This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include RB David Johnson of UNI, SS Colten Heagle of North Dakota State, DB Dallas Nichols of Western Illinois, P/PK Miles Bergner of South Dakota, and LT Billy Turner of North Dakota State.

Offense
RB David Johnson, UNI
6-3, 214, Jr., Clinton (Iowa) High
 Johnson led the team with a career-high 199 rushing yards, tying the school record for touchdowns in a game with four as UNI posted a 28-20 win at Iowa State. He has now scored in 10 consecutive games, dating back to Sept. 15, 2012, against Iowa. With his 199-yard effort at Iowa State, Johnson notched his ninth career 100+ rushing game and seventh in a row.

Defense
SS Colten Heagle, North Dakota State
5-11, 202, Jr., Appleton (Wis.) Kimberly HS
 Led NDSU with seven tackles, all solos, including two stops for loss in his first game back since a knee injury at Colorado State last September. Made a tackle in the backfield on third-and-2 in the first quarter to force a Kansas State punt and NDSU scored on the next possession for a 7-0 lead.

Newcomer
DB Dallas Nichols, Western Illinois
6-2, 200, Jr., Phoenix (Ariz.) Central HS
 A transfer from Glendale CC, Nichols wasted no time putting his name in the Western Illinois and MVFC record book. On Hampton’s opening drive of the second half, Nichols picked off a pass and raced 97 yards for a touchdown. It was the longest interception return for a touchdown in program history (95 yards in 1984), and eighth-longest in MVFC history. He also recovered a fumble, made a tackle for loss and four of his five tackles were solo stops.

Special Teams
P/PK Miles Bergner, South Dakota
6-1, 215, Fr., Longmont (Colo.) High
 Bergner made a 39-yard field goal with 7:31 left in the fourth quarter for what turned out to be the difference in the Coyotes’ 10-7 win against UC Davis. In addition to his game-winning kick, Bergner placed all five of his punts inside the Aggies’ 25-yard line. Two punts were placed inside the 12. Bergner averaged 62 yards on three kickoffs and had one touchback. He also had one special teams tackle.

Offensive Lineman
LT Billy Turner, North Dakota State
Sr., 6-6, 314, Shoreview (Minn.) Mounds View High
   Turner graded out at 96 percent with 10 knockdowns ... Responsible for zero quarterback hurries or sacks in front of QB Brock Jensen, who went 21-for-30 passing for 165 yards…Helped pave the way for a rushing attack that outgained Kansas State 215-41 on the ground including 127 yards by senior RB Sam Ojuri…NDSU had a 12-minute advantage in time of possession and marched 80 yards in 18 plays over 8½ minutes on its final drive to beat K-State 24-21.

Other Notable Performances
OFFENSE
QB Jared Barnett, ILS -- Completed 20-of-29 passes for 282 yards and two TDs. Barnett came out firing, going 10-for-15 with 190 yards and two touchdowns at the half, as the Redbirds led 21-6 at the time.
TB Adaris Bellamy, YSU -- Bellamy rushed for 203 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown. His 203 yards were a career-high and in one game he eclipsed his entire yardage total from 2012 (128 on 17 carries).
RB Trevor Bouma, USD -- Bouma had a game-high 132 all-purpose yards in the Coyotes’ 10-7 win against UC Davis. He carried 17 times for 95 yards. He also caught four passes for 37 yards.
QB Kory Faulkner, SIU -- Threw for 312 yards, the third-highest single-game total for his career. He had three TD passes to three different players and did not throw an interception. Faulkner had 322 yards of total offense.
QB Kierra Harris, MSU -- Harris collected 240 yards of total offense, including a team-high 51 ground yards on 7 carries. He was 17-for-33 through the air for 189 yards, scored both MSU touchdowns and was not sacked.
QB Brock Jensen, NDSU -- Completed 21 of 30 passes for 165 yards with two touchdowns and one interception...Rushed 12 times including a 1-yard TD run that gave NDSU its fourth straight win over an FBS opponent and its 13th straight road win...Engineered an 18-play, 80-yard drive over a span of 8:30 in the fourth quarter.
QB Austin Sumner, SDSU -- Sumner completed 22-of-32 passes for 326 yards and three TDs. Sumner connected with eight different receivers en route to his seventh career 300-yard passing game.
RB Nikko Watson, WIU -- Watson recorded his sixth career 100-yard game tallying 108 yards on 27 attempts with a touchdown. He matched his season TD rushing total from last year.

DEFENSE
LB Andrew Beisel, MSU -- Beisel tallied a game-high 10 tackles, snagged his first career interception and posted a tackle for loss in his 20th career start. He also broke up a pair of passes on the night.
DL Collin Albrecht, UNI -- Racked up six tackles, including four solo and two assisted. He also came away with two sacks for a loss of 16 yards and a quarterback hurry. The senior now has three career sacks.
LB Ali Cheaib, YSU -- His early fourth-quarter interception on a fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line helped turn momentum. Had three total tackles, including two solos. He also partial blocked a punt.
LB Charles Elmore, SDSU - Recorded a team-high seven tackles, including three tackles for loss, in South Dakota State’s 55-14 season-opening win over Butler on Aug. 31. Elmore’s seven tackles were also a career high.
LB Kevin Kintzel, WIU -- Kintzel recorded his first-ever touchdown (12-yard interception return) and forced a fumble that directly led to another TD. Kintzel also had a 2-point conversion and added four tackles.
LB Keyen Lage, USD -- Had a game-high 9 tackles (7 solo). Lage had one of two USD sacks, forced a fumble late in the game and broke up a third-down pass early in the fourth quarter that forced a punt.
DE Rickey Simpson, ILS -- Five total tackles and a QB hurry. Simpson combined on a pair of sacks later in the game to lead the way for the Redbird defense, which allowed just 80 yards rushing to the Cardinals.
DE Brandon Williams, SIU -- Williams recovered a fumble which set up a TD and a key sack with 3:16 left in the game. He also had an assisted sack on a third down to force a punt earlier in the game.

NEWCOMER
QB Jared Barnett, ILS -- see offensive nominees above
RB Trevor Bouma, USD -- see offensive nominees above
QB Brion Carnes, UNI -- Transfer from Nebraska racked up yards as a QB, rusher, punt returner and kickoff returner. He linked up with Phil Wright in the fourth quarter for an 11-yard pass giving UNI a crucial first down.
LB Dylan Cole, MSU -- Posted 7 tackles in his collegiate debut, earning a starting role at outside linebacker. He was instrumental on special teams and contributed 3 solo tackles.
K Thomas Kinney, SIU -- Kinney hit both of his FG attempts including a 41-yarder with just over seven minutes remaining in the game. He was also a perfect 4-for-4 in PATs and delivered one touchback on his three kickoffs.
TB Martin Ruiz, YSU -- Saw action in his first career game for the Penguins and scored a TD in his debut. He had 11 rushes for 45 yards in the contest.
OL Mike Shoff, SDSU -- Collegiate debut as offense scored 55 points and had 546 yards of total offense. The Jackrabbits averaged 7.8 yards per play, amassing 188 yards on the ground and 358 through the air.

SPECIAL TEAMS
P/K Nathan Knuffman, WIU -- Averaged 36.4 yards on his seven punts, including four inside the 20-yard line and a long of 54 yards. His four punts inside the 20 put Hampton starting on their own: 2, 5, 8, and 11 yard line.
P Ben LeCompte, NDSU -- Averaged 42.2 yards on four punts including three inside the 20 (at the 3, 8 and 12)...K-State’s average starting position was its own 26-yard line...Also handled all five kickoffs, leaving the first four short to avoid returners and getting a touchback with 28 seconds left in the game.
P Nick Liste, YSU -- Averaged 51 yards on five punts. Had kicks of 64, 62, 53, 39 and 37 in the game. His 64-yarder was downed at the 14-yard line. And his 62-yard kick was downed at the Dayton 16-yard line.
P Austin Pucylowski, SIU -- Punted six times for an average of 46.5 yards. He pinned two of his punts inside the 20, one of which was caught for no return at the 10-yard line. His long for the day was a 64-yard punt, which was a yard shy of his career best.
PK Justin Syrovatka, SDSU -- Scored 13 points, making both field goal attempts and all seven PATs. He extended his streak of consecutive made field goal attempts to a school-record 14 after connecting from 35 and 36.
K Austin Witmer, MSU -- Witmer was 2-for-2 on extra points, 1-for-2 on field goals and registered touchbacks on three of his four kickoffs.