TAUNTON — A very familiar face will take over as head coach of the Bristol-Plymouth High School football team.
Assistant coach Roger Saraiva has been named the Craftsmen’s next head coach, becoming just the fourth such coach in the franchise’s more than 50-year history. He succeeds longtime coach John Paris, who was promoted from assistant coach to head coach in 2008 and retired last month after 17 seasons in charge.
“With more than 30 years of coaching experience and ties to the Taunton area, we knew Roger was the ideal candidate to lead BP football,” Bristol Plymouth athletic director Mark Lebeda said. “He knows our student-athletes and the BP culture inside out, and he has a deep passion for football.”
Lebeda noted that Saraiva’s familiarity with the players and Parise’s coaching style, in particular, have allowed for a “smooth transition” into the next era of Craftsman’s football, while also continuing the tradition of recruiting from within the program, as Parise and his predecessor, Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Famer Bill Mohn, served as assistants.
Saraiva has been an assistant coach and offensive coordinator at BP since 2016 after two stints as freshman head coach in 2006-2007 and 2014-2015. Outside of Craftsman’s, he also served as an assistant coach at Coyle Cassidy (1993-2001), University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (2002-2005), Durfee (2008-2009) and Case (2010).
“Our football program continues to grow and with the addition of new schools and new facilities over the next few years, we expect the program to get even bigger and stronger. Roger is the right coach to lead it,” Lebeda said. “It was important to me to hire someone who will carry on the traditions of BP football and who has earned the respect of the school and the community.”
The Craftsmans finished the season 3-8 with a roster made up mostly of underclassmen who gained valuable varsity experience, which should be an asset for Saraiva.
He is the second rookie football coach hired in the Greater Taunton area this spring, joining Raynham resident and former Franklin coach Eian Bain, who was named head coach at Bridgewater-Raynham in April.
This article originally appeared in the Taunton Daily Gazette: Longtime BP football assistant Roger Saraiva named next head coach
