Pleasant Valley senior running back Fela Olaniyan had a monster game in a 26-14 win against Eastern Pennsylvania Conference rival Pocono Mountain West last Friday night.

Olaniyan carried the ball 37 times for 186 yards and scored three rushing touchdowns, earning him the Times News Football Player of the Week award.

“It’s pretty cool to receive recognition for that,” Olaniyan said. “In the game against West, that was us coming together and getting something done. Running the offense and everything that we practice and study culminates into one moment.”

Olaniyan’s varsity football career began in his sophomore year in 2020 when he was a defensive starter for the Bears.

In his junior year, he split carries with fullback John Brennan and fellow running back Jarod Moore.

Pleasant Valley head coach Blaec Saeger knew 2022 was going to be Olaniyan’s year.

“We knew we had something special in Fela as a sophomore,” Saeger said. “We knew his time would come offensively. We knew this year it was going to be his show, and I was excited to see what he could do.

“Everything he’s doing is what I expected.”

This year has been Olaniyan’s show after having to fill the gaps left by graduated players. The running game is still strong at PV, and Olaniyan has been mainly responsible for that.

Olaniyan learned from key players on previous Bears teams, and hoped that education would prove beneficial in this, his senior year.

Pleasant Valley began the season 5-0 before suffering a three-game skid against Lehigh Valley powerhouses.

However, the Bears made it back into the winning column thanks to Olaniyan’s masterful performance against the Panthers.

“You just lean on the guys beside you, that’s one of the big things I learned especially after losing the seniors from last year - so many key players that you look up to and they’re a safety net,” Olaniyan said. “You do something wrong, they’ll be able to catch you.

“Now you’re the safety net for the younger players. What I’ve learned is to set that example.”

Olaniyan has tried to be a mentor to the younger players on the Bears team, who are predominately a running team. A lot of the weight falls on Olaniyan to carry the offense along with junior quarterback Valentíno Byers-Robinson.

“You have some guys in my position making the same mistakes that I was making sophomore year,” Olaniyan said. “I point them out, and I know how to fix them now. And that’s exactly how it is for the other positions.

“We’re able to teach now after we’ve made those mistakes, and we could correct (them) now.”

Saeger also pointed out Olaniyan’s selflessness and putting all his focus on the team.

“He is a rock-solid kid,” said Saeger. “No one will ever say anything bad about Fela. He’s a straight-A student, the most polite, high-character kid in the world. He’s the toughest kid I’ve coached in a long time. He is so selfless, none of this fazes him.

“It’s not about him, it’s about us. You don’t get to coach too many like him. I’ve been doing it for 20 years, and I haven’t met too many Felas in my life.”