INDIANAPOLIS – Only two more weeks remain in the regular season as Great Midwest Athletic Conference Football Players of the Week honors for three positions were announced on Monday morning.
The stage has been set for a compelling championship showdown between No. 17 Tiffin and No. 25 Hillsdale after both teams won their respective Week 8 matchups.
The Dragons won their ninth straight while pulling away late from a resilient effort by Lake Erie. Undefeated and regionally-ranked (No. 4) Tiffin controlled the game by just a two-point margin with plenty of time remaining in the fourth quarter before a pick six swung the pendulum of momentum.
The final score may not have indicated how close this one was as 8-0 went up against 0-8. The Dragons will look to continue their ascent up the AFCA Top-25 Poll after sitting at No. 17 for back-to-back weeks.
Hillsdale did its job by pitching a 34-0 shutout and the Chargers entered Week 9 nationally ranked (No. 25) and regionally ranked in Super Region 1 (No. 7). HC led Kentucky Wesleyan to less than 200 yards of total offense while the combo of QB Chance Stewart and WR Trey Brock locked twice for big scoring plays.
The Chargers will host Tiffin in the 2018 title clash on a busy Saturday around the Great Midwest at Frank “Muddy” Waters Stadium. Both teams will put their undefeated conference record on the line.
In other action, No. 8 regionally ranked Ohio Dominican beat its second Pennsylvania State Athletics Conference opponent of the season by thumping East Stroudsburg on the road. EJ Colson accounted for four touchdowns as he was a dual threat rushing and receiving out of the backfield.
The Panthers had also beaten NCAA-qualifying California (PA) back in Week 1 of the current season.
Malone and Alderson Broaddus combined for over 1,300 yards of total offense in a true shootout as the scoreboard read 60-55 when the clock expired. This contest featured an entertaining duel between the respective quarterbacks and both offenses seemingly scored at will.
Findlay won its third straight in a 24-16 defensive grind over Walsh in a matchup of the league’s top scoring offense vs. the best total defense. Brian Benson was big for his team like ODU’s Colson, running for over 200 yards and three TD’s in the Oilers victory.
Offensive Player of the Week
Joe Czelusniak
Alderson Broaddus
Quarterback
Junior
Staten Island, NY (St. Peter’s Boys HS)
Czelusniak had the upper hand in a duel that went down to the wire as he and Malone’s two-time player of the week Deandre Clayton put up gaudy numbers in the box score in Week 9.
In the Battlers’ 60-55 victory, easily the most points scored in league history between two teams, the junior was as good as it gets. Czelusniak completed 26 of his 34 passes for 385 yards and five touchdowns (with no interceptions).
His completion percentage of over 76 percent and passing yardage total ranks among one of the top-10 efforts in single-game Great Midwest history and he was just the fourth QB to throw for 5 TD’s in a game.
He also added 32 yards of rushing for what amounted to almost 400 yards of total offense.
Czelusniak threw three of his scoring passes to WR Zack Lake and two more to WR Maurice Thomas, a conference special teams player of the week this season.
He led AB on a game-winning drive trailing 55-53 in the fourth quarter. The series lasted 18 plays for 82 yards, chewed up almost six and a half minutes on the clock and ended with a 1-yard plunge by RB Jamil Collison-Cofie.
In eight games, Czelusniak has now completed over 60 percent of his pass attempts and thrown for almost 2,000 yards. He is tied for the league lead in passing TD’s with 19 along with Ohio Dominican’s Evan Ernst, Hillsdale’s Chance Stewart and Tiffin’s Nick Watson.
Defensive Player of the Week
Brian Hunter
Ohio Dominican
Defensive Lineman
Senior
Mayfield Heights, OH (Mayfield HS)
Hunter is one of a handful of interior linemen on the Panthers’ roster who can collapse the pocket, be devastating in the run game and come up with a big play when needed.
He made his impact in ODU’s win against East Stroudsburg, coming up with seven tackles and two sacks (two for a loss).
Hunter’s yardage total for stops behind the line of scrimmage was 14 yards and the Panthers had been pitching a shutout until late in the third quarter as the starters were pulled.
Hunter ranks 12th in the conference in total tackles in all nine games played, an impressive feat for defensive lineman.
He also has 4.5 sacks and is tied for sixth while also landing in the top 10 of the conference in tackles for a loss (7.5). Hunter also has a pair of forced fumbles to his credit.
Special Teams Player of the Week
Dante Waugh
Alderson Broaddus
Wide Receiver
Sophomore
Erial, NJ (Timber Creek HS)
Waugh was a whirlwind zigzagging his way up and down the field against Malone on kickoff returns to establish or tie certain conference records.
The sophomore speedster returned six kickoffs for 290 yards and scored on a 100-yard dash, the third time one has been returned the full length of the field.
Waugh countered an 86-yard Malone TD run on the first play from scrimmage with his 100-yard kickoff return that made the score 7-6 early in the opening quarter.
Waugh also had returns of 49, 35, 29 and 20 yards, to give the AB offense favorable field position to start drives. He also factored into the passing game with a pair of catches for 21 yards.
Waugh’s average per return of 48.8 yards is top three in the conference in single-game history.