NFL SUPER BOWL | High School Honor Roll

Several of Scholar Athletes (SA) Zone members at West Roxbury High excitedly crowded around the school’s football coach on a recent Wednesday afternoon to pose for pictures with a Golden Football featuring the Super Bowl 50 logo stamped underneath the laces.

The commemorative ball was awarded to Westie as part of the NFL’s Super Bowl High School Honor Roll program. The program honors every high school to graduate a player or coach that went on to participate in a Super Bowl. More than 2,000 high schools and roughly 3,000 players and coaches were recognized ahead of this Sunday’s Super Bowl in San Francisco.

West Roxbury and three other Boston Public School high schools — East Boston, The English and the John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science — all received Gold Balls.

Westie’s ball honors Ron Stone, who won back-to-back Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys in the 1993–94 and 1995–96 seasons.

Current West Roxbury Zone member and lineman Derek Bertucci was psyched to see the ball and to learn that Stone also played offensive line for the Raiders before ascending to the mountaintop of football.

“It’s always nice to hear when somebody comes from the same background that you came from,” Bertucci said, “it gives you a sense of I can do this too.”

Bertucci said the Zone also helps him achieve his goals. That’s why he spends eight to 10 hours a week studying there.

“It’s a way for me to get my homework done before I get home,” he said. “If I don’t do it in the Zone I’m going to be tired after practice and I’m not going to end up doing it. It helps me keep my grades on track.”

East Boston received its Wilson Golden Football for producing former New England Patriot Jermaine Wiggins, who won a ring with the Pats in Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002. The Patriots have more current and former players and coaches being honored in the program with 256. The Pats also have the most current players (44) being honored than any other NFL team.

O’Bryant’s ball is courtesy of Dan Sullivan, who graduated from Boston Technical High in 1962 before it was renamed the O’Bryant in 1992. The Boston College grad played offensive line for the Baltimore Colts with Jonny Unitas in Super Bowl III in 1969 and Super Bowl V in 1971.

Former Boston English defensive lineman Ken Clarke personally delivered a Golden Ball to the Eagles’ football team just before Thanksgiving. The 1974 English grad played for Syracuse and spent 14 years in the NFL. He was a defensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XV in 1980.

“He’s a great guy and made the trip all the way from Georgia to talk with our kids,” English coach Joe Cain said via email. “They loved it.”

Time with Ron Stone’s Gold Ball was a great moment teaching moment for West Roxbury coaching staff as well.

“It let’s the kids know that there’s nothing that can hold them back,” Westie football coach Derek Wright said. “They can make it to the highest level of football. We’ve had guys playing on the biggest stage and won.”

Wright also invited West Roxbury’s former coach, Leo Sybertz, to see the Gold Ball.

The Hall of Famer coached Stone for two years and brought one of his NFL jerseys in for the current players to see.

“He didn’t come out for football until his junior year,” Sybertz said of Stone. “He probably came out to get me off his case because I used to bug him every time I saw him. … If he was here now he’d have a grin from one ear to the other.”

After winning back-to-back state championships at Westie, Stone played for Boston College. He played 13 seasons in the NFL and was also selected to three Pro Bowls.

West Roxbury Zone Facilitator Claude James said Stone’s impressive resume is one more tool for him to use to inspire his students. And having the Gold Ball brought to school for the first time was also a good way to shake up the usual routine of studying in the Zone.

“It definitely helps,” James said. “It can’t be monotony every day, doing homework, me saying ‘When’s your test? When’s your quiz?’ It’s good to break it up and be like ‘This is something amazing that happened to somebody that was walking the same halls as you.’”

The NFL Foundation also provided the schools that received Golden Footballs with a new character education curriculum and the opportunity to apply for grants of up to $5,000 to help support and grow their football programs.