INDIANAPOLIS – The spring season officially kicked off as three different schools received a share of the first edition of Great Midwest Athletic Conference Football Players of the Week announced on Monday afternoon.
 
Ohio Dominican, Findlay and Tiffin, emerged as Week 1 winners in their matchups against Lake Erie, Hillsdale and Walsh.
 
Offensive Player of the Week
Matt Winzeler
Findlay
Quarterback
Senior
Toledo, OH (St. John's Jesuit / ASA College Miami)
 
Winzeler directed the Oilers to nearly 500 yards of total offense on the road at Hillsdale in a 45-24 victory to start the spring season.
 
The senior was crisp behind center for the first time in 2021 while tossing for 259 yards and four touchdowns while completing 18 of his 28 pass attempts. He threw two of those scores to Jake Brown, one to Marlin Richardson and another to Tanner Schroeder.
 
Winzeler guided Findlay on two different scoring drives in the fourth quarter from 35 and 65 yards out to help give the Oilers some cushion.
 
His 67-yard scoring connection to Richardson in the third quarter snapped a 24-24 tie and immediately answered a Hillsdale scoring drive. It was his longest pass play of the day.
 
His 15-yard passing strike to Schroeder with 13:25 left in the fourth quarter gave Findlay a two-score lead.
 
Winzeler is coming off of a second-team all-conference campaign in 2019 with Findlay as he finished with 27 TD's vs. 5 INT's with 2,577 passing yards. He completed almost 57 percent of his passes with almost 200 completions.
 
Defensive Player of the Week
Dauson Dales
Ohio Dominican
Linebacker
Senior
Defiance, OH (Defiance Ayersville HS)
 
Dales was a tackling machine in ODU's season-opening victory against Lake Erie as the Panthers limited their opponent to just three points on the scoreboard.
 
The last time we saw the senior linebacker on the gridiron, he produced 15 tackles for the Panthers in the America's Crossroads Bowl Game against Truman State.
 
Dales racked up 13 tackles against Lake Erie while three of those were for a loss behind the original line of scrimmage. He also had a pass breakup and made nine of his 13 stops in solo fashion.
 
Dales finished 2019 with nearly 100 total tackles and was a first team all-conference playmaker from his junior season.
 
Special Teams Player of the Week
David Orlando
Tiffin
Placekicker/Punter
Junior
Avon, OH (Avon HS)
 
Field position swings were part of the opening test for Tiffin's quest to repeat as conference champions and Orlando was instrumental in helping the Dragons secure a 21-14 win vs. Walsh.
 
The junior averaged almost 40 yards on eight total punts while handling all duties on Saturday. He had a long of 51 and placed two inside the 20.
 
Orlando averaged 36.5 yards per punt in 2019. His 72-yard boot in 2018 as a freshman vs. Northwood ranks tied for the second-longest punt in conference history.
 
His current career average of 37.1 yards per punt is also a number thanks top 10 among all punters in conference history.