INDIANAPOLIS – At the conclusion of Week 3, it was Findlay and Ohio Dominican earning shares of Great Midwest Athletic Conference Football Players of the Week as announced on Monday afternoon.
 
Ohio Dominican is 3-0 after grinding a tough one out at home against Kentucky Wesleyan. QB’s Evan Ernst and Wiley Cain each threw for a TD as points were difficult to come by in a defensive struggle.
 
The much-improved Panthers of KWC had more yards of total offense than their nicknamed counterpart in their season debut. Kentucky Wesleyan’s defense also came up with six sacks but ODU’s ringleader was once against LB Dauson Dales with a game-high 16 stops.
 
Findlay pitched a shutout at home against Walsh and the for the second straight game, the Cavaliers were blanked on offense. The Oilers found a way to score in all three facets of the game, including a blocked punt return for a score and the longest pick six in conference history.
 
Week 1 Offensive Player of the Week Matt Winzeler was precise on his 15 completions and backup signal caller Jay Vanderjagt made a strong impression with a 75-yard scoring toss to help UF move to 2-0.
 
Tiffin dominated Gannon in a late add to the schedule by a 42-7 final. The Dragons scored all six touchdowns in the ground game as RB Marcus Davis accounted for four. Tiffin churned out a combined 210 yards rushing and defensively, limited Gannon to just over 200 yards of total offense.
 
Lake Erie and Hillsdale was postponed earlier in the week due to COVID protocol from the Storm.
 
Offensive Player of the Week
Marlin Richardson
Findlay
Wide Receiver
Senior
Warren, OH (Harding HS)
 
Richardson was a handful for the Walsh secondary in the 35-0 Findlay as he managed five catches for 129 yards and a pair of touchdowns from two different arms.
 
It was an impressive follow up to the senior WR’s Week 1 performance when he had nearly 100 yards receiving and a scoring catch vs. Hillsdale.
 
Richardson averaged almost 26 yards per reception and had a long of 75, courtesy of backup QB Jay Vanderjagt, which also is the longest pass play in the league this spring. Their connection gave the Oilers a 28-0 lead early into the second half.
 
He hauled another TD in from 34 yards to cap a first-quarter scoring drive engineered by Winzeler.
 
Richardson is the current league leader in total receiving yards (220), receiving touchdowns (3) and yards receiving per game (110.0).
 
Defensive Player of the Week
Eddie Miller-Garrett
Ohio Dominican
Defensive Line
Junior
Newark, NJ (Newark Collegiate Academy/Urbana)
 
The Panthers were stingy on defense once again, this time in their Week 3 audition against Kentucky Wesleyan. Miller-Garrett had his fingerprints all over the box score as the junior lineman recorded eight tackles.
 
Miller-Garrett made a combined 3.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage, including half a sack, and was also credited with a pair of breakups disrupting the passing game in coverage.
 
It was his first official participation of the season and he was credited with four solo and four assisted tackles.
 
Ohio Dominican is statistically the top defense in the conference and has given up just four points per game through its 3-0 start to the spring season.
 
Special Teams Player of the Week
Shean Rheams
Findlay
Defensive Back
Junior
Chektenham, MD (Suitland HS/Shenandoah)
 
Rheams blew through the line in punt formation to deliver a touchdown for the Oilers with a dynamic special teams sequence.
 
On the first play of the second quarter, Rheams blocked the kick from Walsh punter Trey Crockett and brought it back 22 yards for the score.
 
It was a big play in a 14-point quarter after the Findlay offense had worked to earn a 7-0 lead after the first 15 minutes of regulation.