A former Maine high school standout football coach who went on to similar success in Massachusetts may have one of his memorable seasons in the Bay State be the focus of a movie.
A deal is being finalized for a screenwriter to develop a script based on Sean Stellato’s book, “No Backing Down,” which chronicled the 1994 Salem High School (Mass.) football team’s march to the 3A Super Bowl and head coach Ken Perrone’s defiance of a cease and desist order issued by Salem Superintendent of Schools Ken Curtin.
There was an 11-day teachers strike and Curtin told Perrone that if he continued to coach the football team, he would be fired.
Perrone, a former John Bapst of Bangor and Brewer High School football and baseball coach, decided to stay on to coach and was fired at the end of the season. He had spent 22 years at the school.
He had led Salem to its first Super Bowl appearance, the Massachusetts state final, in 20 years and Stellato was the quarterback.
“[Perrone] was like a second father to us,” said Stellato, who is now an NFL player-agent with 12 clients. “He put his career on the line for us. Unfortunately, the superintendent had a lot of animosity toward him.”
Stellato said once the screenplay is finished, he intends to try to sell it to a movie producer.
“I definitely think it will get picked up,” said Stellato. “Peabody [Mass.] Access television filmed a 12-minute documentary about it and it won an award.
“It’s so much more than just a high school football story. It’s about human triumph. It’s a feel-good story that would resonate with all walks of life and all ages,” said Stellato.
Stellato said several players overcame personal tragedies to have productive seasons and help the undefeated team reach the final, where it suffered its first lost at the hands of Whitman-Hanson Regional High School 13-0.
Stellato began writing the book in 2009 and it took him over five years to complete it. He said he compiled over 1,000 hours of interviews.
It is on display at the New England Patriots’ Hall of Fame.
Former NFL and CFL quarterback Doug Flutie wrote the foreword for the book and it was endorsed by the likes of former NFL coach and current NFL TV analyst Mike Ditka, former NFL tight end Mark Bavaro, 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey star Mike Eruzione and former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield.