This Sunday, 95.9 WATD announced the semifinalists for the 2023 Bill Wilhelm Award, recognizing the most outstanding high school football player on the South Shore.
Announced during the Sports Exchange, airing every Sunday at 5 p.m., 10 student athletes from the area were included in the list of potential winners of the award’s second presentation.
These 10 semifinalists will be pared down to a list of three finalists to be announced on the January 7 edition of the Sports Exchange.
The Semifinalists
Listed in alphabetical order
Liam Appleton, SR, Cohasset
The Swiss army knife of the Cohasset Skippers did it all in his three-year varsity career – culminating in a season in which he played at running back, wide receiver, quarterback, linebacker, safety, and returned punts and kicks.
Appleton’s head coach Pete Afanasiw calls him one of the “one or two best all-around athletes” he has ever coached.
This season, the senior captain ran for 480 yards on 80 carries, added 742 yards on 42 receptions, and totaled 23 touchdowns offensively, while making 40 tackles and four interceptions on defense.
Appleton reached the state Final Four in all three of his varsity seasons, winning the Division 7 title in 2021.
Alex Barlow, SR, Duxbury
One of the toughest runners on the South Shore, Barlow was an unstoppable force for the Duxbury Dragons along their romp to a second consecutive Division 4 title.
Barlow finished the season with 1,515 yards and 22 touchdowns on 184 carries, adding another 150 receiving yards and anchoring the Duxbury defense from the middle linebacker position, where he finished with 82 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, six sacks, a forced fumble, and an interception.
It was in the final two weeks of the season that the Bentley commit truly showed his might, rushing for 570 yards and 8 touchdowns as the Dragons took down state runners-up Marshfield and Scituate to capture league and state titles consecutively.
READ: Duxbury’s Matt Festa wins inaurugal Bill Wilhelm Award
Jackson Belsan, SR, Scituate
The senior quarterback of the Scituate Sailors captained his team back to their second Super Bowl appearance in the last three seasons, and third since 2018.
Though they fell short in a title-game rematch with Duxbury, Belsan dazzled at Gillette, throwing for 328 yards and three touchdowns.
On the season, Belsan, who will captain the Scituate hockey team this winter, finished with 2,765 yards passing, 30 touchdowns through the air, and three more on the ground.
Over his two seasons as starting quarterback, Belsan racked up four playoff wins.
James Curry, JR, Braintree
Curry’s numbers this season for the Braintree Wamps were nothing short of eye-popping.
The junior rushed for 1,725 yards and 23 touchdowns on the year, averaging 6.8 yards per carry.
Throughout the season, the second-year varsity member played with an injured right elbow that required surgery immediately following the season.
It did not slow him down.
The final note on Curry’s junior campaign was a 35 carry, 203 yard, two touchdown performance as the Wamps upset eventual Super Bowl champion Milton on Thanksgiving.
Henry Hasselbeck, SR, Xaverian Brothers
Hasselbeck lived up to the billing of his familiar last name this season, guiding the Xaverian Brothers Hawks to their first state title since 2017.
The former Michigan State commit totaled 2,219 yards on the season (1,471 passing, 749 rushing), accounting for 19 scores through the air and nine on the ground.
Perhaps the best dual-threat quarterback in the state, Hasselbeck knocked off top-ranked St. John’s Prep in back to back weeks to close the season, clinching a share of the Catholic Conference title and the Division 1 championship in the process.
Hasselbeck’s future commitment will mark the second straight season a Massachusetts quarterback has joined a Power 5 program.
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Tyler Lennox, SR, Carver
The Carver Crusaders’ record books have been completely rewritten thanks to the dazzling career of Tyler Lennox.
Lennox captained the Crusaders to their second ever state title game and their first playoff appearance since 2000 amidst a season in which he racked up 2,817 passing yards and 38 touchdowns.
Add in six rushing touchdowns and 233 yards, and the of-yet uncommitted star was the only player in the state to total more than 3,000 yards this season.
Lennox completed 70% of his passes this year, throwing just four interceptions, and finished his career with 7,105 total yards and 83 total touchdowns.
Tor Maas, JR, Marshfield
Maas was under center for the Marshfield Rams this season as they reached their 11th Super Bowl in program history and first under head coach Chris Arouca.
The junior threw for 2,201 yards and 20 touchdowns against four interceptions, while adding 615 yards rushing and seven touchdowns on the ground.
After back-to-back losses to begin the season, Maas guided one of the best offenses in the state to nine straight victories, scoring over 40 points in seven consecutive weeks, and over 50 points in each of the first three legs of the Division 2 tournament.
Patrick Miller, SR, Milton
Despite losing the starting quarterback, running back, and top five receivers from their 2022 state runner-up team, the Milton Wildcats returned to Gillette for a second straight season and captured their first ever state title thanks in large part to the play of Patrick Miller.
Miller threw for 2,561 yards and 33 touchdowns this year, adding three more rushing scores.
A sterling season culminated in a four touchdown performance in the Super Bowl, and a key pass break up defensively that led to a dagger pick-six as the Cats downed Walpole to take the Division 3 crown.
Miller is the second straight Milton quarterback to be a semifinalist for the Bill Wilhelm Award, after Owen McHugh finished third in the voting in 2022. Miller broke McHugh’s program record for single season touchdown passes this year.
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Ben Scalzi, SR, Hanover
Scalzi, in his coach Brian Kelliher’s words, has “pinpoint accuracy and an extremely strong arm.” These attributes were on full display this season, as the Hanover Hawks senior captain threw for a state-leading 39 touchdowns and 2,621 yards.
After moving from wide receiver in his junior season, Scalzi lit it up for the Hawks over the past two seasons, totaling 70 passing touchdowns and 80 total touchdowns.
Hanover returned to Gillette this season for the first time since 2016 as Scalzi carved up defenses left and right.
Scalzi holds multiple collegiate offers, but is of-yet uncommitted.
Davin True, JR, Marshfield
The Marshfield Rams junior running back brings some of the best speed and agility in the state to the field, and used it to run for 1,198 yards and 23 touchdowns this season.
True rushed for over 100 yards in five games this season, and saved his best performance for the Rams landmark victory over back-to-back defending state champion Catholic Memorial in the Division 2 semifinal.
In their 52-40 victory, True ran for 160 yards on 30 carries and caught two more balls for 47 yards while scoring three times.
It was the fifth time on the season he scored three or more touchdowns in a game.
Bill Wilhelm receiving the President’s Award at the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches’ Association meeting in 2011
Bill Wilhelm
Bill was our station’s first Sports Director, overseeing and participating in four decades of high school football, basketball, and hockey broadcasts, as well as hosting the weekly Sports Exchange talk show.
Tirelessly working to make sure that every accomplishment of local student athletes was given appropriate recognition, Bill Wilhelm was, for so many on the South Shore, the first name that came to mind when they thought of high school sports.
Last year, Bill was inducted into the Duxbury High School Athletics Hall of Fame; recognition of his over 30 years as head coach of the junior varsity boys soccer team, as well as his innumerable contributions off the field.
Nowhere are those contributions felt more than here at 95.9 WATD. Here, entering our 46th year, we are still able to provide coverage of South Shore high school athletics thanks to the groundwork Bill laid over so many years.
Matt Festa, winner of the Bill Wilhelm Award, poses with WATD’s Brendan Connelly, Johnny Rorke, Bill Wilhelm, and Quinn Kelly.
The Inaugural Winner
Last year, Matt Festa of Duxbury High School was named the inaugural Bill Wilhelm Award winner.
Festa led the Dragons to a 12-0 record and Division 4 state title to close his incredible career, compiling 50 total touchdowns, 2,931 yards passing, and 469 yards rushing on the season.
In the process, he set the Duxbury High School record for single season passing yards.
Festa, now playing football at the University of New Hampshire, was joined by fellow finalists Owen McHugh (Milton, Williams College) and Casious Johnson (Plymouth South).
Follow WATD Sports on Twitter for more information and updates regarding the Bill Wilhelm Award and South Shore high school athletics.
