Offensive Player of the Week
Malik Cooper – SJ Prep – QB – Junior
Since filling in for the injured Kyle McCord, an Ohio State commit, Cooper has mostly been asked to manage the offense. However, this week against a rugged Pittsburgh Central Catholic front seven the Hawks were going to need some production through the air. Boy, did Cooper deliver! The versatile and speedy Cooper accounted for 331 yards of total offense and three touchdowns. His passing was near flawless, as he connected on 22-of-25 attempts for 271 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, he toughed out 60 yards on 18 carries. Included in this was a 5-yard scoring run in overtime that paved the way to a Hawks’, 31-24, victory. Prior to this, his team trailed 24-17, with 2:45 left in the fourth quarter. This is when Cooper spearheaded a 12-play, 82-yard drive. On the drive he contributed rushes of 15 and 8 yards, while passing 5-for-5, for 56 yards. The last of these completions came on a 4th-and-10 from the 12-yard line, as he found a leaping Marvin Harrison Jr. in the back of the end zone with just 15 seconds remaining.
Defensive Players of the Week
Dom D’Alessio – Arch. Wood – DE – Senior
D’Alessio was a force throughout for the Vikings in their exhilarating, 24-21, lest-second win over Gateway. The high-motored defensive end was a fixture in the Gators’ backfield all game long. All total, he registered 4.5 sacks and another TFL in the game. He led the Vikings with a total of 10 stops, including 8 solo tackles. One of his tackles forced a fumble, while his six behind-the-line-of-scrimmage plays accounted for 24 yards in losses. D’Alessio now has 16 sacks on the season.
Special Teams Players of the Week
Robert Meyer – Archbishop Wood – K – Senior
Meyer propelled the Vikings to yet another state final appearance after he calmly nailed a 25-yard field goal with three seconds left Despite two timeouts prior to the try, Meyers remained composed and promptly split the uprights for the, 24-21, win. It was his first made field goal of the season and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Meyers also made all three of his PATs. earlier in the game.
