Athletes of the Week: Hunt & Koperniak

Allie Hunt
Pittsfield

The hardest thing about naming Allie Hunt to this honor was finding a photo of her in action. Seems like whenever we've covered the PIttsfield girls soccer team this fall, the Generals' defense has been pretty effective keeping the ball out of her 18.

But when the opponents have broken through, the junior keeper has been up to the task.

Hunt and PIttsfield are 12-2-2 going into Thursday's rematch with Wahconah, a team Pittsfield beat, 2-0, earlier this year. Hunt has anchored a defense that has posted five shutouts, including Pittsfield’s most recent game, a 5-0 win at Lenox.

Matt Koperniak
Hoosac Valley

The junior quarterback may not be the most talked about member of the Hoosac Valley backfield; that honor deservedly goes to senior running back Tyler Mach. But on Friday night in Pittsfield, Koperniak was Mr. Clutch for the Hurricanes.

In a showdown of one-loss teams with their eye on the top spot in Division 5 in Western Mass, Koperniak scored the last 14 points of a 33-27 overtime win for the 'Canes.

First, he tied the game late in the fourth quarter with a 33-yard run. Then he scored the two-point conversion that forced overtime. Then he scored the only points in that overtime, a 1-yard plunge to give Hoosac a 6-1 record going into Saturday's rivalry game against Drury.

iBerkshires Sports and Capital Region Honda Dealers, including Bedard Honda in Cheshire, will be spotlighting two Berkshire County high school athletes each week, a boy and a girl, who best excelled in their sport or boosted their teams' efforts.