KFBCA Top 11: Cooper Hajek

The Kansas Football Coaches Association picked their All-State teams on December 4th and 5th, including the All-Class Top 11. Kansas Pregame is providing capsules for each of the Top 11 selections. Check out Nemaha Central running back and linebacker Cooper Hajek's capsule below, the third of the KFBCA Top 11 capsules for 2022.

Cooper Hajek, RB/LB, 6-2, 230, Nemaha Central

Nemaha Central senior Cooper Hajek's high school football career came full circle this November as he led the program to its second state title in school history after being a member of the first as a freshman in 2019 under then head coach Warren Seitz.

Seitz moved on in 2021 to take a coaching position in Missouri, but former Centralia standout and KU football player Michael Glatczak took over the program and seamlessly continued the Thunder’s winning ways.

According to Glatczak, that 2019 experience paid dividends for this year’s seniors.

“Cooper played a few snaps in the state game in 2019 as did a few others in this class,” Glatczak said. “I believe that experience three years ago really helped these seniors out as they played with poise the entire game.”

Poise was something Hajek and company showed all season as the Thunder tore through their regular season schedule and into the playoffs, posting a 13-0 record. Hajek’s numbers were particularly impressive, especially given that he played limited quarters in seven out of 13 games with a thumb injury.

Defensively Hajek was a force at linebacker, recording 80 total tackles, 10 tackles-for-loss, two sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and an interception while leading a unit that held all but three teams to two touchdowns or less.

His work as a linebacker was Hajek’s calling card entering his senior season. As a junior he had split carries with another talented back in Sam McWilliams, now playing at Baker, but it wasn’t initially clear how carries would be distributed this year.

“Cooper is an all-around athlete,” Glatczak said. “Coming into the season, I didn't know how he was going to be offensively at running the ball. I knew he was going to be a great linebacker. When we called his number 25-35 times a game, he fed off the workload and kept pushing along for four quarters each game.” 

On the season, the 6-2, 230 pound back carried the ball 293 times for 2,094 yards and 42 TDs on 7.1 yards per carry. He also grabbed 15 receptions for 140 yards and another score.

Against Riley County, a team better than their 3-7 record shows that played one of the toughest schedules in the state, Hajek carried the ball 39 times for 322 yards and four total TDs, along with nine tackles and a sack on defense in a 34-12 win over the Falcons.

“Cooper was the most complete football player we saw all year,” Riley County coach Erik Willimon said. “Physical, tough and always going 100% on both sides of the ball.” 

Another big game for Hajek was in their title matchup with an undefeated Kingman squad that came into the game with plenty of momentum. The Eagles had held all but two teams to a TD or less on the season, with those other two teams – Cheney in the opener and Southeast of Saline in the semifinals – scoring just 14 and 22 points respectively against their stalwart defense.

Hajek sliced through the Kingman defense like a hot knife through butter rushing 39 times for 208 yards and four TDs in the championship game, scoring more points on the Eagles by himself than any entire offense had all year.

“Cooper played very well against Kingman,” Glatczak said. “We knew our big guys up front could control the line of scrimmage, and we knew we had a workhorse in the backfield. He got off to a great start and kept getting stronger and stronger as the game went on.” 

After winning two state titles, getting named an All-State linebacker three times, and All-State running back twice, Hajek unsurprisingly has the opportunity to play at the college level. His plan at this time is to likely go the junior college route with significan interest from Hutch, Coffeyville, Butler and others.

“As a coach, I will miss Cooper's readiness to compete every play,” Glatczak said. “The kid does not like losing and he plays with a chip on his shoulder.”