Medford's Atkins suspended

Medford football coach James Atkins was suspended without pay yesterday following his indictment Wednesday by a Suffolk County grand jury.

The indictment alleges Atkins misused approximately $10,000 that belonged to the Chelsea Football Boosters Club. Atkins, 43, was football coach at Chelsea High School and president of the Boosters Club from 2004-07. Atkins, a Chelsea police sergeant currently on administrative leave, is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 22 in Suffolk Superior Court on five counts of larceny.

"We can't believe we're going to lose a second football season out of this," said Medford athletic director Robert Maloney.

After he was hired to coach Medford last fall, the school placed Atkins on administrative leave while the Suffolk district attorney's office conducted an investigation. Atkins did not coach in 2007. He has been replaced by two assistants, Mike Marchese and Jamie Delverde, who will become interim co-head coaches. According to Maloney, Marchese will act as the team spokesman.

Medford went 2-9 in 2007 and has started this season with three straight losses, the latest to Bishop Fenwick last week. Medford plays Newton South tonight.