Townies' Football Coach in the Running for 'Best' in U.S.

East Providence head football coach Sandy Gorham is in the running for best high school football coach in the country.

Gorham is one of eight coaches in Rhode Island to be nominated in a contest sponsored by USA Today High School Sports.

The first-ever "Best High School Football Coach" contest opens Monday, Sept. 30, with the first round of voting.

USA  Today staff chose the nominees after a month of conversations with local media and state and school officials with high school football expertise. It is now the fans turn to pick from a list of 408 coaches.

There will be three rounds of voting, according to information submitted to Finn. The state round begins at noon on Monday and ends at noon on Tuesday, Oct. 8. 

The 51 winners – each state plus Washington, D.C. - advance to a regional round, where they will be divided among eight regions of six or seven coaches apiece, according to contest rules.

The regional round begins at noon on Oct. 9 and ends at noon on Oct. 18. The eight regional winners move onto the national round, which starts at noon on Oct. 21and ends at noon on Oct. 29. The champion is crowned based on most votes in the final round.

The athletics department of the winning coach will receive $2,000. Second through fifth place finishers also receive cash prizes for their athletic departments: second ($1,000), third ($500), fourth ($250) and fifth ($100). All eight finalists receive banners for their schools. 

To read more about the contest, click here.