INDIANAPOLIS – Following a shake up of the league standings midway through the season, Great Midwest Athletic Conference Football Players of the Week for Week 7 were released on Monday afternoon.
 
Three teams went into Week 7 with perfect conference records and only one, Findlay, went to 3-0 for sole possession of prized first place.
 
Head coach Rob Keys and the Oilers stormed to an overtime win at Ohio Dominican in a key swing game that could alter the championship race. Findlay was picked second in the preseason coaches poll but had not beaten ODU since joining the conference together in 2017.
 
Lake Erie went on the road and pulled a stunner while dealing Hillsdale its first league defeat. The Storm put up some crazy offensive numbers in a 33-14 win as QB, RB, WR yardage and scoring totals were notable in their first conference victory of the season.
 
Tiffin and Ashland battled it out at Frost-Kalnow Stadium in a 27-21 final that went in favor of the Dragons. It was another marquee matchup with both teams going into the matchup at 1-1 in the conference standings.
 
Kentucky Wesleyan also carved out its first conference win against Walsh while improving to 3-4 overall this season. The Panthers trailed 13-9 in the fourth quarter but scored 14 unanswered points to complete an impressive rally.
 
Offensive Player of the Week
Gerald Gardner
Quarterback
Lake Erie
Junior
Houston, TX (Channelview HS)
 
Pick your poison. Between Gardner, RB Devin Brown and WR Peyton Brown, the Storm had three different players with incredible offensive numbers as Lake Erie took down a streaking Hillsdale program on Saturday.
 
The Storm generated 500 yards of total offense while holding the Chargers to less than 200. Gardner completed 30 of his 42 passing attempts for 322 yards and three touchdowns.
 
He completed passes to six different receivers and two of his scoring connections through the air were to Brown, who was conference special teams player of the week earlier this season.
 
Gardner was protected by his offensive line with enough time to find his playmakers and his longest play of the day went for six, a 65-yard scoring strike in the second quarter. He also capped a drive that elapsed more than seven minutes right before halftime on a 7-yard strike to Eric Daniels.
 
In the early stages of the fourth quarter, he found Brown again for a big play spanning half the length of the field that gave LEC a 26-14 lead. The junior QB has now completed almost 63 percent of his passes to go with 1,252 yards and 10 TD’s this season in six games.
 
Defensive Player of the Week
Jeremiah Jackson
Findlay
Defensive Back
Junior
Columbus, OH (Mifflin HS)
 
With three picks in seven games this year, Jackson has been a ball hawk for the Oilers while ranking among the top league leaders at his position.
 
Findlay clamped down defensively in a struggle against an opponent that has had their number in the series rivalry as of late.
 
Jackson was a big part in holding the Panthers to 14 points in an overtime affair as he came up with six tackles and a turnover with his third interception of the year.
 
He played the passing lanes against the league’s most accurate arm and was credited with three pass breakups. His main assignment on the day was talented all-purpose WR David Turner, who was held to four catches for 33 yards.
 
Jackson returned the interception for 21 yards in the second quarter. Four of his tackles were solo stops as ODU managed 165 passing yards.
 
Special Teams Player of the Week
Darius Pinnix
Tiffin
Running Back/Returner
Junior
Burlington, NC (Western Alamance HS/East Carolina)
 
Pinnix has seen his workload increase exponentially as the season continues, carving out over 200 all-purpose yards in a big win for the Dragons over Ashland.
 
The junior averaged almost 35 yards per return on kickoffs, taking one back for a long of 45 yards. He also made an impact in the running game, topping the century mark in yards for the first time this season.
 
Pinnix had only one kickoff return prior to Week 7, a 22-yard runback in Week 6 vs. Lake Erie. He gave the offense good field position as he churned out 102 yards on 22 rushing attempts.
 
While averaging 4.6 yards per carry, Pinnix also scored a pair of touchdowns from inside the 5-yard line to cap TU scoring drives.