The San Francisco 49ers Charlie Wedemeyer Memorial Coach of the Week award for week five goes to Trevor Pruitt from Los Altos High School in Los Altos, CA.
The Los Altos Eagles continue to soar, as they remain unbeaten and move to 5-0 on the season and more importantly, the Eagles are now officially 1-0 in league play. Head coach Trevor Pruitt's Eagles traveled to Lynbrook High School for their league opener Friday night, and brought back another 'W' to add to their perfect record, pitching a 17-0 shutout against the Vikings.
Los Altos stayed the course and followed the game plan that has proven successful thus far, playing stout, dominant defense and pounding the rock offensively. The Eagles are propelled by the play of their forceful defense, as proven in each of their wins this season. Los Altos held Lynbrook to less than 100 yards of total offense in Friday night's outing. This is not unusual for the 2016 Eagles though, as they have not given up more than twenty points in any game thus far.
"Our defense has been phenomenal. Our defensive line, our linebacker core, our safeties… their level of play than makes it even easier on our DBs when we know they are going to pass… I think we are really feeling the force of our defensive line," praised Los Altos Head Coach Pruitt.
The ground and pound offense continued steam rolling ahead week five as well, as both the Eagles touchdowns came on the ground. The backfield tandem of junior Erik Skov and senior Max Higareda shared the majority of the carries. Skov accounted for both of the Eagles touchdowns and racked up 154 yards on 18 carries. Higareda was productive as well, with nine carries for 82 yards. Their 'run-first' offense totaled 282 rushing yards on the night.
"We are a ground and pound team offensively, and just have an amazing defense. This is the best defense I've coached over my time here. We are really feeding off our defense this year," said Coach Pruitt.
"We want to keep running the ball effectively, playing great defense, keep our turnovers down, and keep stacking up wins. Anytime you can go 1-0 in the league is great and definitely helps you out when it comes to playoff time," said Coach. "It's one week at a time. We just want to go 1-0 each week."
It's a simple approach that has proven effective for the Eagles in the first half of the season, and their plan won't alter as they prepare for their next match-up against Homestead High School. The Eagles will have an extra week to prepare for the league favorite, as Homestead is picked to win the league by many. Both teams look to keep pace with the unbeaten, but one team's streak will have to end come October 8th.
"I'm really proud of the guys we have on our team. They are just good human beings and good young men with really bright futures. It makes it all that much easier when you appreciate the time you get to spend with them," said coach.
This is Coach Pruitt's fourth year as head coach at Los Altos High School. With this being his fourth season, coach came in with the current seniors on the team, all essentially incoming freshmen together.
"The senior class has been under my coaching for all four years. That definitely makes a difference. They know exactly what I expect. We've grown together over the course of their four years here," said Coach Pruitt.
The 5-0 Eagles head into their bye week, as they prepare to finish the season with five straight league games to round out their season.
As our Coach of the Week, Trevor Pruitt will receive a $1,000 grant for the Los Altos High School football program from the 49ers Foundation. As part of this award, he will also receive two tickets to a 49ers home game where he will be recognized on the field. The week prior to the game, Coach Pruitt will be invited to the visit the SAP Performance Facility to watch a closed practice where 49ers head coach Chip Kelly will officially present him with his award. Coach Pruitt will also be featured on Cal-Hi Sports during their programming this weekend.
Congratulations, Coach Pruitt!
