This week's Missouri Valley Conference Players of the Week include RB Pierre Strong Jr. of South Dakota State; LB Devon Krzanowski of North Dakota; QB Mark Gronowski of South Dakota State; PK Jake Reinholz of North Dakota State; and C Nathan Nguon of North Dakota.

Offense
RB Pierre Strong Jr., South Dakota State
5-11, 210, Jr., Little Rock, Ark.
Strong tallied 142 all-purpose yards and scored the game-winning touchdown on a 1-yard pass play with 19 seconds remaining in South Dakota State’ 24-20 victory at Northern Iowa on Feb. 19. The junior running back rushed 22 times for 91 yards and caught a team-high six passes for 31 yards. He added a 20-yard kickoff return to round out his performance. 

Defense
LB Devon Krzanowski, North Dakota
6-2, 235, Jr., Fond du Lac, Wis.
Playing in his first Division I game after transferring from St. Cloud State, tallied two tackles for loss, recovered UND’s third forced fumble of the first half and took it for a 36-yard score to put the Fighting Hawks in front, 16-7, late in that opening frame … Helped the UND defense force five turnovers that led to 27 points in the win over No. 24 SIU, the most turnovers forced by the Hawks since a 2016 win over Montana State. 

Newcomer
QB Mark Gronowski, South Dakota State
6-3, 200, Fr., Naperville, Ill.
In his collegiate debut, the true freshman accounted for all three South Dakota State touchdowns in the fifth-ranked Jackrabbits’ 24-20 victory at No. 3 Northern Iowa. Gronowski completed 19-of-29 passes for 194 yards and touchdown passes of 6 yards to Jaxon Janke in the second quarter and the game-winning 1-yard toss to Pierre Strong, Jr. with 19 seconds remaining in the game that capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive. He also rushed for 24 yards on 10 carries, including a 5-yard touchdown late in the first half.  Gronowski connected with seven different receivers in the game.

Special Teams
PK Jake Reinholz, North Dakota State
6-3, 217, Jr., Fargo, N.D.
Reinholz scored seven points in North Dakota State’s 25-7 victory over Youngstown State. His two-point conversion run put NDSU ahead 8-0 late in the first quarter, and his second career field goal (from 28 yards) gave the Bison an 11-0 lead before halftime. Reinholz added a pair of extra point kicks and averaged 62.8 yards on five kickoffs with two touchbacks.

Offensive Line
C Nathan Nguon, North Dakota
6-3, 295, Sr., Burnsville, Minn.
Helped quarterback Tommy Schuster remain spotless in his first-collegiate start, not surrendering a sack against No. 24 SIU … Aided the UND rushing attack to 229 yards and 5.9 yards per carry … Overall, averaged 5.4 yards per play and totaled 347 yards of total offense.