This Sunday, 95.9 WATD announced the semifinalists for the 2025 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 a coming edition of the Sports Exchange.
The Semifinalists
Listed in alphabetical order
Patrick Collins, SR, Milton
After a disappointing campaign last year, the senior quarterback helmed a resurgent Wildcats team and led them back to the Division 3 Final Four.
Collins was dynamic and efficient in his second year starting. Averaging over 20 yards per completion, Collins hit on 63% of his passes for 2,468 yards through the air. He also held one of the area’s best TD/INT rates, throwing for 35 scores, a school record, against just 3 interceptions.
An added ground element helped Collins to claim the Bay State Conference Herget Division Co-MVP honors. He ran for just over 400 yards and 8 touchdown as well.
Jonny Donovan, SR, Scituate
Back to back titles is a rarity. Going into a title game as the #1 seed, yet being viewed as the underdog is, too. None of that mattered to Donovan, as the senior saved his best for last and guided Scituate to a thrilling 42-41 comeback victory over Tewksbury in the D4 Final.
The Pomono-Pitzer commit dazzled, hitting Miller Shea with 16 seconds remaining to secure the win – his fourth TD of the game.
On the season, Donovan brought along a largely new cast of characters, and spun the rock to the tune of a 68% completion rate, 2,271 yards, and 23 TDs, adding a pair on the ground, too.
Donovan, a back-to-back Bill Wilhelm Award semifinalist, will be remembered at Scituate as a player who shined when the lights were brightest.
READ: Scituate’s Lawson Foley wins 2024 Bill Wilhelm Award
Brandon Errico, SR, Hanover
Their was simply nothing on a football field Brandon Errico could not do this year.
The Bowdoin commit was a star in every facet of the game for Hanover.
Errico reeled in 64 receptions for 1,024 yards and 12 TDs this season, adding over 100 yards and three scores on the ground.
On defense, he amassed 61 tackles and a pair of interceptions.
Perhaps his most dangerous role, however, was on special teams, where the senior returned seven kickoffs for touchdowns on just 14 opportunities.
Grayson Foley, JR, Scituate
Foley was dynamite this season for Scituate, leading the Sailors on their Super Bowl run. The junior compiled over 2,000 yards of total offense in his breakout campaign.
Playing both ways, Foley ran for over 1,600 yards and 22 scores, had just shy of 500 yards receiving on 29 catches with three scores, and anchored the Sailors defense with over 60 tackles, two TFLs and two interceptions.
As a nice cherry on top, Foley also ran back a pair of kickoffs, including one on opening night that kick-started Scituate’s romp through 2025.
LISTEN: Relive the Magic: Every South Shore Super Bowl Broadcast on 95.9 WATD
Hudson Garrity, 8th Grade, Archbishop Williams
The youngest-ever Bill Wilhelm Award semifinalist, Hudson Garrity lived up to his enormous hype this season.
The class of 2030 quarterback completed 66% of his passes for 2,384 yards and an impressive 30 touchdowns against just 4 interceptions.
A highly-touted dual threat prospect, Garrity also ran for over 400 yards for the Bishops and another 11 scores.
Garrity also became the Bishops first ever semifinalist in a groundbreaking season that saw Archie’s reach the Division 5 Final Four.
Gus Greene, SR, Cohasset
No running back on the South Shore ran for more yards this season than Gus Greene.
After bulking up in the offseason, Greene proved nearly impossible to bring down for opposing defenses, racking up 2,059 yards on 234 carries.
Greene totaled 28 TDs on the season, claiming the program’s record for single season rushing yards en route to a Division 7 title.
The senior will be playing lacrosse at Gettysburg next year. If he never dons the shoulder pads again, he went out in style with another dominant performance at Gillette.
LISTEN: Super Bowl Champion Cohasset Recounts Winning Program’s Third Title
Tyler Holmes, SR, West Bridgewater
Neither injuries nor the opposition has been able to slow Holmes down throughout a record setting career at West Bridgewater.
The senior finished his career with perhaps his best season yet, taking the Wildcats back to the state Final Four behind a 1,536 yard, 24 touchdown rushing campaign.
Holmes added another three receiving scores and a kick return touchdown for good measure as he broke the school record for All-Purpose Yards in a season.
A recent Rensselaer Polytech commit, Holmes has been one of the area’s most consistently dominant rushers over the past few years.
Jack Lambert, SR, Bridgewater-Raynham
Amidst an incredible Final Four run for the Trojans, Lambert was sterling.
The senior completed an area-high 71% of his passes, throwing for 2,776 yards (also an area-high) and 31 TDs.
Lambert added a trio of scores on the ground in a campaign that earned him a Southeast Conference All Star nod.
Of yet uncommitted, Lambert turned scouts heads with his huge senior season.
MORE: Scituate Football Talks Going Back to Back
Jack Luccarelli, JR, Norwell
Luccarelli keeps trending up amidst what seems to be a golden era for Norwell athletics.
The now back-to-back South Shore League Sullivan Division MVP guided the Clippers to the top seed in Division 6 and a Super Bowl appearance.
A punishing runner, Luccarelli led the area with 2,348 yards on the ground and 32 TDs. He added another six passing touchdowns and over 800 yards through the air.
The junior continues to get more physically dominant by the day, and despite coming up just short at Gillette, was consistently one of the biggest matchup problems on the South Shore.
Mekhi White, SR, Randolph
White finished this season the way he was unable to last year – defeating West Boylston at Gillette to claim Randolph’s second Super Bowl title.
One of the speediest backs in the area, White ran for just shy of 1,500 yards this season, scoring 27 total touchdowns and earning a second straight Wilhelm Award semifinalist nod.
The central focus of a vaunted Blue Devils offense, White was nearly impossible to contain for opposing defenses, and looks a shoo-in for a second straight Boston Globe Division 8 Player of the Year award.
LISTEN: Randolph Cements Status with Second Super Bowl Win
Honorable Mentions
An additional 10 players from the South Shore received votes on Bill Wilhelm Award ballots. Those players, who finished just outside our semifinalist pool, are listed below alphabetically
Sebastian Brown, SR, Hanover
Wyatt Goyette, SR, Middleboro
Kingston Maxwell, SR, Abington
Blake Nelson, JR, Archbishop Williams
Jack Reilly, JR, Abington
Brady Rhinesmith, SR, Duxbury
Ronan Sammon, SR, Milton
Leo Steinberg, SR, Quincy
Jake Varholak, SR, Hingham
Michael Wildfire, SR, Cohasset
Jim Quatromoni presents Bill Wilhelm with 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 47th 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.
Past Winners
2022
Following Bill Wilhelm’s Hall of Fame induction, the Bill Wilhelm Award was founded in 2022. Matt Festa of Duxbury High School claimed the inaugural award.
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).
Ben Scalzi (center with trophy) is the 2023 Bill Wilhelm Award winner, pictured with Quinn Kelly (left), Brendan Connolly (center right) and Johnny Rorke (right).
2023
In 2023, Hanover High School’s Ben Scalzi took home the Bill Wilhelm Award.
Scalzi, a senior captain, led the Hawks to an 11-2 season and an appearance in the Division 5 Super Bowl. He finished the season with 41 total touchdowns and 2,621 yards passing. His 39 passing touchdowns were good enough to claim the top mark in the state last season.
Fellow finalists included Tyler Lennox (Carver, UMass Dartmouth) and Alex Barlow (Duxbury, Bentley).
2024 Bill Wilhelm Award winner Lawson Foley is pictured with trophy and the WATD Sports team.
2024
Last season, it was senior Lawson Foley of Scituate High School claiming the award amidst a record setting season.
The senior captain led the Sailors to a perfect 13-0 season and a victory over rival Duxbury in the Division 4 Super Bowl. He finished the season with 18 touchdowns and 979 yards receiving, both program records, on 43 catches. Additionally, Foley was a force on defense, tallying 65 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, six interceptions and one pick six.
Foley beat out fellow finalists Tor Maas (Marshfield) and Jack Rees (Duxbury).
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