On Sunday night, 95.9 WATD celebrated the conclusion of the 2022 high school football season with its presentation of the inaugural Bill Wilhelm Award.
Named for the station’s first and longtime Sports Director, Wilhelm was on hand for the award ceremony, which was broadcast live as an episode of The Sports Exchange.
Quinn Kelly, along with his Sports Exchange co-hosts Johnny Rorke and Brendan Connelly, sat down with each of the three award finalists, as well as a series of other guests.
The three Bill Wilhelm Award finalists, pictured from left to right, Matt Festa, Owen McHugh, and Casious Johnson.
Matt Festa, senior quarterback of Duxbury High School, took home the award, edging fellow finalists Owen McHugh (Milton) and Casious Johnson (Plymouth South).
Festa was the leader atop a crop of 22 different South Shore student-athletes who received votes for the Bill Wilhelm Award.
The Duxbury senior captain led the Dragons to a 12-0 season and a Division 4 Super Bowl title. He finished the season with 50 total touchdowns, 2,931 yards passing, and 469 yards rushing.
At the end of a sparkling career at Duxbury, Festa closes with 111 career touchdowns and 7,373 all-purpose yards. He is the program’s record holder for single season passing yards, having set the new high watermark this Thanksgiving.
The Bill Wilhelm Award trophy, generously donated by Crown Trophy of Pembroke.
WATD extends thank you’s to Mamma Mia’s of Marshfield, who hosted the event, and to Crown Trophy of Pembroke, who generously donated the Bill Wilhelm Award trophy.
Sports Director Quinn Kelly and his team also extend their appreciation to all of the local coaches and athletic directors who made the season possible, to the three finalists and their families and coaches for a wonderful ceremony, and foremost to Bill Wilhelm for the incredible job he did over four decades at the head of the department, laying the groundwork for such an event to take place.
You can listen to the full Bill Wilhelm Award Ceremony here:
A gallery of photos from the ceremony can also be seen below:
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- Matt Festa, winner of the Bill Wilhelm Award, poses with WATD’s Brendan Connelly, Johnny Rorke, Bill Wilhelm, and Quinn Kelly.
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- Matt Festa, winner of the Bill Wilhelm Award, pictured with his trophy.
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- The hosts of the Sports Exchange, Quinn Kelly (middle), Johnny Rorke (left), and Brendan Connelly (right) interview Jason Snow (front right) of the Brockton Enterprise.
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- Matt Festa (right) joins the Sports Exchange.
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- Casious Johnson (right) and his coach Darren Fruzzetti (front middle) join the Sports Exchange.
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- Owen McHugh (right) and his coach Steve Dembowski (front center) join the Sports Exchange.
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- Marcia and Bill Wilhelm speak with the Sports Exchange’s Johnny Rorke (left) and Quinn Kelly (right).
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- Marcia and Bill Wilhelm join the Sports Exchange. Bill was 95.9 WATD’s first Sports Director and host of the Sports Exchange from 1977-2019.
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- The three Bill Wilhelm Award finalists, pictured from left to right, Matt Festa, Owen McHugh, and Casious Johnson.
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- The three Bill Wilhelm Award finalists pose with Wilhelm and the hosts of the Sports Exchange.
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- The Bill Wilhelm Award trophy, generously donated by Crown Trophy of Pembroke.
