Central Catholic senior quarterback Caden Smith has been selected as the Valley Sports Daily Male Player of the Week, presented by MTM Insurance, for the week of Sept. 27-Oct. 3.
The Bentley University commit played a major role in Central’s wild 52-51 win over Xaverian last Friday night. He completed 16-of-22 passes for 237 yards and five passing touchdowns, and added 145 yards rushing and a TD in what may go down as the game of the year.
“Caden is a leader in every sense of the word — an absolute coach’s dream,” said Central head coach John Dubzinski. “Nobody works harder than him on and off the field. You don’t see many QBs who throw and run like him. He is as elusive as he is tough. He took some shots in the open field on Friday and bounced off guys for more yards. His performance on the last game-winning drive was as clutch of a performance that I have ever seen. He didn’t flinch one bit. We are blessed to have him under center for us.”
The Raiders are currently 2-2 on the season.
Said Smith, “I am humbled and honored to be chosen for this award. There are a lot of great players in Massachusetts and in the Merrimack Valley. This wouldn’t be possible without my brothers on the field and my family supporting me each day. I also want to recognize coach Nick Boes, because as my quarterback coach, he is always pushing me and forcing me to better myself every day.”
The Player of the Week, presented by MTM Insurance, is selected by the Valley Sports Daily staff. One male and one female student-athlete will be selected as Players of the Week throughout the year. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at 8 p.m. There may be a poll posted on Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selections but do not strictly dictate the decisions.
