The San Francisco 49ers Charlie Wedemeyer Coach of the Week award for Week 7 goes to John Philipopoulos from Burlingame High School.
The Burlingame Panthers quickly realized they didn't like looking up at other teams in the Peninsula-Bay league standings, and after a loss the week before the Panthers knew what they needed to do to put themselves back atop the leader board. Last Friday they did just that with a big divisional win against the Aragon Dons, 28-7.
The Panthers found their offensive strength behind a run game that featured three different running backs. Seniors Ilan Lesov, Jordan Pessah and Daniel Cuddy all shared the work on the ground and combined for three rushing touchdowns, 291 yards and an average of almost nine yards per carry. Having all three running backs in the lineup proved to be a difference maker for Burlingame, and something that Philipopoulos had not experienced yet this season.
"This was the first entirely healthy game of the year for us," Philipopoulos said. "Until now we have always had one of the three running backs down (injured)."
With a six-team league, Philipopolous said "every game is so important," and "we knew we had a tough game ahead of us with Aragon."
As it is with most games, it was important for the offensive line to set the tempo and control the line of scrimmage from the first snap. Linemen Evan Bass, Benji Palu, Coby Kelly and the rest of the offensive line made sure that there was plenty of running room for whichever running back was carrying the ball.
Defensively, the Panthers shutout the Don's for most of the game behind a solid night from free safety Nik Gutierrez. It was only late in the fourth quarter that the Panthers allowed a score, but by then the win was all but sealed.
For Burlingame's outstanding team effort, the San Francisco 49ers have selected Coach John Philipopolous as the Charlie Wedemeyer High School Coach of the Week.
In addition to being named Coach of the Week, Coach Philipopolous and the Burlingame High School football program will receive $1,000 from the 49ers Foundation.
