North Putnam High School Head Coach Greg Barrett has been named the Colts/NFL Coach of the Week, a program presented by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
Barrett was selected after his Cougars defeated conference rival Greencastle by a score of 49 to 19. The Cougars are off to a 6-0 start.
The 2010 season marks the eleventh year the Indianapolis Colts will be recognizing outstanding Indiana High School football coaches through the Colts/NFL Coach of the Week program, presented by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
The Cougars (6-0) began the game strong, scoring 28 first quarter points en route to their 49-14win over the Tiger Cubs. North Putnam scored four times on its first nine plays of the game, with junior Hank Spencer and senior Jordan Murphy collecting two touchdowns each. Travis Franklin and Hank Spencer both racked up over 100 all purpose yards, as seven Cougars carried the ball on the night. The Cougars have won eight straight regular season games dating back to last season.
In addition, Greg Barrett's brother Chris Barrett, current head coach at Terre Haute North, won the Colts Coach of the Week in week 7 of 2005. This is the first time since the inception of the Colts Coach of the Week program (twelve years ago) that two brothers have won the award.
The Coach of the Week program was designed to recognize high school coaches who transform, through their hard work and dedication to young people, the best available athletes into high potential football players.
All high school head coaches in the state of Indiana are eligible regardless of their school size, league or division. Coaches are evaluated on various factors including the coach's impact on his team, school and community, as well as performance of the team. The honorees are selected by a panel of high school football media, former athletic directors and other football representatives from all regions of the state.
Each Monday, following a high school football game weekend, one head coach will be recognized and announced. Coach Caldwell will also announce each week's winner in his weekly press conference.
At the conclusion of the high school football season, each winning coach will receive a framed certificate signed by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell, Colts President Bill Polian and Colts Youth Football Commissioner Mike Prior, as well as a $1,000 donation from the NFL Youth Football Fund. In addition, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield will contribute $1,000 for the school's athletic fund.
The following coaches were recognized as honorable mentions for Week 6:
Region 1- Wally McCormick, Hobart Region 6 – Winner
Region 2 – Tom Wogoman, Wawasee Region 7- Keith Burke, Indianapolis Tech
Region 3 – Randy Hudgins, Columbia City Region 8- Roger Dodson, Greenfield Central
Region 4 – Mark Miller, Rochester Region 9 – Rick Stefanich, Gibson Southern
Region 5 – Wayne Swender, Whitko Region 10- Bret Szabo, Bedford North Lawrence
For more information, please contact Casey Bolsega of the Indianapolis Colts at (317) 808-5149. Greg Barrett is also available for questions/comments at (765) 522-6282.
