The Kansas City Chiefs have announced Coach of the Week honors for the first two weeks of the 2017 season. Week One awards go to Raytown's Logan Minnick and St. James Academy's Tom Radke. Week Two awards go to Park Hill's Josh Hood and St. Thomas Aquinas' Randy Dreiling.
As a result of this honor, all schools will receive a $500 player health and safety grant from the Hunt Family Foundation. Each school will receive a Gatorade Sideline Kit, including coolers, bottles and Gatorade products. Additionally, all coaches will be presented congratulatory footballs autographed by Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid and a certificate recognizing their selection. Radke and Dreiling are now both qualified for the Eric Driskell Kansas Coach of the Year Award, while Minnick and Hood are qualified for the Missouri Coach of the Year Award, both of which will be voted on later this fall.
In its 21st season, the 2017 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.
As of Sept. 5, Raytown was off to its first 3-0 start since 1991. Two weeks ago they beat Grain Valley 49- 14 after opening the season with wins over Truman and Liberty North.
Minnick said this award is an honor for the entire program.
"The Raytown Football Program is very honored to be recognized," the first-year head coach said. "I give all the credit to our players and assistant coaches. I ask for a huge time commitment from not only our coaches but players as well. It's been a very exciting three weeks for our program, and hopefully we can continue to build on this early success and momentum."
St. James opened its season with an impressive 45-21 win over two-time defending Class 5A champions Mill Valley.
"It is a great honor for our coaching staff to be named Chiefs Coach of the Week," Radke said. "It was a good win for our program and especially for our seniors. I told the reporters right after the game how excited I was about the win against Mill Valley for our whole St. James community. For the coaches, it got us to 1- 0, but for the fans it meant a lot more. We have a tremendous fan base, and this win is for them. I was proud of how our team came together this offseason, and it all came together on Friday night."
St. Thomas Aquinas is off to a 2-0 start after beating Blue Valley North 28-14 last week. The Saints are currently ranked No. 1 in Kansas Class 5A, and this week take on rival Bishop Miege.
"Anytime you win an award, it is a representation of the coaching staff, managers, support system and players commitment to excellence," Dreiling said. Park Hill stands at 4-0 on the season and this past week defeated Blue Springs 28-25. The win moved the Trojans into the No. 1 spot in Missouri Class 6 for the first time in school history. Hood said this is an honor for his entire staff not just himself.
