The Kansas City Chiefs have announced their Coach of the Week honors for the eighth week of the season. The awards go to Lafayette County head football coach Steve Cook (Missouri) and Lawrence Free State head football coach Kevin Stewart (Kansas).
As a result of this honor, both schools will receive a $500 grant from the Hunt Family Foundation. 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.
Lafayette County defeated Carrollton 79-12 to finish the regular season 9-0. It was the sixth time the Huskers have scored more than 50 points this season and the win earned Lafayette County a No. 1 seed in the district playoffs. Cook said this award goes to everyone involved with Lafayette County football.
"What a great honor for our program! Our players, coaching staff, and community are all very invested in this special group of young men and I am very proud to be their coach. This is a team award in which the players have invested so much and have been so responsive to the outstanding group of coaches and staff leading them," Cook said. "This team is one that loves being around one another, enjoys their coaching staff, and works very hard each and every day to execute the plan for the day and it really shows through on Friday nights. Thank you to the Kansas City Chiefs for recognition of this team award!"
Lawrence Free State earned a 31-19 win over previously undefeated Olathe North. It was the fourth straight win for the Firebirds as they finished the regular season 5-3. Stewart said the entire team had put in the work to receive this honor.
"I'd like to thank all of our assistant coaches and all of our players for their hard work this season," Stewart said. "Their commitment and effort to persevering through a tough start made these last four weeks possible. We started out with 18 new starters on offense and defense this season and needed a lot of experience and improvement. Our guys have continued to believe in themselves and never gave up this year and they are playing their best football right now."
In its 26th season, the 2022 High School Coach of the Week 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. For the last 13 years it has combined 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.
