WORCESTER—The Worcester Tech football team entered the 2025 season with losses in 20 of its last 21 games. The Eagles went winless in 10 games last season and finished a dismal 1-10 in 2023.
Energized by the leadership of five senior captains and the promotion of Sam Milberg to head coach, Tech has rebounded in a big way this fall winning two of its first three games. The Eagles (2-1) won on the road at Assabet Valley 27-8 on Sept.12 before shutting out Southbridge 34-0 on Sept. 19. Tech dropped its home opener 20-7 to St. Paul (1-2) on Sept. 27 at Foley Stadium.
The last time Tech opened the season with two wins was four years ago in 2021. In the first edition of the MIAA Power Rankings released last week, the Eagles were rated among the top 20 teams in the state for Division 5. Tech currently sits first atop the E Division standings of the Central Mass Athletic Conference after three games.
“We preached all off-season that we’re a family,” said first-year head coach Sam Milberg a 2025 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross. “We really broke down what does family mean. It’s ‘Forget About Me, I Love You (FAMILY).’ That’s been our core value this entire time.”
Milberg was a member of the 2021 Crusader football team coached by Bob Chesney that won a Patriot League title and earned the program’s first-ever win in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs. A native of Westport, Connecticut, Milberg previously served as an assistant coach for the Eagles while a student at Holy Cross.
“I can say that the culture has changed and we’re on the right path,” said Milberg. “We’ve been super successful. Now we’ve just got to keep it rolling.”
Leading the way for Tech has been a core group of five senior captains: Zachary Braconnier, Christian Cordero-Berrios, Riwan Sadam, Jonneth Sanchez and Nate Suyer.
“We have five great senior captains. They’ve stayed together and really molded this culture into what they’ve wanted it to be,” added Milberg. “They came into the season saying this is our senior year, we’re going to right the ship.”
Normally serving as a tight end on offense, Braconnier was forced into emergency quarterback duty vs. St. Paul with usual starter Ryan Gallagher out of the lineup. Although it was an adjustment, Braconnier responded with a 49-yard touchdown run to push his team-leading touchdown total to six on the season. In the opening two games, he accounted for 119 rushing yards and 87 receiving yards.
“We all decided collectively as a group that we needed to forget about all the problems and come in brand new,” said Braconnier. “We have to come into every single game wanting it more than the other team.”
Sanchez, a left tackle and nose guard who grew up in New Jersey before moving to Worcester at age 10, acknowledged the impact Milberg’s promotion to head coach had on the team after previously serving as an assistant within the program.
“He always had something in the back of his head,” said Sanchez. “He wanted us to win more than we wanted to win. It was a ton of him pushing us to be our best and then us agreeing with it.”
A big area of improvement for the Eagles has come on defense. A year ago, Tech gave up an average of 36 points per game to its opponents. But this fall the Eagles have held opponents in check, allowing just more than nine points per game in their first three contests.
Now that the right pieces are in place along with the right attitude, Tech is poised to get back in the win column when the Eagles return to Foley Stadium on October 4 to host Quaboag (0-4) at noon
Armed with an unwavering, positive mentality, the Tech captains remain confident that the rest of the season will continue to feature more victories.
“We’re going to keep winning. We’re going to win every other game,” said Sanchez. “That’s always the mindset.”
Mike Vigneux is a freelance writer in Worcester with more than 20 years of experience in the fields of municipal government, communications, and public relations. An avid fan of all sports, Mike enjoys telling the stories of local athletes and their teams. He holds two degrees from Clark University, a bachelor of arts in Communication and a master of science in Professional Communication. He can be reached at Mikevigs@gmail.com
