Did William Heikkinen burst on the scene when he began playing football at Andover High School? The answer is no. It took him a little while to find his footing. But by the time he graduated, Heikkinen was being hailed as a star player by both his teammates and coaches.
The Andover Golden Warriors benefitted greatly by having their 6 foot 1 inch 195-pound wide receiver, especially during the 2013 season when he seemed to be quarterback, CJ Scarpa’s, main focus. Heikkinen was a senior that year and was already a two-time Merrimack Valley Conference All-Star. He made some dramatic catches and interceptions that made the local paper’s sports section and will be forever remembered by the team. His last season, Heikkinen caught 67 passes for 1,162 yards and nine touchdowns to add to the 7 interceptions from his cornerback position.
During his junior year, then teammate Andy Coke predicted that William Heikkinen was a player to watch. He knows how to use his size and speed to his advantage. Heikkinen made an unbelievable catch during a game against North Andover, and dominated a game against Haverhill. These two incidents in particular are what made people stop and look up, realizing what Andy Coke said about Heikkinen was true. Heikkinen ended his high school football career amassing 126 catches and 1,960 receiving yards (both school records) and 22 touchdowns.
In January 2013, William Heikkinen committed to Brown University. His coach, EJ Perry thinks William chose Brown for several reasons – the school has an excellent reputation for football, high academic standards, and the Andover-Brown connection that has sent many high school football players to Brown over the years including Bobby, Buddy, Mark, and Paul Farnham, James Perry (EJ’s brother), Bill O’Brien, Brendan and Neil Finneran, and most recently, Andy Coke.