This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include QB Eli Dunne of UNI; S James Hendricks of North Dakota State; punter Brady Hale of South Dakota State and QB Brady Davis of Illinois State.
Offensive Player of the Week
QB Eli Dunne, UNI
6-5, 238, Sr., Grinnell, Iowa (Grinnell High)
Dunne went 23-32 for 253 yards and four touchdowns and scored another touchdown on a one-yard run. He had completions to eight different receivers, and all caught multiple passes. Dunne's four touchdowns are a season high and the most since the win over Monmouth in the playoffs last season. Over the last two games, Dunne is 51-74 (68.9 percent) for seven touchdowns and just one interception. He also has a rushing touchdown in the last two games.
Defensive Player of the Week
S James Hendricks, North Dakota State
6-1, 209, Jr., Bemidji, Minn. (Bemidji High)
Hendricks intercepted two passes and broke up another in North Dakota State’s 34-7 road win over Western Illinois. His first interception led to a Bison field goal and his second came in the end zone to keep the Leathernecks scoreless in the second half. Hendricks made three tackles for a Bison defense that forced five turnovers and held Western Illinois to nine net rushing yards.
Special Teams Player of the Week
P Brady Hale, South Dakota State
6-3, 210, Sr., Yankton, S.D. (Yankton High)
Hale averaged 42.6 yards on seven punts, booting a season-long 57-yarder and landing two attempts inside the 20-yard line, as the Jackrabbits dominated on special teams en route to a 36-7 Hobo Day victory over Youngstown State on Oct. 13. Hale also handled kickoff duties for the first time this season, recording touchbacks on three of his seven attempts.
Newcomer of the Week
QB Brady Davis, Illinois State
6-4, 210, Jr., Columbus, Mississippi (Memphis)
Davis tied a career-best with four touchdown passes in a 51-3 Homecoming victory over Southern Illinois. With over 400 yards gained on the ground by Redbird backs, Davis was not asked to do much through the air but completed 10-of-15 passes for 118 yards and the four scores. The quartet of TD passes tied his career-best set earlier in the season in a win over Eastern Illinois, and he now has 14 on the season with just one interception. Davis also picked up several first downs on the ground, as he ran for a net total of 24 yards in the contest with a long run of 25 yards.
OTHERS NOMINATED
Offense
RB James Robinson, Illinois State -- Robinson had a career day in Illinois State’s impressive 51-3 win over Southern Illinois on Homecoming at ISU. The Rockford, Illinois, native set a career-high with 202 yards on 25 carries and scored his ninth touchdown of the year, as the Redbirds combined to rush for 409 yards on the ground against the Salukis. The 100-plus yard effort was Robinson’s fourth in the last five games and it helped him move over 2,000 rushing yards in his career (2,038), just the 12th player in school history to reach that plateau.
WR Dakarai Allen, South Dakota -- Caught six passes for a game-high 98 yards, a touchdown, and a two-point conversion in South Dakota’s contest against UNI Saturday inside the DakotaDome. Made a 42-yard grab with a defender draped on him, kept a toe in bounds on a 23-yard catch in which he was falling out of bounds, and won a jump ball over a defender for the two-point conversion.
HB Ja’Quan Keys, Indiana State -- Rushed for 141 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to Missouri State Saturday. It marked his fourth 100+ yard rushing game and his fourth multi-touchdown performance of the season. Keys, a Hammond, Louisiana native, jumpstarted the Sycamore offense in the second half, punching in the first two touchdowns -- the first a two-yard run to cap off a 12-play drive before notching his third score of the day just seconds into the final quarter on a seven-yard run.
WR Isaiah LeSure, Western Illinois -- LeSure finished Saturday’s game versus No. 1 NDSU with a career-high, game-high 170 receiving yards and posted the Leathernecks’ lone touchdown in the 34-7 setback. He currently has 10 career receiving touchdowns, the most on WIU’s active roster, and the game captured his second career performance with 100-plus receiving yards.
WR Raphael Leonard, Southern Illinois --- With 7 catches for 81 yards at Illinois State, extended his streak of games with at least one catch to 17. He has 35 catches on the season, already surpassing last year’s total of 34.
Defense
LB Jonas Griffith, Indiana State -- Griffith recorded a game high 17 tackles Saturday against Missouri State. Of his 17 tackles, six were solo stops while the redshirt junior had one quarterback hurry. With his performance, Griffith moved to the top of the MVFC in tackles with 71 in six games.
Elerson G Smith, UNI -- Smith notched 2.5 tackles for loss, including a sack for a total loss of 16 yards. His sack was a forced fumble that was recovered in the end zone for a Panther touchdown. He had a total of three tackles including two solo. The UNI defense held South Dakota to just 38 yards rushing on 40 carries.
DL Khalen Saunders, Western Illinois -- Posted a career-high 11 tackles with a pair of sacks and three total TFL that combined for 20 yards lost.
LB Tuvone Clark, Illinois State -- Clark was disruptive all day in Illinois State’s 51-3 Homecoming win over Southern Illinois. The St. Louis native recorded seven tackles and led the team with two TFLs, as ISU limited SIU to just three points and 202 yards of total offense in the lopsided victory.
LB Angelo Garbutt, Missouri State -- MSU's starting middle linebacker shared team-high honors with 11 total tackles in the Bears' road win over Indiana State. He registered four solo tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss in the decision, including a huge stop late in the fourth quarter on third-and-goal from the one-yard line. Garbutt and teammate Tyler Lovelace teamed up to stop Chris Covington shy of the goal line, holding the Sycamores to a field goal and giving the Bears a chance to win the game on the ensuing drive.
DE Ryan Earith, South Dakota State -- Shared game-high honors with seven tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack, as South Dakota State defeated Youngstown State, 36-7, on Oct. 13 at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium. Earith was part of a Jackrabbit defensive unit that held YSU scoreless after the first quarter by forcing seven punts and a missed field goal while intercepting two passes.
Special Teams
K Mason Lorber, South Dakota -- Tied his career long with a 39-yard field goal and added a 22-yarder in Saturday’s game against UNI inside the DakotaDome. Also made both extra point tries. Tied for the Valley lead with eight field goals this season.
Aphonso Soko, UNI -- Recovered a fumble on a kickoff and returned it seven yards to the USD four yard line to set up a touchdown for UNI to give the Panthers a 21-13 lead at the half.
P Garret Wegner, North Dakota State -- Averaged 40.4 yards on seven punts with three inside the 20-yard-line in North Dakota State’s 34-7 road win over Western Illinois. Wegner had a long of 50 yards and helped pin the Leathernecks to an average starting position of their own 22-yard-line.
Newcomer
DE Spencer Waege, North Dakota State -- Made four tackles with two tackles for loss in North Dakota State’s 34-7 road win over Western Illinois. Inserted into the rotation at defensive end in place of injured veteran Caleb Butler, Waege helped the Bison hold Western Illinois to nine net rushing yards and had one of the team’s three sacks. He also plays on NDSU’s kickoff return team.
Aphonso Soko, UNI -- also nominated at special teams.
RB Donovan Daniels, Missouri State -- Scored Missouri State's first two touchdowns of Saturday's road win at Indiana State. The transfer from Phoenix (Ariz.) College finished with a team-high 62 yards on 15 carries (4.1 ypc) with touchdown runs of one and 10 yards in the opening half in Terre Haute. In his first collegiate start, Daniels helped pace an MSU offense that racked up 352 total yards.
K Mason Lorber, South Dakota -- also nominated at special teams.