INDIANAPOLIS – Malone, Tiffin and Kentucky Wesleyan, were represented for Great Midwest Athletic Conference Football Players of the Week awards as announced on Monday morning by the league.
Week 8 brought more standout performances to the field on both sides of the ball around the Great Midwest as the championship contenders begin to get a little more separation.
No. 17 Tiffin won a thriller over No. 25 Ohio Dominican (6-2, 4-2 G-MAC) in a top-25 showdown. The Dragons kept their unbeaten dream season alive to move to 8-0 (5-0 G-MAC) and will surely move up again in this week’s new national poll.
A blocked extra point was the difference between the reigning conference champ Panthers and the shiny new first-year toy that the Dragons have become.
Tiffin appears to be on a collision course vs. Hillsdale on Nov. 3 – the same date as the conference cross country meet and men’s/women’s soccer tourney finals – to decide this year’s Great Midwest champ.
Hillsdale (7-1, 6-0 G-MAC) won its sixth straight on the road vs. Walsh (2-5, 2-3 G-MAC) as senior QB Chance Stewart continued to wage his campaign for potential player of the year honors. He threw for two more touchdowns against a very stingy Cavaliers defense that was close to tops in the conference in league play.
It’s not too early to think about the playoffs and it will be interesting to see where the regional advisory committee slots Great Midwest teams among the PSAC, NE-10 and MEC.
As fans could foresee, the offensive fireworks were out in full force as Findlay and Alderson Broaddus combined for 88 points in an entertaining matchup in Philippi.
After the Oilers put up 70 on the Battlers last year, AB was able to keep pace stride-for-stride before a Grant Loveridge game-winning field goal with under 90 seconds went through the uprights.
Kentucky Wesleyan kept Lake Erie still in search of its first win of the year by putting almost 50 points on the Storm at home. The Panthers churned out 250 yards of rushing as a unit and scored six TD’s on the ground.
Malone secured a Super Region 1 win against PSAC opponent Millersville. The Pioneers engaged the Marauders in a shootout and a combination of big plays and clutch drives in the red zone put MU over the top.
The single-game record for sacks was tied from KWC’s Dalan Cofer and two different running backs had over 150 yards on the ground with three TD’s each (UF – Brian Benson, KWC – Corey Johnson Jr). Autumn has set in with only three weeks to go in the regular season, the third year of conference history.
Offensive Player of the Week
Deandre Clayton
Malone
Quarterback
RS Sophomore
Lorton, VA (South County HS/Clarion HS)
With over 400 yards of total offense and four touchdowns, Clayton was one-man wrecking crew against the Marauders of Millersville on Saturday.
He hurt Millersville with his strong arm and his legs while tossing for 260 yards and gaining 144 on the ground to break his own single-game conference record for net rush yards by a quarterback.
Clayton threw for two touchdowns in the second quarter, including a 56-yard strike to Ashton Dulin, and capped a nine-play drive with a six-yard scoring connection to Dulin.
Malone needed both of Clayton’s rushing scores in the second half as he plowed in from 1 yard out and had a game-winning 12-yard dash with 3:23 left in the fourth quarter.
His 404 yards of total offense was the sixth most in Great Midwest history. The record is 511 by Hillsdale’s Chance Stewart set last year against UIndy.
He has now completed over 55 percent of his pass attempts for over 1,500 yards with nine total touchdowns. His 402 rushing yards is also top-10 in the league. Clayton is now a two-time recipient of conference offensive weekly honors for this season.
Defensive Player of the Week
Jacob Williams
Tiffin
Defensive Back
Sophomore
Fairlawn, OH (Copley HS)
Williams was opportunistic in key moments as the 17th-ranked Dragons held off the defending conference champ Panthers from Ohio Dominican.
Williams recorded 10 tackles, including one for a loss, while breaking up three pass attempts and blocked a PAT try in the closing moments.
Williams blocked a would-be game tying extra point kick with 3:38 on the block to preserve a one-point Tiffin lead that would turn out to be the final score.
The sophomore DB also broke up a 4th and 3 on a pass intended for WR Cory Contini on ODU’s last drive of the game.
Special Teams Player of the Week
Taylor Soper
Kentucky Wesleyan
Punter
Sophomore
Fishers, IN (Fishers HS)
Soper boomed five punts for an average of 46.6 yards per kick, putting him in Logen Neidhardt territory (Ohio Dominican Special Teams Player of the Year) for one of the best single games in conference history.
He had a long of 62 against Lake Erie and two of his kicks traveled 50 yards or further. He placed two attempts inside the Storm’s 20-yard line.
Through seven games, Soper is third in the conference in punting with an average of 38.8 yards per boot. He is also second in total number of punts with 46.
Soper is also a student-athlete on the Kentucky Wesleyan baseball team listed as a left-handed pitcher.