This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include QB Easton Stick of North Dakota State; CB Jalen Allison of North Dakota State; PK Chase Vinatieri of South Dakota State; LB Angelo Garbutt of Missouri State; and C Tanner Volson of North Dakota State.

Offense
QB Easton Stick, North Dakota State
6-2, 221, Jr., Omaha (Neb.) Creighton Prep High
One week after committing four turnovers in NDSU’s only loss of the year, Stick went 11 of 12 passing for a career-high 307 yards and one touchdown with zero turnovers in North Dakota State’s 49-14 win over South Dakota.  Stick completed passes of 35, 40, 47, 55 and 77 yards as the Bison rolled up 647 yards of total offense and averaged 11.2 yards per play.  He also rushed seven times for 39 yards and a TD.  Stick completed his first 11 pass attempts, a career-high and fifth best in NDSU history.

Defense
CB Jalen Allison, North Dakota State
6-0, 184, Jr., Papillion (Neb.) Papillion-La Vista High
Allison tied a career-high with 10 tackles including seven solos in North Dakota State’s 49-14 win over South Dakota.  He made two third-down stops to force punts and registered his third career sack to help the Bison defense hold USD to its lowest scoring output in two years.

Special Teams 
PK Chase Vinatieri, South Dakota State
6-1, 210, So., Sioux Falls (S.D.) Roosevelt High
Vinatieri kicked two field goals, including the game-winning 43-yarder in overtime, as South Dakota State prevailed over Illinois State, 27-24, on Nov. 11. Vinatieri’s first field goal of the day was a 34-yarder early in the second quarter. He also was successful on all three of his PAT attempts for a total of nine points in the game, while adding a pair of touchbacks on five kickoffs.

Newcomer
LB Angelo Garbutt, Missouri State
6-2, 235, So., Carrollton (Texas) Hebron High / Iowa
Garbutt turned in a career game for the Bears Saturday against UNI, logging a Missouri State season-high 17 tackles in the 25-10 setback. Garbutt also recorded a sack and 1.5 total TFLs, as well as two quarterback hurries in his third-consecutive double-digit tackle performance for the Bears. The Carrollton, Texas product’s 17 stops matched the fourth-best single-game tackle total by a Valley defender this season and helped the MSU defense limit the Panthers to 116 second-half yards and just three points after intermission.

Offensive Lineman
C Tanner Volson, North Dakota State
6-4, 301, Jr., Balfour (N.D.) Drake-Anamoose High
Volson had a team-high seven knockdowns and did not allow a quarterback hurry or sack in North Dakota State’s 49-14 home win over South Dakota.  He graded out at 97 percent assignment, 83 percent technique, and helped the Bison roll up 647 yards of total offense in the victory.  NDSU passed for a season-high 307 yards and had its best rushing performance since Week 2 at Eastern Washington rushing for 340 yards and six touchdowns after being held to season-lows each of the last three contests.



Others Nominated
Offense
QB Taryn Christion, South Dakota State -- Racked up 282 yards of total offense and accounted for touchdowns both through the air and on the ground in the Jackrabbits’ 27-24 overtime victory over Illinois State on Nov. 11. He completed 17-of-36 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns, while running nine times for 110 yards with a career-long 84-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

RB Marcus Weymiller, UNI -- After starting QB Elie Dunne went down in the first quarter of Saturday’s game against Missouri State, UNI leaned heavily on Marcus Weymiller in the backfield as the sophomore gained 131 yards rushing on 25 carries and one touchdown. The touchdown for Weymiller was his sixth of the season, while the 100-yard game was his third of the year.  

RB James Robinson, Illinois State -- Scored a pair of touchdowns for the Redbirds and nearly ran for 100 yards, as the Redbirds nearly upset No. 5 South Dakota State on their home field Saturday. Robinson averaged 5.5 yards per carry against the Jackrabbits and lead the Redbirds with 83 yards rushing on 15 attempts.  He had a long run of 17 yards and scored from three yards out in the first quarter to tie the game and later scored from five yards out in the fourth quarter to tie the game again and send it into overtime.

WR Damoun Patterson, Youngstown State -- Caught two touchdown passes in the Penguins' 28-20 win at Southern Illinois. He finished with seven catches for 80 yards against the Salukis. His first TD was a 48-yard reception midway through the second quarter. He caught a 14-yard pass for a TD with just 27 seconds left before halftime.

QB Matt DeSomer, Southern Illinois -- Led SIU in passing, rushing, and receiving yards on Saturday. DeSomer ran for 140 yards on 19 carries—the fourth-most rushing yards by a quarterback in SIU history. DeSomer’s 140 yards are also the most for any SIU player since November 2015. DeSomer also threw for 81 yards, and in a statistical improbability, he also led the team in receiving after catching a 34-yard pass on a trick play. 

QB Sean McGuire, Western Illinois -- McGuire completed 17-of-25 passes (68.0 percent) for 253 yards and no interceptions in Western Illinois' 45-0 win at Indiana State. The Franklin, Wis., native matched a career-high with four passing touchdowns, giving him 48 in his career. Thus, McGuire moved into third all-time in school history in that category.


Defense
LB Brett Taylor, Western Illinois -- Taylor led Western Illinois with nine tackles, matching a team-high with 1.5 for a loss, while also registering a forced fumble in the Leathernecks' 45-0 shutout of Indiana State. Indiana State recorded just 133 total yards, the first time since 2010 that Western Illinois held an opponent below 200 yards of total offense.

DE Anthony Knighton, Southern Illinois -- Also nominated at Newcomer

DE Justus Reed, Youngstown State -- Also nominated at Newcomer

DE Adam Conley, Illinois State -- Conley led the way for the Redbird defense in a strong effort against No. 5 South Dakota State Saturday. Conley recorded five tackles, one of which went for a loss, and also recorded his first career interception for the Redbirds. He tipped a pass at the line of scrimmage and then dove under the football to record the pick, one of two interceptions on the day for the Redbirds.

DT Kellen Soulek, South Dakota State -- Soulek was credited with five tackles (all solo), including a sack, in South Dakota State’s 27-24 overtime victory over Illinois State on Nov. 11. He also recovered a fumble in the third quarter that ended a Redbird drive deep in SDSU territory. Soulek helped lead a Jackrabbit defense that recorded four sacks and a season-high 10 total tackles for loss.

LB Angelo Garbutt, Missouri State -- Earned Newcomer of the Week Honors


Special Teams
PK Sam Drysdale, UNI -- In a 25-10 road victory over Missouri State, sophomore Sam Drysdale was responsible for 13 points on Saturday as the Panther hit four field goals and tacked on an extra point. Drysdale connected from 20, 47, 37 and 22, with the 47-yarder marking a career high for the Cedar Rapids native. 

PR/RB Steve McShane, Western Illinois -- McShane returned an Indiana State punt 81 yards for a touchdown in Western Illinois' 45-0 victory over the Sycamores. The effort was the seventh-longest punt return in Western Illinois history, and the school's longest since Todd Speight's 88-yarder in 2009. In total, McShane registered 84 yards on three returns for a 28.0 average. McShane also ran 13 times for 63 yards (4.8 average), and caught three passes for 51 yards and a touchdown in the win.

DB/KR -- Christian Uphoff, Illinois State -- also nominated at Newcomer

P Mark Schuler, Youngstown State -- Schuler had three punts of 47 yards each in the 28-20 win at Southern Illinois. 

P Lane Reazin, Southern Illinois -- Reazin averaged 42.8 yards on five punts on Saturday. Reazin, who leads the MVFC and ranks ninth nationally in punting, had a long of 58 yards and also pinned two punts inside the 20. One of his punts was pinned on the two-yard line. 


Newcomer
DE Kyle Williams, Western Illinois -- Had two tackles, including one for a loss on a sack of 12 yards, in Western Illinois' 45-0 win at Indiana State. He helped Western Illinois earn their first shutout since 2010. The Leathernecks held Indiana State to just 43 rushing yards on 36 carries, the third game this year that the Leathernecks have held an opponent below 50 rushing yards.

DE Anthony Knighton, Southern Illinois -- Knighton had five tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble and a pass breakup on Saturday. Knighton was added to the watch list for the Jerry Rice Award last week, ranks second in the nation among freshmen in tackles for loss and third in the country in sacks. 

DE Justus Reed, Youngstown State -- Reed, who missed four games because of an injury, returned to the lineup against SIU and played a key role in the Penguins' 28-20 win. With YSU leading 21-20, Reed strip-sacked SIU's Matt DeSomer before scooping up the fumble and returning it 21 yards for a touchdown with 1:44 left in the game.

DB/KR Christian Uphoff, Illinois State -- Uphoff became just the sixth player in Illinois State history to return a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. After South Dakota State took a 17-7 lead, Uphoff took the kickoff from five yards deep in the end zone and brought the ball out. He broke a tackle and then used a big block from Ty DeForest and raced down the sideline nearly untouched for the first kickoff return for a score for the Redbirds since 2014. Uphoff is the first ISU player to return a kickoff 100 yards for a score since Josh Burch achieved the feat against Indiana State in 2013.

LB Jabril Cox, North Dakota State -- Cox tied a season-high with eight tackles in North Dakota State’s 49-14 win over South Dakota.  Cox had one sack, two tackles for loss and three quarterback hurries to help the Bison defense hold USD to its lowest scoring output in two years.  He leads NDSU with 48 total tackles and 8.5 tackles for loss.

Offensive Lineman
C Jacob Judd, Western Illinois -- Judd graded out to a 91 percent and had eight pancakes with zero sacks allowed in Western Illinois' 45-0 victory at Indiana State. The  Clinton, Iowa native helped Western Illinois' quarterbacks complete 21-of-29 passes (72.4 percent) for 273 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions. In addition, the Leathernecks ran the ball 42 times for 136 yards.