The Kansas City Chiefs have announced Coach of the Week honors for the sixth week of the season. The awards go to Pembroke Hill Head Coach Sam Knopik and St. Thomas Aquinas Head Coach Randy Dreiling.
As a result of this honor, both schools will receive a $500 player health and safety grant from the Hunt Family Foundation. Each school will also receive a Gatorade Sideline Kit, including coolers, bottles and Gatorade products. Additionally, both coaches will be presented congratulatory footballs autographed by Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid and a certificate recognizing their selection.
Both coaches are now qualified for the Eric Driskell Coach of the Year Award, which will be voted on later this fall. The Eric Driskell Coach of the Year Award is selected by a panel comprised of the Missouri and Kansas Boards from the Greater Kansas City Football Coaches Association. One coach will be selected from the pool of weekly winners and will be honored at the 2019 Pro Bowl as the Eric Driskell Coach of the Year.
Pembroke Hill beat Summit Christian Academy 12-10 to move to 8-0 on the season. The Raiders are one win away from their third undefeated regular season in school history, the last coming in 2003. Chiefs Hall of Fame linebacker and Director of Special Events Gary Spani will present Head Coach Sam Knopik with the award at Pembroke Hill School at 3:45 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18.
"Thank you to the Chiefs for this recognition," Knopik said. "These kinds of affirmations are a reflection of the way an entire school organization prepares and supports its programs. Our football team specifically is thankful to our student-athletes' parents, facilities and school administrative staff, and coaches' loved ones. These awards reflect a much larger team working to pull the same rope."
Aquinas took down rival Bishop Miege 41-21 to finish its regular season at 7-0 grabbing the No. 1 seed in the Kansas 5A East Bracket. Spani will present the award to Head Coach Randy Dreiling at St. Thomas Aquinas High School today at 3:30 p.m.
"I'm honored to receive this total team and coaching staff Chiefs Coach of the Week Award," Dreiling said. "Any time someone gets this kind of recognition it means that a bunch of people and teammates are doing their job and doing it well."
In its 22nd season, the 2018 High School Coach of the Week Fueled by Gatorade is a joint initiative of the Kansas City Chiefs and the National Football League. This program is designed to recognize and reward Kansas City area high school coaches for superior performance on a weekly basis while honoring individuals who are shaping today's youth and tomorrow's leaders.
The Kansas City Chiefs partner with PrepsKC to select Coaches of the Week from Missouri and Kansas each week. PrepsKC is the only complete multimedia coverage of high school football in the Kansas City Metro. This new way to look at high school football combines a dynamic web site, weekly magazine and comprehensive weekly radio show. More information about PrepsKC, including scores, schedules and coverage can be found at www.prepskc.com.
