INDIANAPOLIS – With league play opened up, Hillsdale, Findlay and Ohio Dominican were represented for Great Midwest Athletic Conference Week 4 weekly honors as announced on Monday morning.
The Great Midwest had another two-win week with seven of the eight teams competing. Findlay routed Tuskegee with a 61-0 final, the highest point total put up in a single game in conference history.
The Oilers improved to 3-1 with their second blowout win in a row after exploding for 55 points vs. William Jewell in Week 3.
Ohio Dominican defended home territory in Columbus on Saturday night with a shutout pitched against Lake Erie in the season’s first conference matchup. Week 3 Offensive Player of the Week Grant Russell racked up close to 300 yards through the air with four scoring strikes to his receiving corps.
Hillsdale’s upset bid on the road at #14 Indianapolis went down to the wire as the Greyhounds ultimately prevailed with an interception to thwart the Chargers’ final drive. Chance Stewart and Trey Brock linked up for some monster numbers, including single-game conference records for passing yards, receiving yards and receptions.
Stewart had tied the game up at 38-38 on a one-yard plunge to start the fourth quarter.
With a similar ending, Alderson Broaddus nearly came back in the fourth quarter in the I-79 Barrel Classic against Glenville State as both teams combined for almost 100 points in a high-scoring affair.
Walsh’s Kalvin Gordon continued to display big-play ability with a 65-yard dash against Central Connecticut State and over 100 yards on the ground with just 11 carries, but after scoring 31 against Jacksonville last week, the Cavaliers’ offense was stymied out east.
Malone’s Ashton Dulin shattered the single-game receiving yards record against Missouri S&T before Hillsdale’s Brock upstaged him later in the day. The track star had over 200 yards on eight receptions, including an 85-yard catch-and-score. It’s not often that two receivers on a given Saturday can blow past Keelan Cole’s previous single-game highs.
Great Midwest Offensive Player of the Week
Trey Brock
Hillsdale
Wide Receiver
Jr. – Missouri City, TX (Ridge Point HS)
Brock, already a preseason All-American, put himself in elite company with the highest receiving yard total across Division II this season on a big stage. Against No. 14 UIndy, he came up with 12 catches for 302 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Brock’s 82-yard reception before halftime ranks as one of the longest plays in conference history. He also hauled in a 60-yard scoring strike from his quarterback Chance Stewart in the second quarter.
In 2016, Brock was one of the brightest stars in the GLIAC with first-team all-conference accolades, all-region status and All-American plaudits. This year, the junior wideout has 30 receptions and 522 yards in four games. His 130.5 yards per game ranks second in the league and his 7.5 receptions per contest currently ranks third.
The previous single-game receiving-yard total in Division II was Sebastian Lucas of Merrimack with 269 yards.
Great Midwest Defensive Player of the Week
Johnny Hopkins
Findlay
Defensive Line
Sr. – Radcliff, KY (North Hardin HS)
The Oilers absolutely dismantled a team that was ranked in the preseason D2Football.com Poll and was ranked at No. 22 in the Week 2 AFCA Top-25 Coaches Poll. Leading the defensive charge was Hopkins, the Great Midwest’s leading sack artist so far in 2017.
Hopkins collected six tackles and was responsible for three stops behind the line of scrimmage. He sacked the quarterback twice, the fourth time a player has done so in the league this year.
Findlay clamped down defensively to yield only 169 yards of total offense to the Golden Tigers, including 40 on the ground. UF forced two turnovers, including a runback for a touchdown on an interception in the fourth quarter.
Hopkins now has 20 tackles and 3.5 sacks in four games this season.
Great Midwest Special Teams Player of the Week
Logen Neidhardt
Ohio Dominican
Punter
Fr. – Hicksville, OH (Hicksville HS)
When given the opportunity on Saturday, Neidhardt made life difficult for Lake Erie inside its own 20 on two of his three punts. The rookie has made a big impact on field position for the Panthers in four games this year, averaging almost 42 yards per punt.
During ODU’s opening drive against the Storm on Saturday, Neidhardt boomed a 45-yard kick and pinned LEC at the 1-yard line, where the Panthers’ defense swarmed for a safety to open the game’s scoring.
The tackle for a loss in the end zone by Aarin Smoot-Baker was the first safety recorded in Great Midwest history.
Neidhardt now has six punts inside the 20-yard line on the season and his long of 54 yards came in Week 3 against Penn.