Playoff Round 1 Players of the Week
By Matt Diano Ethan Ortiz (Sr.); RB/LB – Cardinal Spellman Pilots When it comes to the 6’0, 177-pound, ironman out of Mount Vernon, the Pilots’ coaching staff must wish that every game could be a playoff contest, because that is when #7 in Scarlet & White truly is at his best. A Player of the Week selection for the second straight year following a semifinal victory (40 yards + 1 TD rushing; 20 tackles + a safety in a 23-0 win over St. Dominick’s in 2018), Ortiz also earned Defensive Most Valuable Player honors in last season’s Single-A title contest (18 stops in a 19-12 win over Kennedy Catholic). This past Saturday, in Spellman’s hard fought 22-20 win over Nazareth Regional, he authored yet another chapter in his chronicles of postseason excellence, rushing for 152 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, while also tallying five total tackles (3 solo,