This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include TB Jaleel McLaughlin of Youngstown State; LB Riley Van Wyhe of UNI; RB Kevon Latulas of Missouri State; and PK Jose Pizano of Missouri State.
 
Offensive Player of the Week
TB Jaleel McLaughlin, Youngstown State
5-9, 175, Sr., Marshville (N.C.) Forest Hills
McLaughlin helped spearhead the Penguins' 35-18 upset win at Southern Illinois on Saturday. McLaughlin rushed for 185 yards on 25 carries and scored three touchdowns in the contest. He averaged 7.4 yards per rush in the game. He had rushing scores of six, 38 and 35 in the contest. He finished the season with 1,139 yards in just 10 games, an average of 113.9 per game. It was sixth 100-yard rushing performance of the season. He tied his season high with three scores.


 
Defensive Player of the Week
LB Riley Van Wyhe, UNI
6-3, 230, Jr., Rock Rapids (Iowa) Central Lyon High School
Van Wyhe led UNI in tackles with 14 total in the convincing 41-3 win against Western Illinois in the regular-season finale.  He had 10 solo tackles and two sacks for a loss of 1.3 yards. He was part of defensive team that held Western Illinois to -46 yards in rushing.


 
Special Teams Player of the Week
PK Jose Pizano, Missouri State
5-7, 218, So., Lehi (Utah) High/Snow College (Utah)
In his return to his home state, Pizano became just the second Missouri State kicker to boot 20 field goals in a season as he extended his streak to 13 straight field goal makes in the Bears' win at Dixie State. He capped a pair of first-half scoring drives with makes from 39 and 25 yards, respectively. He was also 7-for-7 on extra points to give him a 13-point outing and match a career high. Pizano also averaged 64.0 yards on 7 kickoffs with 5 touchbacks. He also eclipsed 100 points on the season (102), just one shy of MSU's season record by a kicker.


 
Newcomer of the Week
RB Kevon Latulas, Missouri State
6-0, 195, Jr., Port Arthur (Texas) Kilgore (Texas) College
Latulas rushed for 162 yards on just 8 carries with two scores to pace Missouri State's 297-yard rushing outburst at Dixie State. Averaging 20.2 yards per carry, Latulas ripped off touchdown runs of 68 and 7 yards on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter to help the Bears put away the Trailblazers before the half. The 162-yard effort by Latulas marked a career high, his second 100-yard rushing game of the season, and the most by a Bears running back since 2018.


OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES

QB Kurtis Wilderman, Indiana State -- Wilderman saved the best performance of his career for his final game as the quarterback posted career-highs in career-highs in completions (21), attempts (38), yards (243), and rushing touchdowns (2) in the 15-10 win over Illinois State. Making the start in the final game in the 2021 regular season, Wilderman avoided turnovers and kept the Sycamores offense moving in targeting 11 different receivers in the win. With Indiana State trailing 10-0 in the second half, the Wadesville, Ind. native put the Sycamores on the board with a six-yard touchdown run to narrow the gap. He followed up with a one-yard touchdown plunge on a quarterback keeper with 3:58 left in the fourth quarter to put the Sycamores ahead for good.

WR Tyrone Scott, Missouri State -- Scott caught 8 passes for 174 yards, including a game-high 60-yard catch that set up a Bears score in the second quarter. He had three receptions for 20 or more yards and eclipsed MSU's single-season receiving yards record (1,039), becoming the first Bear to break 1,000 in a season. He also posted his sixth 100-yard receiving game of the season.

RB Don Williams, UNI -- Williams set a new UNI record with a 99-yard touchdown run, breaking a record set in 1951. He had a career-high rushing night as a Panther with 168 rushing yards. With 15 carries, he averaged 11.1 yards each run. 

QB Cam Miller, North Dakota State -- Miller went 19-for-23 passing for 219 yards – all career highs – and accounted for two touchdowns in North Dakota State’s 52-24 home win over South Dakota. Miller led touchdown drives on NDSU’s first four possessions, including a 75-yard passing play to Phoenix Sproles and his own 8-yard run. Miller completed passes to nine different receivers, averaged 9.5 yards per attempt, and had a streak of 10 consecutive completions during the game as the Bison put up 522 yards of total offense.

QB Chris Oladokun, South Dakota State -- Oladokun completed 19-of-25 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns in South Dakota State’s 24-21 victory over North Dakota on Nov. 20. Oladokun’s touchdown passes covered 17, 23 and 21 yards to three different receivers. He upped his season touchdown total to 20, moving him into seventh place on the Jackrabbit single-season. 

DE Kevin Ellis, Missouri State -- Ellis paced Missouri State's defensive efforts at Dixie State, racking up 6 solo stops, 2.0 sacks, 3.0 tackles for loss and a pair of forced fumbles in helping the Bears rack up their eighth victory for the first time since 1990.

DB Zaire Jones, Youngstown State -- In his final game for the Penguins, Jones did the same thing he did in his first, force a pair of turnovers in an impressive victory. In the 35-18 upset win at Southern Illinois, Jones forced a fumble in the second quarter that setup a YSU TD and intercepted a pass at the YSU 10-yard line that stopped a Saluki drive in the fourth quarter. He was credited with five total tackles, including four solos. In his first game in 2019 he had two interceptions in a win over Samford.

DE Cade Terveer, South Dakota State -- Terveer came up with a pair of sacks on the final drive of the game, helping South Dakota State post a 24-21 victory over North Dakota on Nov. 20. Later in the drive, Malik Lofton intercepted a pass to seal the Jackrabbits’ eighth win of the season. Terveer’s two sacks were a career high as he finished the game with three tackles, broke up a pass and also was credited with a quarterback hurry. 

DB Rylan Cole, Indiana State -- Cole made two standout plays to help secure the Sycamores’ 15-10 win over Illinois State on Saturday afternoon. With Indiana State trailing 7-0 in the first quarter, Cole worked his way across the formation and came up with a key pass breakup on a fly pattern to prevent a potential touchdown catch. He saved his best play of the 2021 season on the Sycamores’ final defensive play of the game as the freshman forced a fumble that Jalen Moss was there to scoop up the ball to secure the win. Cole finished the contest with two tackles in the game.

PR/WR Carter Bell, South Dakota -- Bell became the first Coyote in 15 years to return a punt for a touchdown. His 47-yard strike came on NDSU’s only punt of the day and cut NDSU’s lead to 28-10 early in the second half. Bell also caught a team-high five passes for 43 yards.

PK Cole Frahm, South Dakota State -- Frahm kicked what proved to be the game-winning 38-yard field goal with 5:23 to play in the game as South Dakota State recorded a 24-21 victory over North Dakota on Nov. 20. Frahm’s field goal was his 17th of the season (in 23 attempts), ranking as the fourth-most field goals in a season in program history. He also ended the regular season 47-of-47 on PATs with a team-high 98 points. 

P Travis Reiner, Indiana State -- Reiner made sure his final game in the Sycamore Blue & White was a strong one as the Canyon Country, Calif. native tied his career-long with a 59-yard punt, while pinning two punts inside the 20-yard line in the win. Reiner averaged 38.3 yards per attempt and added a completion on the two-point conversion attempt to Wyatt Harwood to put the score at 10-8 in the third quarter.

P Paddy Lynch, Youngstown State -- Lynch had two punts for 72 yards, but it was his non-punt that swung the momentum towards the Penguins in an upset win at Southern Illinois on Saturday. On the first drive of the game, YSU was forced to punt from the YSU 42-yard line facing a fourth-and-2. Lynch took a rugby run around the right side for 16 yards and a first down. The Guins rode the play to a touchdown on that drive and eventually led 14-0 and 21-3. The Salukis were never able to get within 10 points once the Guins led by 14.

P Nate Murphy, UNI -- Murphy had his first career field goal after serving as UNI's punter. He had four punts for 149 yards, averaging 37.2 yards. He also kicked a 24-yard field goal. 

PR Jayden Price, North Dakota State -- Price had two punt returns for 53 yards in North Dakota State’s 52-24 home win over South Dakota. His 40-yard return into USD territory early in the second quarter set up a 43-yard touchdown on the next play for a 28-0 lead. He also had a 32-yard punt return into USD territory before a holding penalty brought the play back 19 yards. Price leads the conference and ranks fourth nationally with 14.5 yards per punt return.

RB Terrance Kamara, UNI -- Kamara scored his first touchdown as a Panther. It was just his second game with UNI. He was 2-2 on receptions and totaled 60 yards. He rushed for 45 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown.
 
WR Bryce Oliver, Youngstown State -- Oliver caught two touchdown passes for the third time in the past four games in the contest against Southern Illinois. Oliver had a pair of five-yard touchdown receptions in the contest as the Penguins upset the Salukis 35-18. He caught three passes for 17 yards in the game. For the season he had 24 receptions and led the team with eight touchdowns.