Alex Ecker isn’t interested in being the center of attention.

Ecker wants to talk about his teammates, champion his coaches, or have a conversation about the chemistry Pleasant Valley has built both on and off the field.

While the senior’s role was the focal point in much of last week’s 41-14 win over Dieruff, Ecker was eager to shine a light on what made the performance so special.

“I think my favorite part is that you can’t be selfish in the offense,” said Ecker. “It requires the most teamwork out of any offense I’ve probably seen since I’ve been playing football.”

Ecker was the engine for the Bears last Friday, carrying the ball 25 times for 302 yards and four touchdowns, a performance that helped him earn Times News Football Player of the Week honors.

“That is what our identity is,” Pleasant Valley head coach Blaec Saeger said of the team’s rushing attack. “Our kids know it, and we want to come out and establish the line of scrimmage and establish our will on them and keep the game at our tempo and our style, and we were able to do it Friday night, almost to perfection.”

Ecker and the Bears set the tone on the opening drive, as the senior had seven carries for 73 yards, capping it with a six-yard score.

By the time the first half ended, Ecker had 184 yards on 18 carries – including a 53-yard touchdown – to help Pleasant Valley build a 20-0 lead.

“I feel like I’ve improved a lot all around, not just offense and defense,” said Ecker. “None of it came naturally; I just worked and worked as hard as I possibly could over the summer. It being my senior year, possibly the last year I ever play football, it just drove me a lot to do things like speed camp, agility training, extra work just off the field, all the time. I was just working working working to get faster.”

“I dropped a lot more weight from last year, and a lot of our friends, we would take a Saturday when we’re not really practicing and just all come to the field and just workout on our own.”

Ecker, who is listed at 6-2, noted that he weighed around 230 pounds last season and is currently near 215.

In the second half against Dieruff, Ecker broke off touchdown runs of 43 and 51 yards.

The Bears rushed for 394 yards thanks in large part to the work of center Connor Smith, guards Thatcher Roberti and Christian Koehler, tackles Nick Marsh and AJ Hower, tight ends Angelo Syracuse, Aiden Lollis and Isaac Westerman, wings Blake Walters, Dakoda Lucas, Hunter Scheffner and Aaron Rehrig and wide receivers Aaron Haden, Andrew Fishon and Nick Iandoli, along with the reads of quarterback Valentino Byers-Robinson.

“Football is the ultimate team game, no matter what you’re running,” said Saeger. “It really does take everybody to do their job. But this is a very unselfish offense. And the kids have to realize that. A lot of times I give Val (Byers-Robinson) multiple plays that he can choose from based off what they’re (defense) in, so sometimes I don’t even know what play we’re running. I’m certainly not just highlighting one guy; it just so happened to be Alex’s night. Alex is a great athlete, and he’s going to have more nights like that.”

Ecker is the latest in a long line of talented backs to come through the program and thrive in Saeger’s offense.

“A lot of the identity of the program is based off who the fullback is,” said Saeger. “This year it’s Alex. He’s a big, strong, kid who is going to carry us. Last year, it was Fela (Olaniyan), and it was the same deal; he was the heart and soul for us. The year before that it was Jared Salazar, who was the heart and soul of who we were, now he coaches our middle school team. Having that kid, and we have it with Alex, is huge, because he’s going to get the most carries, he’s going to get hit all the time; he’s going to have glory, but he’s going to have bruises.

“And if we can have a kid - and I’ve been lucky here - but it’s one of the reasons I came here. I knew, well I didn’t know, but I suspected, I’d always have a kid I could count on in that fullback position, and so far I’ve had three very good ones.”

Those who have come before him have set a standard of winning football, one Ecker is happy to carry on, whatever his role may be.

“Those guys played hard, fast, everything about them was impressive,” said Ecker. “They had good size, and they were just great athletes all around. A lot of us younger guys - watching them since we were like sophomores - it just built a determination to want to play as good as them if not even better. It just drives us.”