INDIANAPOLIS – Tiffin and Lake Erie were tabbed for Great Midwest Athletic Conference Football Players of the Week honors as the fourth week of the regular season concluded over the weekend.
 
What could have provided clarity in the season standings with the results from four games on Saturday instead opened up what is now perceived as wide-open competition to become the 2019 Great Midwest champion.
 
With staggered start times, Hillsdale (2-2, 2-0) started off Saturday afternoon by putting the defensive clamps down on Walsh (0-4, 0-2). The Cavaliers applied noticeable defensive pressure on the Chargers in a scoreless first quarter, but couldn’t quite get the offense tracked.
 
For the second straight week, WU was unable to put points on the scoreboard, something that just doesn’t bode well in the box score. The Chargers are one of two teams to win their first two league games in their bid to repeat.
 
Tiffin (3-1, 2-0) is the other unbeaten in league play after defending its home territory against Ohio Dominican (2-2, 1-1). A very close game at halftime turned into an exhibition of big plays, including three sequences of 40+ yards in the third quarter alone.
 
The Dragons erupted for 21 points in the fourth quarter behind QB Nick Watons, who had a hand in all three of the TU touchdowns late.
 
Findlay (2-2, 1-1) bounced back and posted a single-game conference scoring record to celebrate Homecoming weekend at Donnell Stadium. The Oilers blew up for 75 points, officially besting their previous league record of 70 (done twice vs. AB, LEC), as three different runners (Nate Slagel, Derek Lynch, Brenan Auer) churned out more than 100 yards on the ground.
 
Equally notable was that the league’s leading rusher going into Week 4, Brian Benson, had his workload scaled back. Alderson Broaddus (0-4, 0-1) sustained some long scoring drives, but just couldn’t match the firepower from Findlay finding itself down 40-0 with nine minutes left in the second quarter.
 
Also nearly combining to score 100 points was Lake Erie (1-3, 1-1) and Kentucky Wesleyan (0-4, 0-1) in an offensive shootout. Both teams have shown improvement every week under their new coaching regimes as they build to the future. LEC QB Javarian Smith accounted for six total touchdowns in the Storm’s victory.
 
Offensive Player of the Week
JaQuan Hardy
Tiffin
Running Back
RS Junior
Westlake, OH (Westlake HS)
 
Hardy eclipsed the 200-yard mark on the ground against Ohio Dominican, putting his name into the conference record books for the second straight week in a notable category.
 
The redshirt junior gained over 200 yards on the ground for just the ninth time in conference history and matched the output of AB’s Brandon Jones with 220 yards for the fifth-best mark.
 
The effort comes after Hardy ripped off a conference record 94-yard run in Week 3 and threatened the 200-yard milestone on the ground versus Walsh.
 
Hardy burst through the ODU defense for a 66-yard scoring run in the third quarter, reversing a 14-13 deficit for the Dragons at the time.
 
He averaged nearly 7.6 yards per carry on 29 attempts and took over as the conference league leader in rushing. For the season, Hardy is now averaging over 131 yards per game and is over halfway to a 1,000 yard season. He has four touchdowns on the year.
 
Defensive Player of the Week
Justin Growel
Lake Erie
Defensive Line
RS Junior
East Troy, WI (East Troy HS)
 
Growel has made it a habit to spend most of his time in the opponent’s backfield, again playing an instrumental role for the Storm as they rode his effort to a Week 4 victory.
 
The relentless lineman accounted for 12 tackles, including five behind the original line of scrimmage and blew up the passing game for 2.5 sacks.
 
Growel stalled Kentucky Wesleyan’s first drive of the third quarter with a solo stop on 4^th and goal from the 1-yard line. The Panthers had a 1st and goal from the 5 inside the red zone and were stuffed on the next three consecutive plays.
 
For an interior lineman, Growel keeps racking up tackles at an impressive pace. He is currently tied for eighth in the conference in total tackles with 30. He is the clear league leader in tackles for a loss with 13 and is averaging over three per game.
 
Earlier this year, Growel became the conference career record holder in tackles for a loss. His 4.5 sacks is also a league-leading total.
 
Growel has now received conference defensive player of the week status twice in 2019.
 
Special Teams Player of the Week
Tareeq Welch
Lake Erie
Defensive Back
Junior
Tampa, FL (Armwood HS)
 
Welch snapped a 35-35 fourth quarter tie against Kentucky Wesleyan with an 88-yard blocked field goal return for a touchdown.
 
His special teams contribution stalled out an offensive series from Kentucky Wesleyan where the Panthers used up five minutes of clock and 13 plays.  
 
It was the longest run back on a blocked field goal try in conference history and in a game with little margin for error, was pivotal to helping Lake Erie close it out down the stretch.
 
Welch, a defensive back, also made seven total tackles and was credited with one pass breakup.