This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include RB Cole Mueller of Illinois State; DB JJ Henderson of Indiana State; and PK Matthew Cook of UNI.

Offensive Player of the Week / Newcomer of the Week
RB Cole Mueller, Illinois State
6-0, 215, Fr., Wentzville, Mo. (Holt HS)
Mueller led Illinois State to its big road win at No. 15 South Dakota as he ran for a career-high 178 yards on 25 carries and scored a touchdown. He averaged 7.1 yards per carry against the Coyotes and scored the game’s lone offensive touchdown for ISU on a 69-yard run in the second quarter that put the Redbirds up 10-0. It was his third 100-plus yard effort of the season and he now leads the team with 578 yards on the season and three rushing scores.



Defensive Player of the Week
DB JJ Henderson, Indiana State
5-11, 180, Gr., Tampa, Fla. (T.R. Robinson HS/Stetson)
Henderson hauled in both the second and third Indiana State interceptions over a four-interception fourth quarter by the Sycamores defense this past weekend as ISU shut down the Youngstown State comeback attempt in 28-17 Homecoming win over the Penguins. Henderson’s first interception came on a deflected ball near midfield and the graduate transfer returned it 26 yards down to the YSU 19 to set up a short field for the offense. The ensuing defensive possession, Henderson ended a YSU drive at the ISU 16 with his second interception as the Tampa, Fla. native kept both feet inbounds to secure the takeaway. Henderson finished the contest with six tackles and added an additional pass breakup in the win. His two takeaways marked the second time an ISU defensive back came away with a multi-interception game this year, while the team’s four interceptions against YSU were one shy of the all-time program single game high set back in 1980.



Special Teams Player of the Week
PK Matthew Cook, UNI
5-11, 180, So., Cedar Falls, Iowa (Cedar Falls HS)
Cook matched a career high with four made field goals as UNI downed No. 6 South Dakota State in Brookings.  He was 4-for-4 on his attempts, which included two makes beyond 50 yards. Cook's opening field goal was a career long (topping his first collegiate kick in 2019 against Iowa State). Cook was good from 55 yards, 27 yards, 46 yards and 51 yards.  He is the first league player since 2009 to connect on two 50+ yarders in the same game.  His 55-yarder was the longest kick made in the FCS this past weekend, the longest in the MVFC this season, and the longest in the league since SDSU's Chase Vinatieri's 57-yarder (against UNI) in 2018.  The 55-yarder ties for the 12th-longest kick in MVFC history.


OTHER PERFORMANCES OF NOTE

WR Isaiah Weston, UNI -- Weston led the Panthers in receiving yards in their win over South Dakota State. Weston's four receptions netted 125 yards for the Panthers. His solo touchdown of the game was his longest gain of the night - 40 yards. Weston is a redshirt junior from Albertville, Minnesota. He is a wide receiver and majoring in psychology.

RB Peterson Kerlegrand, Indiana State -- Kerlegrand made the game-breaking play following an ISU interception with a 53-yard touchdown to secure the 28-17 Homecoming win over Youngstown State. Kerlegrand entered the weekend as the MVFC’s leading ball carrier and the Fort Wayne, Ind. posted a 25-carry, 151 yard effort with a pair of scores in the win over the Penguins. Kerlegrand scored from two yards out in the second quarter to put ISU up 14-7, while his 53-yard run in the fourth quarter marked his second 50-plus yard touchdown run of the 2021 season. Kerlegrand has posted two 150-plus rushing games in the last three weeks and has four touchdowns over the last three games for ISU. 

RB Otis Weah, North Dakota -- Weah returned from an illness that kept him out of last week's action and looked back to full health in a win over Western Illinois. The junior carried it 18 times for a season-high 125 yards and a touchdown to help UND amass over 600 yards of total offense. Weah reached the end zone for the first time since the opening contest. He also had a career-day in the receiving game, catching three passes for 73 yards. 
 
WR Tyrone Scott, Missouri State -- The Bears' standout caught 6 passes for 104 yards in Missouri State’s near-upset of No. 3 North Dakota State on Saturday. Scott also racked up 63 yards after catch in the contest with a long of 40. He is now averaging 104.2 receiving yards per game in Valley games, tops in the league.

QB Cam Miller, North Dakota State -- Entered the game late in the third quarter and sparked two scoring drives in the fourth quarter of a come-from-behind 27-20 win over Missouri State...Went 7-for-9 for 112 yards passing including 6 of 6 on the game-winning drive...Connected with Phoenix Sproles on a 29-yard TD pass and Christian Watson on a 24-yard score...Also carried seven times for 23 yards and picked up three first downs rushing...The Bison averaged 8.2 yards on 19 plays over his three drives.
 
TE Tucker Kraft, South Dakota State -- Kraft recorded his second 100-yard receiving game of the season, tallying 123 yards on nine receptions for South Dakota State in its Oct. 23 Hobo Day game against Northern Iowa. Kraft leads the team this season with 37 receptions and 459 receiving yards through seven games.

TB Jaleel McLaughlin, Youngstown State -- McLaughlin rushed for 138 yards on 17 carries at Indiana State.  His 121.0 yards per game average leads the MVFC. 

DB Darius Joiner, Western Illinois -- Joiner recorded 14 tackes (10 solo) on the road at North Dakota on Saturday (Oct. 23). That total mark is his second-highest of the season.

LB Graham Spalding, South Dakota State -- Spalding registered a game-high 12 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss, and added an interception and pass breakup for South Dakota State in its Hobo Day game against Northern Iowa on Oct. 23. Starting in place of an injured Logan Backhaus, Spalding's 12 tackles were a career high (previous high was 7) and he tied for the team lead this season with his second interception.

LB Jasir Cox, North Dakota State -- Despite making just two tackles, Cox factored in two of the biggest plays on defense in North Dakota State’s 27-20 comeback win over Missouri State...Recorded a solo sack to force a three-and-out early in the fourth quarter after NDSU tied the game at 20, which led to NDSU’s game-winning drive...Also had a 43-yard interception return...Has three interceptions in the past two games and is NDSU’s third-leading tackler.
 
LB Tylar Wiltz, Missouri State -- Wiltz racked up a game-high 12 total tackles in Missouri State’s game at North Dakota State, including 6 solo stops and a tackle for loss. It marked Wiltz’s sixth career double-figure tackle game and second straight road game leading the squad in stops. Nine of Wiltz’s stops at NDSU came on first down plays and resulted in a total of just 13 Bison yards on those 9 plays (3 no games, 1 TFL), and two additional third-down tackles that resulted in fourth down.

DE Ben McNaboe, North Dakota -- McNaboe stepped into the starting role for the first time this season and the first time in his career after injuries along the defensive line caused shuffling. The Rogers, Minn., native stepped in and provided a spark for the UND defense, finishing with two tackles, a sack and an interception. One of his tackles came on a third and short play to end a WIU drive while his interception helped salt away the 34-10 win. 

LB Kenton Wilhoit, Illinois State -- Wilhoit led the way for the Redbird defense in a big road victory at No. 15 South Dakota.  The Oak Grove, Missouri, native led the Redbirds with seven tackles, was credited with a tackle-for-loss and recorded his second interception of the season in the win over the Coyotes. His 20-yard pick six in the third quarter put the Redbirds up 20-7 and was his second in the calendar year, also recording one at UNI in the spring. 

LB Bryce Flater, UNI -- recovered a South Dakota State fumble on the Jackrabbits' opening drive, setting up UNI's first touchdown of the game. He notched a sack that resulted in the loss of 14 yards. He was credited for breaking up three passes and in on seven tackles. He had five solo tackles in the win against South Dakota State. 

PK Aidan Bresnahan, Illinois State -- Bresnahan connected on a pair of field goals to help lead Illinois State to a win over No. 15 South Dakota. The LaGrange Park, Illinois, native connected on a career-long 47-yard field goal to put the first points of the day on the scoreboard for the Redbirds and later made one from 42 yards out as time expired at halftime. 

K Jake Reinholz, North Dakota State -- Scored nine points in North Dakota State’s 27-20 comeback win over Missouri State...Tied a career long with a 46-yard field goal at the end of the first half...Booted a 41-yarder on the opening drive of the second half to tie the game at 13...Converted all three PAT kicks...Made a touchdown-saving tackle on the game’s opening kickoff...Has made 9 of his last 10 field goal tries including four from 40-plus yards.

P Travis Reiner, Indiana State -- Reiner got the job done for the Sycamores as the senior punter posted a 39.2 punt average and dropped three punts inside the 20 in Indiana State’s win over Youngstown State on Saturday afternoon. Reiner’s longest punt of the day came at 47 yards as ISU worked on winning the field position battle in the win over the Penguins. He currently sits among the conference leaders in punts downed inside the 20 on the year with 16 on the season.

PK Brady Stevens, North Dakota -- It was a redemption story for Stevens on Saturday, bouncing back from a trio of missed kicks last week against Southern Illinois. The junior connected on both of his field goals attempts to move to 4-for-7 on the season and sank all four PATs. Stevens also thrived in the kick-off game, notching four of his six kicks for touchbacks and helping limit Tony Tate to only 28 yards on two returns. 

RB Gaven Ziebarth, North Dakota -- Ziebarth had a coming-out party in his first-career action at running back, taking 15 carries for 110 yards for his first-career 100-yard day. He becomes the fourth UND running back to have over 100 yards rushing this season (Weah, Skokna, Smith, Ziebarth) and the second freshman to accomplish the feat. 
 
QB Anthony Thompson, Indiana State -- Thompson put together arguably his most complete game of the 2021 season as the redshirt senior was nearly perfect in the Sycamores’ 28-17 win over Youngstown State. Thompson was 13-of-21 through the air for 156 yards with passes complete to six different receivers in the contest. He also added a season-high 12 carries for 63 yards and two touchdowns in ISU’s win. Thompson put the first points on the board with a six-yard score in the first quarter. His 12-yard touchdown with 14:55 remaining in the fourth quarter put Indiana State ahead for good in the eventual 11-point win.

RB Bradrick Shaw, UNI -- Punched in his third touchdown of the year to get the Panthers on the board in a win against South Dakota State. Shaw had a one-yard score on the Panthers' opening drive. He had 34 total rushing yards on the day. The longest gain was eight yards.  Shaw is a graduate transfer from Wisconsin. He is a life sciences communication major from Hoover, Alabama.