The 49ers High School Player of the Week Award for week 5 goes to Richard Fedelin of Piedmont Hills in San Jose, CA. Fedelin had a heavy hand in leading his team to the 49-33 victory over Willow Glen Friday night, and propelling his team to 4-0 on the season.
Fedelin plays both ways, and is a force on both sides of the ball. He is an established threat offensively and an opportunistic play maker on defense.
As a receiver, he is one of QB Marcus Romero's favorite targets. In Friday night's game against Willow Glen, Romero found Fedelin 15 times, accounting for 235 yards.
Defensively, he flies around and is somehow always able to find the ball and make a play. Wherever the ball is, #2 is right in the mix. The speedy linebacker tallied 13 tackles on the night in Friday night's showdown. More impressively, Fedelin had 2 huge, game changing interception returns for touchdowns.
"It was one of those games… He was on fire. He quite frankly may have had one of the greatest all-around games I have ever had a kid have," said Piedmont Hills Head Coach Matt Kiesle.
Fedeline's first pick 6 came early in the game when the score was tied at 7.
"We were struggling a bit," admitted Coach Kiesle. "It definitely gave us the boost we needed."
The second pick 6 ultimately put the game away for Piedmont Hills and was the icing on the cake. The junior all-star capped off his night intercepting the pass, and taking it to the house, yet again, for 99-yards.
"We had a 14-point lead at that point, but we couldn't stop them. That play was able to put the game out of reach for us," said Kiesle.
"Both of those plays were just huge momentum swings for us."
Richard Fedelin was selected as a team captain for the Piedmont Hills Pirates as a junior for the 2015 season, and he possesses all the leadership qualities a coach desires from a team leader.
"He never misses anything. He is one of those guys that's always there putting in work. He was a guy that we were counting on to be special this year, and he's really showed up. It is a testament to his hard work. He has incredible work ethic," said Coach Kiesle.
He is a great student with a 3.0 GPA and does very well in the classroom.
"He's an all-around good kid," said Coach Kiesle who could not speak highly enough about Rich Fedelin and the person he is. "He is a real pleasure to coach."
Piedmont Hills will continue to defend their undefeated season when they travel to Pioneer Friday.
