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| Coach Dave Bohane (right) with long-time assistant coach Jeff Eckler (left) |
A phenomenal CHS football coaching career came to an end this past week as coach David Bohane announced that he is stepping down as Bulldog Football coach.
Coach Bohane had this to say on his retirement from the position-
"After much consideration, I have made the decision to step down as the Head Football Coach at Canton High School. This decision has not been an easy one, but after really looking at it, I have decided that this is what is best at this time. It is a position that I have held with pride and I have given it my all. I am so proud of how much all of my players, coaches and teams have given CHS Football during my runs here. I believe that I leave the program on strong footing and will always root for the Bulldogs. It has been a job of a lifetime for me."
Principal Derek Folan had this to say on coach Bohane’s decision to move on-
“I am incredibly grateful for Coach Bohane’s tremendous influence on our football players and our community. He did an outstanding job developing a culture of commitment and blue-collar competitiveness that has elevated the program through a decade. He invested in his players far beyond the football field. And, as a result, he developed character and life skills that served our student-athletes well. I’m very thankful to Coach Bohane and I admire his legacy as a coach in our community.”
Bohane has been the face of Canton Bulldog Football for the past decade, having started his second stint as head coach in 2011. He orchestrated a resurgence of CHS Football that culminated in back-to-back championship seasons in 2018 (8-3) and 2019 (10-1). His team was crowned Hockmomock Davenport Champions and advanced to the Sectional Finals in each of those two seasons. His accolades over the years include NE Patriots Coach of the Week as well as Mass Football Coaches Association Coach of the Year.
A graduate of Springfield College, Bohane has been a dedicated Canton PE/Wellness teacher for nearly 30 years – first at the Hansen School and more recently at CHS. Early in his teaching career he took on his first tenure as Head CHS Football coach, leading the Dogs from 1994-1998. He then took on several assistant coaching positions around the region including Mansfield, East Bridgewater and Milton before returning to the Bulldog sidelines. He was also the key force behind the reintroduction of a Galvin Middle School football team that played a huge role in the high school program's resurgence.
Bohane's legacy at CHS may be best highlighted by the number of Bulldog student athletes who he helped through the recruitment process on their way to a collegiate career. Canton has certainly sent more than our fair-share of football players onto the collegiate level under coach Bohane. And his role in that process is impossible to overstate.
Bohane will remain a big part of CHS and our Athletic Department as he will continue on as a Wellness teacher and will be coming back for his 2nd season at the helm of the Softball program this spring.
A Personal Statement from the AD-
Canton High School has been very lucky to have had Dave Bohane as our Football coach. I have known Dave since we were both young coaches here at CHS in the 90s and to say we were not the best of friends and co-workers 25 years ago would be accurate. Soccer coaches and Football coaches were not all that supportive of each other back in that era. But, when he came back and both of us were a bit older and wiser (and balder), I got to witness first hand, this hard-working, dedicated, student of the game literally rebuild a program from the ground up. It has been a pleasure working with him on this rebuild of the Bulldog Football program. He was the right person for the right time in our program's history. He brought a pride back in the once-proud program. He restored a sense of tradition. He created an old-school work ethic in his student athletes. Most importantly, he showed all of them how football could help them become more complete young men as they left his program. My favorite memory of coach Bohane's time here goes back to his early days when we shocked Stoughton in a Thanksgiving Day upset on the road. Watching his pure joy in the hard-earned victory was something that I'll always remember. Thank you
