quality student athletes and help them understand what it takes to succeed at the next level, in the classroom, in the community, and on the field.”

Coach Walker will be moving to campus with his fiancée, Victoria Hawk, in the next couple of weeks.

Cruz '05 Earns Super Bowl Ring

Victor Cruz '05 is closely following in the footsteps of another Bridgton alumnus (and Hall of Fame member) Bruce Kimball, Class of 1975. Bruce played football at BA (offensive lineman) and went on to attend the University of Massachusetts. For two seasons, Bruce was a member of the NY Giants squad. He went on to play for six additional years for the Washington Redskins, participating in two Super Bowls, ultimately earning a ring in Super Bowl XVIII in 1983. Victor Cruz is the second Bridgton Wolverine to follow the path from North Bridgton to UMASS, from
UMASS to the Giants, and from a stellar NFL season to the biggest football game in the world.

In addition to the ring that Bruce Kimball '75 has, there are two other BA alumni that have rings- Jermaine Wiggins '94 (won his with the Pats in Super Bowl XXXVI) and Mike Cerullo '86 who won his two years ago when he was a coach with the Saints.

Here are a number of recent news articles that talk about Cruz and his time at Bridgton Academy:

Giants Receiver Cruz an Overnight Sensation

Giants Receiver Has Mom to Thank

Super Bowl Notebook: Cruz Fondly Recalls Maine

Giants WR Cruzed Through Bridgton On Way to NFL Stardom

Victor Cruz: A Long Journey To The Super Bowl

School Is Back In Session!

Following a relaxing winter break, the students are back on campus and school is in full swing. The football team is hitting the books and the gym to prepare for the second semester. And of course, Mother Nature welcomed everyone back with a nice snow storm, which will make for some great after school skiing!

Seth Sheridan Pushes Through To A Unique Graduation

Seth Sheridan (Ashburnham, MA) came to Bridgton Academy in the fall of 2010 in order to regain the strength he had lost after a life changing knee injury.

Not wanting to give up, Seth made the decision to attend Bridgton Academy in order to open up new options for the following year. Shortly after arriving on campus, Seth's worst nightmare came true -- another knee injury. Seth returned home for the remainder of the semester for more surgery and rehab.

A few months later, Seth returned to campus, never wanting to quit. He acknowledged how easy it would have been to simply give up. Instead, Seth worked harder than anyone could imagine. He spent all of his free time in the weight room training to be the best he could be. He even stayed after class everyday to complete a year long course in one semester.

Seth saw the opportunity that was laid out for him, and took full advantage of it. His time at BA was unique, starting in January of 2011 and ending that next December. This past week in Chapel, Dean of Students Fletcher Carr and Headmaster Grady Vigneau presented Seth with his well earned diploma.

All faculty, staff, and coaches are happy to see the progress Seth has made and the success he has found. Seth will start at either the University of New Hampshire or Arizona State University in January, where he will work hard to walk onto the football team.

Here is a quick video from Seth's Graduation!

Congratulations and Best of Luck!!!

2011 Black and Grey Scrimmage Finds Success

With the football season completed, the guys kept up the hard work in preparation for this years Black and Grey scrimmage. Coaches from all around showed up for the event and to talk to the players. It was a huge success, and Bridgton Academy coaches and players greatly appreciate all of the support!

There were a number of coaches in attendance from Division I, II, and III schools.

Bridgton's Headmaster Grady Vigneau was in attendance and was able to speak with various coaches about the players.

Headmaster Vigneau was also able to catch up with the head coach from Framingham State about various BA alumni.

Coach Marcella took some time during the event to chat with coaches and answer any questions they had.

The scrimmage gave the coaches an opportunity to talk with the guys on the field and evaluate their skills. Pictured here Robert Kaslander (Verona, NJ) took a break to speak to a coach from Colgate University.

After the field work was complete, the guys sat down with the coaches to talk about opportunities for next year.

Jon Higgins (Cumberland, ME) spoke with representatives from a few schools, including UNH pictured here.

Western New England College took some time to speak with Stephen Stuart (Rehoboth Beach, DE) and provide him with some information about the school and the program.

BA Secures Win In Last Game of Season

In the final game of the season for the Wolverine’s football team, they went down to New Hampshire to face off again the Hawks of St. Anselms College. Bridgton came into this game having lost three out of the last four games they had played and were looking to finish the season on a high note.

Bridgton won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. It only took three plays for Bridgton reach the end-zone on a beautiful throw from Mitch Graziano (Kingston, MA) to Derek Beck (Martinsville, NJ), unfortunately a late flag brought the play back.

The wolverines recovered and worked their way down inside the three yard line on a great run by Josh Morales (Mount Sinai, NY), but again the play was called back with a penalty. Finally, Graziano made it into the endzone on a run of his own without any penalties and scored BA's first point of the game.

The Wolverine's defense came out firing as well, giving no ground to the Hawks. Tre Sanders (Alexandria, VA), who is normally a middle linebacker, played a spectacular game at nose guard and consistently found his way into the backfield to disrupt the play.

The Hawks were unable to score until the second half. Bridgton Academy quickly put two more scores on the board before the end of the first quarter. The score 21-0 lasted until the 3rd quarter when The Hawks put a field goal through the uprights to make it 21-3. Bridgton couldn't find the groove on offense and St. A's took advantage.

The next score was a catch from BA Alum Nick Marcella '10, son of Coach Rick Marcella. Coach Marcella admitted to quietly rooting for his son on the play saying "He's open.......don't drop it.......run.......faster." St.Anselm's made the score 18 to 21 after the 2 pt conversion also caught by Marcella.

BA found their groove just in time with a great catch and run by Coley Graham (Hamilton, NY) to seal the game 28-18. Bridgton Academy finishes their season with a record of 6-3.

Congratulations on a great year!

Dartmouth Downs BA 21-12

The Bridgton Academy Wolverines traveled down to Hanover, New Hampshire this weekend to play the Big Green of Dartmouth. It took Bridgton a quarter to get off the bus, and by the time they came around, the score was 21-0 Dartmouth. The BA defense was forced into tough positions due to dropped passes, some of which resulted in tip-drill interceptions, and missed assignments. Dartmouth never found the score board again, however, as the BA defense found a way to get it done. Bridgton in the second half managed to score twice, but it wasn't enough. Dartmouth put pressure on the quarterback all day especially in the second half and managed to hold on to the victory, 21-12.

This game was all about starting and finishing. Bridgton started slow and couldn't finish, which led to their 3rd loss of the season. Bridgton travels to St. Anselm's in Manchester, NH next Sunday for their final game of the season.