ANDOVER – When EJ Perry officially stepped down as the head coach of the Andover High football team, little did athletic director Wayne Puglisi know at the time that the replacement would come from the Golden Warriors’ biggest rivals.
On Wednesday, Puglisi announced that longtime Central Catholic assistant coach Jason (Jay) Fielding has been named the new head coach at AHS.
“This was (a) very hard (decision for us). We respect everything that EJ has done and all of the work that he put into this program and that’s why it’s so hard to move on,” said Puglisi. “We had 18 applicants and they all presented themselves so well. This was a tough decision for sure.”
Puglisi’s new coach has decades of experience between playing and coaching in the Merrimack Valley. Fielding grew up in Lawrence and was an all-conference linebacker for the Central Raiders, graduating in 2005.
From there, he played his next four years at Westfield State, named the NE Football Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2008, a three-time All-Conference selection, a two-time New England sportswriters Division 2/3 selection and a two-time Division3.com All-East selection. As a junior, he led the country in defensive tackles with 141, including a program record 23 against Maine Maritime. He graduated as a record holder in four different categories.
After he graduated from Westfield, Fielding served one year as the defensive coordinator at Ludlow High. Two years later he served as the linebackers coach at Lawrence High. The year after in 2012, he joined the Central coaching staff, spending the first 11 years as the linebackers coach before shifting to defensive coordinator the past two years under John Sexton. During his time there, Central won the Super Bowl title in 2013, while losing in three other games.
This past year Central beat Andover, but the two years prior, the Golden Warriors got the upper hand.
“I know when I coached at Central, Andover always looked forward to playing us. Now with me being named the coach at Andover, it’ll increase the drama. I was calling all of the people over there today, and it was if I was breaking up with them,” said Fielding with a big laugh.
“This was definitely a tough decision. I spent 17 years at Central Catholic. I definitely wish them well other than when we play them.”
In addition to his coaching duties, Fielding is a special education teacher in Lawrence, and is also the owner of New England’s Pact Performance, an establishment for football strength, conditioning, skills and drills player development. He started the business back in 2019 along with his best friend Matt Cerullo, who last week was named the new head coach at North Andover High.
Fielding will have large shoes to fill replacing Perry, who held the position for each of the past 14 seasons, compiling a record of 101-64. He led the Golden Warriors to back-to-back MVC Division 1 titles in 2022-’23, including reaching the Division 1 semifinals in 2023. This past fall, Andover was bitten by the injury bug and finished 5-6 overall, including a first round tournament loss to BC High.
“I just want to continue the success that EJ and the program has had,” said Fielding. “The success of the program speaks for itself. Andover is a proud town and there’s such great tradition with the football program. I’m extremely humbled to have even been considered for the job, and now named as the coach following three guys who were there for a long time with (Dick) Collins, (Ken) Maglio and Perry is incredibly humbling. It’s a very proud program with an amazing feeder program.”
Puglisi said there’s so much to like when it comes to his new coach.
“Jay’s all-in. The most important part is his commitment to the student-athletes is exactly what our high school is looking for,” said Puglisi. “I like that he played at the collegiate level, that he works tirelessly for the promotion of athletes and the preparation of athletes. He has been involved in the game forever. (I like) his experience as an assistant under some amazing head coaches at Central Catholic, the roles that he has been in. His knowledge and ability to lead the student-athletes and the team are all positive.”