INDIANAPOLIS – With one week left in the regular season, Great Midwest Athletic Conference Football Players of the Week were announced on Tuesday morning.
 
There are major implications for the postseason that include opportunities to compete in the NCAA Championship bracket as part of Super Region 1 and also as a participant in the America’s Crossroads Bowl Game in Hobart, Ind.
 
Tiffin and Findlay are both ranked at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively, in Super Region 1 for the second straight week. Only eight teams will get into the national tournament bracket from the region.
 
The Week 11 regular season finale is going to be a doozy with the fall championship going to either Tiffin or Findlay at Donnell Stadium. The Dragons and Oilers locked horns in the spring championship game and Saturday’s rematch has all the marbles on the line.
 
With both teams at 5-1 in the standings, an outright conference champion will be crowned this weekend
 
Tiffin was on cruise control against Walsh to run the program’s win streak to five straight. The Dragons are now 8-2 overall. Findlay defeated Ashland in a pivotal matchup that kept the Oilers in conference championship contention. Ohio Dominican blanked Lake Erie with a defensive effort that resulted in the single-game conference team record of sacks with 11. Hillsdale was balanced on both sides of the ball while taking down Kentucky Wesleyan in Week 10.
 
Offensive Player of the Week
Marlin Richardson
Findlay
Wide Receiver
Junior
Warren, OH (Harding HS)
 
In a fourth-and-long situation with the odds stacked against the Oilers against Ashland, Richardson delivered with a clutch play that tied the game in the fourth quarter and set the stage for a game-winning field goal.
 
In a 4th-and-11, Richardson ran a clean fade route to the corner of the end zone to haul in an 18-yard touchdown from QB Matt Winzeler. He beat single coverage down the sideline and plucked the ball out of the air for an acrobatic grab with 3:20 left to play.
 
Richardson finished the day with 8 catches for over 100 yards and the score.
 
The Oilers went into the fourth quarter trailing 17-10 and prior to the Winzeler/Richardson connection, the ball was spotted back five yards from a holding penalty.
 
It was a make-or-break play that capitalized a long 11-play, 64-yard scoring drive to tie the game at 17-17.
 
Richardson now has over 650 yards receiving on the season with three touchdowns. This is his second career conference weekly honor.
 
Defensive Player of the Week
Zach Herzog
Hillsdale
Defensive Back
Junior
Windsor, Ontario, Canada (Holy Names)
 
Herzog had virtually the equivalent of a triple-double comparable to basketball on Saturday against Kentucky Wesleyan. The hard-hitting DB filled up the stat sheet while the Chargers the Panthers to 12 points on the scoreboard.
 
Herzog led all players on the field with 11 tackles (7 solo) and was part of a pair of forced turnovers with an interception and a fumble recovery.
 
The junior also produced one sack dialed up on a blitz to get credit for a tackle for a loss.
 
Herzog and Hillsdale’s defense allowed just over 200 yards of total offense generated by the Panthers, including just 83 in the passing game.
 
Herzog now has 92 tackles on the season and is averaging 9.2 stops per game.
 
Special Teams Player of the Week
Austin Snyder
Findlay
Kicker
Freshman
Groveport, OH (Groveport-Madison HS)
 
Snyder kept the Oilers’ hopes for both a conference championship and a spot in the super region rankings with his game-winning kick against Ashland.
 
From 35 yards, the freshman’s kick sailed through the uprights to complete a fourth quarter comeback and end the game with no time left on the clock.
 
Snyder also cashed in from 29 yards out on a field goal close to the end of the first half while converting both opportunities on extra points.
 
Snyder is third in the league in scoring among players regardless of position with 61 points this season.