Northrop football's come-from-behind victory over Homestead on August 21 received statewide attention this week, as the Bruins' head coach Jason Doerffler was named Colts/NFL Coach of the Week.
Northrop rallied from a 15-point deficit in the second half to edge the Spartans, 25-21, in the season opener. It marks the first time Northrop has ever beaten Homestead in the 10-game regular season and postseason series between the two Summit Athletic Conference foes. Additionally, Homestead's 13-game regular season winning streak was snapped.
"It's a great honor. It's really a program honor, a team honor," Doerffler tells ParkviewSportsMedicine.com. "The oclts doa great jobs of promoting indiana high school football and our athletes. There feels to be a connection between our NFL team and our high school teams."
Demarius Cowen rushed for 281 yards and 4 touchdowns for the Bruins. On defense, Jose Reducindo tallied 4 tackles (3 for loss) and one sack.
"They're used to winning football games," Doerffler says of the seniors on the team. "They won when they were in 8th grade at Shawnee in the city championship. Then, won a lot of games as a freshman team and a JV team. So, they expect to win."
The Colts/NFL Coach of the Week award recognizes head coaches running programs regardless of school zise, conference or classification. Coaches are evaluated on various criteria, including: impact on team, school and community and the team's on-field performance.
Doerffler will receive a plaque commemorating the honor, the NFL Foundation will donate $1,000 to Northrop High School, and Anthem will donate $1,000 to Northrop and more than 2,000 meals will be donated to a local food bank in his honor.
Northrop hopes to keep their momentum in Week 2, when the Bruins hosts South Side.
Northrop is one of 26 high schools that partner with Parkview Sports Medicine for athletic training, nutrition, sports performance, athletic rehab and other sports medicine services for Bruin student-athletes. Learn more at www.parkviewsportsmedicine.com.