This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include RB Bruce Anderson of North Dakota State, LB Alex Gray of South Dakota, QB Brady Davis of Illinois State; WR/RS Dakota Caton of Indiana State; and C Tanner Volson of North Dakota State.

Offense
RB Bruce Anderson, North Dakota State
5-11, 210, Sr., Ruskin, Fla. (Newsome HS)
Anderson rushed 11 times for a career-high 185 yards averaging 16.82 yards per carry with two touchdowns in North Dakota State’s 49-3 home win over Cal Poly. He scored on runs of 10 and 86 yards and finished with 239 all-purpose yards including kickoff returns of 23 and 24 yards and one reception for seven yards. It was Anderson’s fifth career 100-yard rushing game.  His per-carry average ranks 2nd in the FCS while his 185 yards is 3rd-best.



Defense
LB Alex Gray, South Dakota
Sr., LB, New Lenox, Ill. (Lincoln Way West HS)
Returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown to push South Dakota’s lead over Kansas State to 24-12 just before halftime of Saturday’s game. It was his first collegiate touchdown. Gray also recovered a fumble with 50 seconds left that gave the Coyotes a chance at a game-tying field goal.  He added two sacks including one in the red zone that forced a Kansas State field goal and led the Coyotes with six tackles.



Newcomer
QB Brady Davis, Illinois State
6-4, 210, Jr., Columbus, Mississippi (Memphis transfer)
Davis led the Redbirds to a victory in his first start under center at Hancock Stadium. Davis finished the night 12-for-19 (63.2 percent) for 123 yards with a touchdown, while compiling an efficiency rating of 134.91. He tossed his first career touchdown pass at ISU late in the first quarter, when he found senior tight end Tylor Petkovich in the end zone for a 15-yard score to put ISU up 14-0 at the time.  Three different Redbirds saw action at QB in the season-opening blowout win.



Special Teams
WR/RS Dakota Caton, Indiana State
Fr., 5-10, 175, Sullivan, Ind. (Sullivan HS)
Freshman wide receiver Dakota Caton capped off the Sycamores’ 49-0 shutout of Quincy with a 71-yard punt return touchdown in the fourth quarter - his first touch in a Sycamore uniform. It marked the first punt return touchdown for the Sycamores since 2015 at Missouri State. 



Offensive Line
C Tanner Volson, North Dakota State
6-4, 306, Sr., Balfour, N.D. (Drake-Anamoose HS)
Volson had four knockdowns with zero penalties and zero sacks or hurries allowed in North Dakota State’s 49-3 home win over Cal Poly. He led the Bison offensive line with an 89 percent technique grade and was 100 percent on assignment. NDSU had seven ball carriers rush for 458 yards and seven touchdowns in the victory, averaging 10.2 yards per carry.
 

Others Nominated:
OFFENSE
WR Levi Falck, South Dakota -- Tied a South Dakota single-game record with 11 catches and finished with a career-high 140 yards in the Coyotes’ 27-24 loss at Kansas State Saturday.

RB Steve McShane, Western Illinois -- Scored all three of Western’s touchdowns in its 26-23 season-opening loss at Montana State. He led all Leatherneck rushers and receivers with 79 and 40 yards, respectively.

RB Ja’Quan Keys, Indiana State -- Was one of four Sycamores to rush for a touchdown during Thursday’s season opening win over Quincy. The Hammond, Louisiana native reached the end zone twice in the game, rushing for 80 yards on 13 attempts for a 6.2 yards per carry average.

RB D.J. Davis, Southern Illinois -- Rushed for a career-high 127 yards on 19 carries (6.7 average). He also caught three passes for 16 yards and had 198 all-purpose yards in the win against Murray State.

QB Peyton Huslig, Missouri State -- Rushed for 109 yards in MSU's season opener at No. 25 Oklahoma State last week, marking his fourth career 100-yard rushing game (in 12 games) with MSU. Huslig accounted for 259 of MSU's 260 yards of total offense against the Cowboys and threaded two TD passes through the OSU defense.

TB Tevin McCaster, Youngstown State -- Rushed for 176 yards on 29 carries against Butler.

TE Briley Moore, UNI - Led the Panthers with five receptions and 78 yards in the three-point loss at nationally ranked Montana.

RB James Robinson, Illinois State -- Rushed for a pair of touchdown in the victory over Saint Xavier.  Robinson scored on the first play from scrimmage for ISU, bouncing off tackle for a 13-yard run to open the scoring early in the first quarter.

DEFENSE
LB Dan Marlette, North Dakota State -- Made a career-high nine tackles in North Dakota State’s 49-3 home win over Cal Poly. He had two tackles for loss and helped NDSU limit Cal Poly’s triple-option rushing attack to just 82 yards on 52 carries.

S Jeremy Chinn, Southern Illinois -- Led SIU with seven tackles in the win at Murray State. He also forced two fumbles. One of his forced fumbles was returned 73 yards for a touchdown by S Michael Elbert. 

S Kam Carter, Missouri State -- Posted a game-high 12 total tackles, including 11 solo stops, in MSU's season opener at No. 25 Oklahoma State. He also tallied a tackle for loss in the contest, one of seven recorded by the MSU defense.

DL Inoke Moala, Indiana State -- Recorded five tackles in the victory including 1.5 sacks for six yards, a forced fumble and one quarterback hurry. He helped the Sycamore defense hold the Hawks to just 159 yards of total offense and 81 rushing yards. 

Pete Swenson -- All six of Swenson's tackles at Montana State were solo style, including one that accounted for a one-yard loss. 

LB Zackary Mathews, Illinois State -- Recorded a sack and two TFLs in a dominating shutout effort for the Redbirds. Mathews recorded the game’s first sack and finished with five total tackles, as the Redbirds held the Cougars scoreless and to -30 yards rushing overall. The defense also forced 12 TFLs on the day to go along with four takeaways (3 INT, 1 FR).

Duncan Ferch, UNI -- Led the Panthers with 12 total tackles (11 assisted) in the contest at No. 24 Montana.

NEWCOMER
QB Montgomery VanGorder, Youngstown State -- The Notre Dame graduate transfer completed 18-of-27 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns against Butler. VanGorder has scoring tosses of 3, 26 and 44 yards against Butler.

LB Jackson Hankey, North Dakota State -- Made six tackles in his first collegiate game, a 49-3 home victory over Cal Poly. Hankey is North Dakota State’s No. 2 middle linebacker. He made three solo stops and three assisted tackles, including one in a goal-to-go situation in the third quarter.

TE Jordan Murray, Missouri State -- Snagged three receptions in reserve for the Bears at Oklahoma State, including a six-yard TD reception from Peyton Huslig for Missouri State's first score of the season. the drive capped a 75-yard drive. He ended the day with 30 receiving yards.

Zach Muniz, Western Illinois -- Had four solo tackles and a timely interception. He picked off Montana State’s quarterback with a minute remaining in the third quarter, and the turnover led to a 38-yard field goal and a 23-20 WIU advantage. 

QB Jalil Kilpatrick, Indiana State -- Managed 69 yards on the ground on 15 rushes, scoring his first touchdown in a Sycamore uniform in the second possession of the game on a four-yard rushing touchdown. Kilpatrick added 84 yards through the air, completing eight of his 13 attempts with a long completion of 20 yards. 

SPECIAL TEAMS
P Brady Schutt, South Dakota -- Averaged 47.2 yards on eight punts in Saturday’s game at Kansas State.  Had two punts of 53 yards and another of 51 yards and placed two punts inside the 20

P Adam Fellner, Western Illinois -- Punted a total of 244 yards on five attempts. Two of his punts traveled 50-plus yards including a 58-yarder that pinned MSU inside its 20-yard line in the first quarter.

P Garret Wegner, North Dakota State -- In his first game as North Dakota State’s No. 1 punter, averaged 45.7 yards on three punts in NDSU’s 49-3 home win over Cal Poly. Wegner blasted a career-long 57-yarder on his first attempt to pin Cal Poly at its own 15-yard line.

P Brendan Withrow, Missouri State -- Averaged 44.6 yards on 10 punts at Oklahoma State including three downed inside the 20 and one fair caught. He posted punts of 63, 57, and 47 yards as part of a standout effort.

OFFENSIVE LINE
C Wyatt Wozniak, Indiana State -- Wozniak was stout on the offensive line during a 49-0 victory over Quincy.  He is the lone returner to start every game a season ago. He and his cohorts helped the Sycamores 339 yards on the ground against the Hawks. 

Kyle Sanft, Western Illinois -- Sanft moved into the center position this season where he started his first game with action in all 74 snaps. He graded out at 87 percent.