This week’s Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include QB Connor Sampson of Western Illinois; DE Braydon Deming of Illinois State; DB Hunter Lunsford of Indiana State and WR Phazione McClurge of Indiana State.
 
Offensive Player of the Week
QB Connor Sampson, Western Illinois
6-3, 215, Sr. Belleville, Mich. (Belleville High)
Saturday was a career day for Sampson, who led Western Illinois to a heroic comeback attempt against No. 6 Eastern Washington.  In the 62-56 loss, Sampson set a career high in single-game passing yards -- going 31-of-46 for 425 yards. It currently ranks as the fifth-highest spot in the program's single-game records. His previous single-game best was 368 yards vs. South Dakota on Nov. 2, 2019.  He also threw for a career-high four touchdowns.  The 425-yard game was the best in the league last week, and the four TD passes tied for the MVFC's best this year.


 
Defensive Player of the Week
DE Braydon Deming, Illinois State
6-4, 255, Jr., Billings, Mont. (Billings West High / Montana)
Deming had a career night in ISU’s 31-24 win over rival Eastern Illinois in the Mid-America Classic. The Billings, Mont., native made his presence known on the defensive line for the Redbirds, tying for the team lead with a career-best 10 tackles and added a sack and four TFLs in the victory for the Redbirds.  The four TFLs are a league single-game high this season.
 


Special Teams Player of the Week
DB Hunter Lunsford, Indiana State
6-1, 215, R-Sr., Elk Grove, Calif. (Consumnes Oaks High / Columbia)
Lunsford put the first points on the board for the Sycamores on Saturday night as the redshirt senior scooped up a fumble on a muffed punt and took it into the end zone to put Indiana State ahead early. The five-yard return was Indiana State’s first fumble return TD since the 2019 season and highlighted his evening that featured two tackles on the day. Indiana State rallied to defeat Eastern Kentucky on the road, 23-21.


 
Newcomer of the Week
WR Phazione McClurge, Indiana State
6-2, 190, Gr., Chicago, Ill. (Mount Carmel High / Cornell)
McClurge put the Sycamores on his back when it came down to the wire in Indiana State’s 23-21 win over Eastern Kentucky on Saturday night. McClurge hauled in a 10-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to put the Sycamores ahead 14-7. He added the game-winning touchdown reception as time expired with the graduate student going up and over the defender for the 24-yard touchdown catch to silence the crowd at EKU and bring Indiana State onto the field in celebration. He finished with a career-high six catches for 75 yards in the win.


OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES

RB Cole Mueller, Illinois State -- Mueller helped the Redbirds pick up a big win over rival Eastern Illinois in the Mid-America Classic. The Wentzville, Missouri, native rushed for a career-high 144 yards on 16 carries with big runs all night, including a 33-yarder on the final scoring drive that setup the game-winning touchdown.

RB Mike Mansaray, South Dakota -- Mansaray ran 21 times for a career-high 141 yards and two touchdowns while making his first collegiate start. He capped the opening possession of the game with a 13-yard run and plunged in from 1-yard out later in the first quarter to push USD to a 21-7 lead. Mansaray ran 17 times for 125 yards in the first half in pushing USD to a 41-7 halftime lead.

WR Isaiah Weston, UNI --Notched a team-high 60-yard touchdown pass and had 86 yards in receiving in the win against St. Thomas.

RB Luke Skokna, North Dakota -- Skokna amassed a career-best 197 all-purpose yards with one touchdown and his second career 100-yard rushing game. He busted a 51-yard touchdown run in his first touch and followed that up with a 48-yard rush on his second. In just three carries, he recorded his first rushing game since a 114-yard performance against Southern Utah in 2019.  Skokna finished the night with 123 yards on eight rushes, two catches for five yards, and a combined 69 punt and kick return yards. He previously broke his personal all-purpose yards mark at Utah State last weekend with a 145-yard performance.

DB Jayson Coley, North Dakota -- Part of a defensive effort that recorded its first shutout since 2017, Jayson Coley recorded his first collegiate interception in the Fighting Hawks home-opener. Coley also made three tackles, including two behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of six yards to lead the Hawks in tackles for loss and yards lost. Coley returned his first pick 48 yards to put the UND offense in the red zone for the eighth time in the contest. The North Dakota defense registered three interceptions for the second time in the last three games.

LB Jackson Hankey, North Dakota State -- Hankey made a team- and season-high seven tackles including 1.5 tackles for loss in North Dakota State’s 35-7 road win over Towson. NDSU limited Towson to 2 of 14 on third down with Hankey in on two of those stops, and Hankey was part of a goal-line stand making a tackle for no gain on a fourth-and-2 at the Bison 4 to preserve a 13-0 lead early in the second quarter. North Dakota State limited Towson to 37 rushing yards on 30 attempts. The Bison defense did not allow a point for nine quarters before a Towson touchdown with 2:20 left in the game.

DB Darius Joiner, Western Illinois -- Joiner continued his place as one of the Leathernecks' top defensive threats -- collecting 11 tackles (six solo) against Eastern Washington.

DB Benny Sapp III, UNI -- Sapp grabbed an individual game high of two interceptions to help the Panthers take down St. Thomas, 44-3. He gained 43 yards off his two interceptions. He also notched two tackles, one solo and one assisted.

LB Geoffrey Brown, Indiana State -- Brown took advantage of his first collegiate start to pace the Sycamores defense with seven tackles while tying Inoke Moala with 1.5 tackles for loss in the Indiana State 23-21 win over Eastern Kentucky. Brown had three stops in the first half, before turning it on in the second half with four tackles and a key pass breakup deep in Sycamores’ territory. The pass breakup came on fourth-down at the Indiana State 16-yard line and led to a turnover on downs that helped flip the field.

LB Brock Mogensen, South Dakota -- Mogensen had a team-high five tackles including one for loss in leading a Coyote defense that limited Cal Poly to seven first downs and 243 yards of offense in a 48-14 road win. Cal Poly was 3 of 14 on third down and possessed the ball for just 17:25.

DL Anthony Knighton, Southern Illinois -- 4 tackles, 1.5 TFL and 0.5 sacks in the 55-3 win over Dayton, moving into a tie for the all-time lead in career sacks at SIU with 24.0. SIU’s starters played just 2.5 quarters, as the defense held the Flyers to 218 total yards.

PK Nico Gualdoni, Southern Illinois -- was perfect on the night, converting all 7 extra point attempts, plus a pair of field goals (25 and 40 yards). He also handled kickoff duties, and 6 of his 10 kickoffs resulted in touchbacks.

PK Mason Laramie, Western Illinois -- Perfect 8-8 on PATs during the Eastern Washington contest.

PK Mason Lorber, South Dakota -- Lorber made two more field goals and all six extra points in helping South Dakota to a 48-14 win at Cal Poly Saturday. He was good from 20 yards at the start of the second quarter and made a 42-yarder on the final play of the first half that gave USD a 41-7 lead. Lorber also had four touchbacks on eight kickoffs.

Sean Wendell, UNI -- jumped on a St. Thomas punt snap that was fumbled and ran the ball six yards to score the Panthers' final touchdown.

S Sammy Fort, North Dakota -- Fort was Johnny on The Spot for North Dakota’s punt team, recovering a muffed punt return to help setup the Fighting Hawks final touchdown of the game. Fort pounced on the dropped fair catch on the Drake five yard line as teammate Austin Clementson scored his first career touchdown on the next play. The Lynn, Mass., product registered two tackles in the contest, one each in the previous two defensive drives for the Fighting Hawks.

RB Isaiah Smith, North Dakota -- In his first ever appearance in the Kelly Green and White, Isaiah Smith rushed for a game-best 125 yards on 12 carries with a touchdown to his credit. Smith also made one catch for 10 yards on the first UND play from scrimmage for a touchdown. He rocketed a 43-yard in the second quarter to setup a Fighting Hawk field goal later in the drive and scored his first collegiate touchdown on the next series, playing a significant part in all 10 of the Hawks points in the second period.

QB Theo Day, UNI -- Got his start at quarterback for UNI in a 44-3 rout of St. Thomas. Day ran a balanced offense, with 193 yards of rushing and completed 18 passes for 193 yards. He kept the ball himself to add 11 yards to the team total for rushing. He connected with Isaiah Weston for a 60-yard touchdown.

CB David Miller, Southern Illinois -- a redshirt freshman transfer from Navy, made his first career start and led the team with 8 tackles, including 7 solos, as the defense held the Flyers to 218 total yards.