INDIANAPOLIS – Great Midwest Athletic Conference Football Players of the Week were represented by Ohio Dominican, Findlay and Malone, for the eighth week of the regular season as announced on Monday morning.
 
Four league contests with all eight teams playing were completed as the Great Midwest standings continue to take shape with just three games remaining in the regular season.
 
On Friday under the lights, Findlay (7-1, 4-0 G-MAC) won its sixth straight while going on cruise control against Kentucky Wesleyan in a 68-14 final. The Oilers received votes in the AFCA Coaches Poll last week and have positioned themselves to be in the NCAA Championship playoff conversation in Super Region I.
 
Findlay has now won six straight while routing conference opponents to the tune of a combined 209-33 score. UF ranks first in the league in all sorts of team categories: scoring offense, scoring defense, total offense, total defense, total interceptions and sacks, along with others.
 
Matching the Oilers stride for stride is Ohio Dominican (4-3, 4-0 G-MAC) and the Panthers are tied for first with a looming matchup against Findlay on Nov. 11 that could decide the Great Midwest champion.
 
ODU won by 40 on the road at Alderson Broaddus (2-6, 1-3 G-MAC). Panthers’ wideouts Cory Contini and David Turner ran wild in the Battlers’ secondary while combining for 260 yards receiving.
 
Hillsdale (4-4, 2-2 G-MAC) pitched a 38-0 shutout against Walsh (2-6, 2-2 G-MAC) as the Cavaliers made their bid for three consecutive victories. HC wide receiver Trey Brock matched the single-season conference receptions record held by Jacksonville Jaguars’ pro and former Kentucky Wesleyan product Keelan Cole.
 
In the final game of the Saturday slate, Malone (1-6, 1-3 G-MAC) broke through in the winning column against Lake Erie (1-6, 1-3 G-MAC). The Pioneers ended a tough spell that included four defeats by seven points or fewer.
 
Great Midwest Offensive Player of the Week
EJ Colson
Ohio Dominican
Running Back
RS Sophomore
Middletown, OH (Middletown HS)
 
Tipping the scales at 5-8, 190, Colson has proven to be one of the biggest breakaway threats on the gridiron in his first year with the Great Midwest. Already in possession of the conference’s longest run from scrimmage (85 vs. Malone), the speedster added another accomplishment that no one has been able to do just yet.
 
Colson ran for four rushing touchdowns against defending conference champion Alderson Broaddus, breaking the record of three rushing scores done seven different times by five players.
 
Colson gained 153 yards on the ground with 17 attempts for a healthy average of nine yards per carry. He has now topped the century mark in rushing yards twice this season (150 vs. Malone).
 
Heading into Week 9, Colson ranks fifth in the league with 65.4 yards of rushing per game. He is averaging 6.9 yards per carry, third in the league, and has totaled six touchdowns.
 
Great Midwest Defensive Player of the Week
Aaron Ivory
Findlay
Defensive Back
Senior
Cleveland, OH (Glenville HS)
 
Ivory has secured his spot in conference history with another single-season feat that likely won’t be touched for some time.
 
For the third time this season, Ivory returned an interception for a touchdown, sprinting 64 yards for a pick six against Week 7 Great Midwest Offensive Player of the Week Mike McGee in Findlay’s win vs. Kentucky Wesleyan.
 
Ivory also had four tackles while making his third interception of the season. He also returned pick sixes to the house against Tuskegee in Week 3 and Walsh in Week 4.
 
Teams should be shying away from throwing towards his side of the field, ‘Ivory Island’, and the Oilers’ secondary has recorded a league-leading 12 interceptions in the season to date.

Ivory's three interceptions have resulted in a total of 134 yards on his returns.
 
Great Midwest Special Teams Player of the Week
Jordan Johnson
Malone
Defensive Back
Senior
Norwalk, OH (Norwalk HS)
 
Johnson is a repeat winner with his impact in the return game during the Pioneers’ first win of the year against Lake Erie. He had his second punt return for a touchdown during the season with an 88-yard score.
 
He also had a 54-yard kickoff return vs. the Storm and totaled a combined 159 yards on both punts and kickoffs.
 
Johnson previously had a 70-yard punt return for a TD against Taylor in Week 1. Coming into this season, a Great Midwest player had also not returned a punt for a touchdown in a game.