Brett Cooper earns Colts/NFL Coach of the Week honors after Ben Davis tops Indianapolis Cathedral 33-27

Ben Davis’ Brett Cooper has been named the 2026 Colts/NFL Coach of the Week for Week 1 after guiding the Giants in his debut as head coach. Cooper’s Ben Davis team opened the season by outlasting Indianapolis Cathedral 33-27, completing a notable cross-class matchup that drew attention because of the two schools’ different classifications within Indiana’s high school football landscape.

The game itself carried extra weight because it pitted Ben Davis, listed as Class 6A-No. 13, against Indianapolis Cathedral, listed as Class 5A-No. 2. In Indiana, those designations reflect enrollment-based divisions rather than separate football associations, but they still shape expectations, from opponent scouting to perceived roster depth and depth of game experience. A win like this tends to be remembered not just for the final margin, but for what it suggests about preparation and in-game adjustments.

According to the Indianapolis Colts, the Coach of the Week honor is presented by Q-Collar and sponsored in part by Certor Sports. The league-style recognition links professional football branding to high school coaching, and it typically highlights coaches who delivered impactful results in the first week of the schedule or in headline nonconference matchups.

For Cooper, the award comes on the same weekend as his first varsity game as the program’s head coach. The Colts’ announcement emphasized that the 33-27 win over a top-tier Cathedral squad was his first game running the sideline, an added storyline because coaching transitions often come with an adjustment period for systems, communication, and weekly routine.

Ben Davis’ Week 1 performance also provides a benchmark for what comes next in the program’s season. Cathedral’s standing in the Class 5A rankings indicates that this was not a routine opponent, and a close-but-decisive score implies that both teams had opportunities and momentum swings. How Ben Davis handles a fast ramp to physicality and pace early in the season could be a key factor as the schedule progresses.

Coach of the Week recognition does not change standings by itself, but it can set expectations for the weeks that follow. For high school programs, early-season wins against heavily regarded opponents can influence how other coaches plan, how players carry confidence, and how the team’s identity is defined before the postseason picture fully clarifies.

What to watch next is whether Ben Davis can maintain the level of performance that produced the 33-27 result and whether the Giants’ coaching staff can translate the game plan that worked against Cathedral into repeatable weekly execution. The next Coaches of the Week announcement will also indicate whether the Colts and NFL staff continue to prioritize cross-class marquee games when selecting recipients throughout the season.