Owen Kilcoyne; coach won 5 school Super Bowls
Owen B. Kilcoyne, who was head football coach at St. Peter-Marian High School of Worcester from 1989 to 2005 and who had a coaching career that spanned five decades, had a favorite message for his players.
"If I'm yelling at you, that means you can do better," Mr. Kilcoyne would say. "When I stop yelling, that's when you should start worrying."
His approach paid off, with 258 career victories and a state record five consecutive (1992-96) Central Massachusetts Division 2 Super Bowl championships at St. Peter-Marian. His undefeated 1980 Ayer High team was also a Central Mass Super Bowl champion.
Mr. Kilcoyne - a member of the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches, Hudson Catholic High School, and St. Peter-Marian halls of fame - died Monday at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester after a brief illness. The Clinton native and longtime Boylston resident was 74.
He will be remembered with a moment of silence this morning prior to the traditional Thanksgiving Day football game between St. Peter-Marian and St. John's High of Shrewsbury at Fitton Field on the campus of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester.
"We'd walk out in the field on Thanksgiving Day, and Owen would remark, 'This is what high school football is all about,' and in honor of him, we will wear his initials on our helmets in his school colors, purple and white," said St. John's head coach, John Andreoli. "It was suggested to me by my defensive coordinator, Dan Brunelle, who played against coach Kilcoyne's teams and respected him."
Mr. Kilcoyne was not present Nov. 14 at the St. Peter-Marian Hall of Fame ceremonies at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Worcester. His son, Sean of West Boylston, represented the family during the induction.
"He was a father figure to many, and he lived life like he coached, with discipline, respect, and hard work," recalled his son. "His victories were secondary to helping a student find direction."
Mr. Kilcoyne, who doubled as a teacher throughout his coaching career, was "a master of the running game," said Peter Coyle, St. Peter-Marian's athletic director. "His coaching philosophy was simple, block and tackle. His personality was down to earth and unassuming, which is why he was respected as a coach and social studies teacher."
Mr. Kilcoyne coached several players who later starred in college and also in the National Football League. Joe Morris (Ayer High and Syracuse), was one of the greatest running backs in New York Giants history, Bill Brooks (Framingham North High and Boston University), was a standout receiver with the Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills, and Washington Redskins; and Jerry Azumah (St. Peter-Marian and the University of New Hampshire) was a defensive back and kick returner with the Chicago Bears. Two of Joe Morris's brothers, Jamie and Larry, also played in the NFL and were coached by Mr. Kilcoyne at Ayer, where he worked from 1975-80.
"Over time, I realize it wasn't about the wins and losses with Owen," recalled Brooks, who now resides in Carmel, Ind. "It was making us accountable for getting things done the right way and growing as young men. We became a better team and better individuals because of his influence."
From 1992 to 1996, Mr. Kilcoyne's teams at St. Peter-Marian went 53-3 and won 26 straight games, including a perfect (11-0) 1995 season. He also was a head coach at Clinton High (1968-1974) and at Hudson Catholic (1960-1967), where he established the football program 48 years ago.
Mr. Kilcoyne, who served on the executive board of the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association, also coached in two Shriner's All-Star games and ranks among the state's top 10 winningest coaches.
"Owen's players would go through a wall for him," said Jim O' Connor, former Catholic Memorial High head coach and past president of the coaches association. "He had the perfect attitude towards coaching, and he truly loved it."
Jamie Lamoreaux was a senior on the 1976 Ayer High team when the Panthers won the Wachusett League title.
"Owen gave me my coaching start at Ayer in 1980, and I've been coaching ever since," said Lamoreaux, head football and track coach at Ayer High. "He was a mentor to me and many others who coached with him."
When Mr. Kilcoyne left Framingham North (1981-1988) for St. Peter-Marian, he brought along two of his assistant coaches, current head coach Justin Ball and current assistant George Hutchinson. When he stepped down as head coach because of health issues, Mr. Kilcoyne worked as an assistant coach because of his loyalty to the program and his coaching staff.
"Owen lived for high school football," said Dan Mitchell, a former St. Peter-Marian captain who played on two of Mr. Kilcoyne's Super Bowl teams and has been an assistant coach at the school since 1997. "When one season ended, he'd be thinking right away about the next season, with a note pad in hand to write down new plays."
A 1953 graduate of Clinton High School, Mr. Kilcoyne attended Holy Cross for two years on a football scholarship, playing both football and baseball. He earned a bachelor's degree from Fitchburg State College, majoring in US history and social studies. A US Army veteran who had been stationed in Alaska, he was a member of St. John the Evangelist Church in Clinton, the Clinton Council of the Knights of Columbus, and the Clinton Lodge of Elks.
Mr. Kilcoyne leaves his wife of 50 years, Marion (Sprague); four other sons, Brian of Shrewsbury, Gary of Rutland, David of Worcester, and Michael of Boylston; two daughters, Debra Germain of West Boylston and Kimberly Granger of Spencer; a sister, Frances Fallon of Boylston; and 13 grandchildren.
A funeral Mass will be said Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. John the Evangelist Church in Clinton. Burial will be in St. John's Cemetery in Lancaster. 