Below is from the Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears announced today that head coach Corey Olson of Palatine High School in Palatine has been named the Chicago Bears High School “Coach of the Week” for Week 4 and running back Marco Maldonado of Loyola Academy in Wilmette was named the Chicago Bears “High School All-Star.” The “Coach of the Week” and “High School All-Stars” programs are brought to you by Athletico Physical Therapy. The Bears will make a $2,000 donation to the Palatine HS football program and direct a $500 donation to the youth football program of Maldonado’s choice.
About “Coach of the Week” & “High School All-Star”
The Chicago Bears “Coach of the Week” program was launched in 1996 and “High School All-Star” program in 2011. The “Coach of the Week” program honors outstanding Illinois high school coaches who develop players’ football skills and knowledge, character, leadership, discipline and teamwork abilities. The nomination criteria for the “High School All-Star” program includes on-field performance, community involvement and good sportsmanship. Deserving high school coaches and players are nominated by a panel of local prep authorities and the winning player is selected each week from August 27-October 23. Since the program’s inception, the Bears have donated more than $326,500 to Illinois high schools in support of their football programs. For more information, please visit chicagobears.com/community.
Corey Olson
Olson’s Pirates (2-2) overcame a 17-13 deficit with 12 minutes left in the game to win 20-19 vs. Maine South (3-1) last week, despite playing without one of their top receivers who missed the game due to an injury; Maine South was ranked No. 1 in the AP Class 8A poll at the time. Palatine started the season 0-2 before posting back-to-back victories. Olson has been head coach since 2017 and is also a special education teacher at Palatine; he played college football at Western Illinois University. They will face off at Schaumburg (2-2) on Friday.
Marco Maldonado
The senior running back led the Ramblers (4-0) to a 46-43 victory at Brother Rice (3-1), who was ranked No. 3 in the AP Class 7A poll at the time. Maldonado registered 38 carries and four touchdowns and set a school record with 335 yards before breaking his collarbone in one of the final plays of the game; he had collected 598 yards, 12 rushing touchdowns, two receiving touchdowns and two 2-point conversions for 88 points in four games this season. Loyola is now ranked No. 1 in the AP Class 8A poll and will play at Fenwick (3-1) on Friday.
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2021 Chicago Bears Coach of the Week Winners
Week 3 – Dave Mills, Wauconda HS
Week 2 – Dennis Piron, Batavia HS
Week 1 – Peter Panagakis, Wheeling HS
2021 Chicago Bears High School All-Star
Week 3 – Hector Ramirez, Chicago Academy HS
Week 2 – Kaiden Miller, Grayslake Central HS
Week 1 – Hank Beatty, Rochester HS
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