Each week the National Football Foundation – Lehigh Valley Chapter selects a high school football player of the week from its 33 local high schools.

In the past three weeks, a player from the Times News area has won the award. The trio includes Pleasant Valley’s Robert Papaleo, Palmerton’s Matt Machalik, and Northwestern’s Justin Holmes.

Three weeks ago, Papaleo rushed for 188 yards on 25 carries and scored two touchdowns during a 42-8 victory over rival Pocono Mountain East. He also was 4-7 passing for 101 yards and two scores. On defense, the senior had two solo tackles and five assists.

A couple weeks ago, Machalik led the Blue Bombers to a 51-7 victory over Pine Grove. Machalik rushed 15 times for 84 yards and scored four touchdowns. He was 5-for-7 passing for 80 yards and a touchdown and converted a 2-point conversion twice in the game. The sophomore also returned an interception for 100 yards and had five tackles. He accounted for 34 points in the game.

Last week, Holmes carried the ball 29 times for 166 yards, and scored two touchdowns. He was also 6-for-12 passing for 66 yards. He had a strip sack on fourth down with four minutes to play in order to preserve a 22-14 win over Pottsville.