Every athlete is a winner at this Massachusetts high school
Photos: Mark Seliger 2008, SeligerPhoto@aol.com Spreading Success Around:
The Auburn Rockets Every athlete is a winner at this Massachusetts high school At BFS we love stories about football teams that go from cellar-dwellers to champions, and you don’t get much better than the story of what happened to Auburn High School. During the 1999 and 2000 football seasons, this class 2A school in Auburn, Massachusetts, only won a total of five games. But the following year they went 9-2, earning a place in their Super Bowl for the first time in school history. By the 2005 season they won that championship game and ended the season with a perfect 12-0 record.
But the story doesn’t end there, because after the 2008 season, we got a call from Auburn High School’s head football coach, Jeff Cormier. The Rockets had done it again! As with their memorable season in 2005, the Rockets once again earned a spot in the Super Bowl championship. Facing Wahconah Regional, MAY/JUNE 2009 the Rockets dominated on both sides of the ball, winning 17-0. Such an accomplishment is a great feeling for any athlete, and none would know better than quarterback Jon Leroux and kicker/running back Corey Roy. In 2005 both Leroux and Roy were players on the Super Bowl championship team.
“These two guys are a reflection of not only our seniors but of the type of student-athlete that has developed through our football program,” says Cormier. “Next year’s captains and seniors are of the same mold.” Let’s look at some of their accomplishments. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Leroux has started every game since his freshman year. Cormier says he is a leader who is good under pressure. In the 2008 game, Leroux threw a touchdown pass and Roy scored three times. Roy, who started contributing to the varsity as a sophomore, made a 28yard field goal and two extra points, despite breaking his foot on the carry during the fifth play of the game.
“My foot was still in the ground, it bent back and I heard it crack,” Roy said to Telegram and Gazette reporter Rick Eggleston. “You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do for the team. You don’t think about (the pain). You can play hurt, you can play injured and give it all you have. My teammates would have had to carry me off the field for me not to play.” Another Auburn player who stood out in this Super Bowl game, and who was awarded the league MVP and an award statewide for Most Courageous player, is Kevin Collazo. The Auburn High School senior is also an honor roll student and star defensive back. And with good reason.
When Collazo was 11 years old, the County Sheriff’s Office arrested his mother on drug charges. When he was in the seventh grade, the Auburn High School hockey coach, Glenn Bombard, and his wife Tracy, were awarded parental rights to Collazo. Several years later George and Allison Lagorce, who were friends with the Bombards when they attended Auburn, adopted Collazo. Although Collazo had played quarterback at his previous school, when he transferred to Auburn in his senior year he switched to defense, as Leroux was the senior quarterback.
“Many of our players and coaches had no knowledge of Kevin’s background until we read it in the paper—he is a player who makes no excuses as a student or an athlete,” says Cormier. “He is an unselfish player who leads by example.”
The Evolution of Auburn Football The Auburn Rockets have established a tradition of winning, but it wasn’t always the case. In 2000 the Rockets won only two games, and the next year only three. To turn the program around, the following year the school adopted the BFS program, The coaching staff at Auburn High School celebrates another Super Bowl victory. as several coaches on the staff were familiar with the program, having worked with BFS Clinician Ray Cosenza. The program began that summer, with the team working out at 6:30 a.m. three days a week. Cormeir says that not a single player was every late for these workouts. “They believed right away that this program would make us better”
says Cormier. But the Rockets didn’t just become better… they became great! The following year they finished 9-2 and made their first appearance in the Super Bowl. The following year they improved to 10-1, the first time the Rockets had ever won 10 games, and made it to the Super Bowl. They lost that game in double overtime, 16-13. The next year the team had a bit of a setback, finishing 5-6. To get the team back on track, Auburn High hosted a BFS clinic and a Be an 11 clinic. They won eight games that year, but in 2005 dominated the gridiron with a 12-0 record and a Super Bowl victory.
In addition to bringing success in football, the unification concept of BFS also has had a positive impact on the success of many other sports programs at Auburn. Last year, for example, both the baseball and field hockey teams were conference champions. Asked to reflect on the accomplishments of Auburn High School, Cormier replied, “The success of our program is due to the camaraderie of our players and our coaches as well as the respect they have for each others commitment and work ethic. I am very fortunate to work with such quality people and share in these successes with them and those who support our football program.” Just how good are the Rockets?
Consider that in the past five years they have gone 48-11, which is the best record of any school in the district. In addition, the Rockets have won four league titles and are three in one in post-season with two Super Bowl victories. Their dominance has led the district to move them to another league that is considered more challenging. It’s not that they are larger than the schools they play against – they are just that good! Again, this was a team that in 1999 only won two games! Auburn High School is a great success story, one in which the players have confidence in their coaches and their training program. We’ll be expecting another call from them in a few years.
Photo: Mark Seliger 2008, SeligerPhoto@aol.com #35 Kevin Collazo #35 Kevin Collazo A strong strength and conditioning program has brought success to many other sports at Auburn. Last year, for example, the field hockey team won the conference championship.
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From BFS Magazine — May/June 2009. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).
