Here’s who fans picked as the Stanislaus District’s football Player of the Week

Downey High coach Jeremy Plaa knew that to stop Tracy High’s triple option offense, the Knights’ defense would need to step up.

The team responded, virtually shutting down the Bulldogs’ offensive attack and a big part of the exceptional defensive effort was linebacker Ethen Rowland.

The senior was all over the field, recording 18 tackles, one tackle for loss, one interception, one fumble recovery and caused two fumbles in the big win to help the Knights stay undefeated. The fans noticed, voting him The Bee’s Week 5 Player of the Week.

Rowland earned 37% of the more than 23,000 votes, finishing ahead of running backs Sean Hansen, Jr. of Patterson and Hughson’s Liam Bridgford, who came in second and third place, respectively.

Quinton Hamilton

The Modesto Bee

Quinton Hamilton covers high school sports for The Modesto Bee. He is a Southern California native and received his bachelor’s degree from Pacific Union College and a master’s in journalism from Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. Quinton has worked at the Record-Journal in Meriden and helped on projects at Hearst Connecticut.