Sign of greatness – Senior signal caller Will Milano wins Irving Alexander Award

As Winthrop High’s sophomore quarterback, Will Milano made what head coach Sean Driscoll calls, “one of the greatest plays in the program’s history.”

Driscoll was referring to Milano’s touchdown pass in the final seconds to Chris Beranger that delivered Winthrop a dramatic 27-22 win over Revere in the 2007 Thanksgiving game.

Milano made many other outstanding plays in his career and led his team to 18 victories in his three seasons. Monday afternoon at a Rotary Club luncheon at the Winthrop Arms, he received the program’s highest honor, the Irving Alexander Award.

In a well-delivered speech to Rotary members, Milano said he was honored to receive the award and how playing football at Winthrop had been such a positive experience. He said he’ll always remember the Thanksgiving game when he completed that last-second pass.

“That was definitely a highlight – I still can’t believe we pulled it off,” said Milano. “We beat Revere all four years that I was in the program and that’s something I’m proud of.”

Driscoll said Milano was the ideal choice for the Alexander Award, which is given to the player who’s done the most for Winthrop High football over a four-year period.

“Will certainly fit that criteria,” said Driscoll. “He saw some varsity time as a freshman and he stepped right into the starting job as a sophomore and didn’t miss a beat. His attitude toward the younger players and his quiet leadership on and off the field has put our program in a direction that I hope our underclassmen will aspire to.”

Milano became the starter in Driscoll’s first season as head coach. He threw 31 touchdown passes, just one shy of the school record held by Mike Mason. He passed for 3,100 yards and had 12 rushing touchdowns.

“Will had a really good, solid high school football career and we will sorely miss him on and off the field next year,” said Driscoll.

Milano is ranked in the top 20 academically in the Class of 2010. He is a recipient of a John and Abigail Adams Scholarship and was a Daily Item All-Star football player. He has visited the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). He is also applying to other prestigious colleges.

Milano has begun his final season for the Winthrop basketball team, starting at forward in the Vikings’ win over Marblehead Tuesday night. He will compete for the varsity baseball team this spring.