This week’s Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include RB Isaiah Davis of South Dakota State; LB Zeke Vandenburgh of Illinois State; PK Brady Stevens of North Dakota; and WR D'Ante' Cox of Southern Illinois.
 
Offensive Player of the Week
RB Isaiah Davis, South Dakota State
6-1, 220, Jr. (Joplin, Mo./Joplin HS)
Davis rushed for a season-high 199 yards and two touchdowns in South Dakota State’s 34-10 victory over Western Illinois on Oct. 1. He tallied a career-high 27 carries in the game, including all six plays of the Jackrabbits’ first drive of the game, which he finished off with a 2-yard touchdown run. Davis added a 12-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to close out the ninth 100-yard rushing performance of his career and second this season. He also caught two passes for 16 yards in the contest.


 
Defensive Player of the Week
LB Zeke Vandenburgh, Illinois State
6-3, 235, Sr. (Freeport, Ill./Freeport HS)
Linebacker Zeke Vandenburgh was all over the field against Southern Illinois on Saturday night. The senior captain tied his career high with 14 tackles against the Salukis and finished the game with a sack and 3.5 TFLs. The double-digit tackle effort was his third in four games for the Redbirds and he extended his streak of games with three or more TFLs to three games straight. He now leads the Redbirds in tackles (44), sacks (6) and TFLs (10.5) on the season, with the sack and TFL numbers already setting career season bests.


 
Special Teams Player of the Week
PK Brady Stevens, North Dakota
6-1, 170, Sr. (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Colorado)
Brady Stevens went 2-for-2 on field goals, making a 42-yarder on UND’s first possession to trim the deficit to 7-3 and then made a 35-yarder as time expired in the first half to cut the deficit to 21-20. He also had eight kickoffs for 482 yards, averaging 60.6 yards per kick to go with two touchbacks. He was a perfect 4-for-4 on extra points in the 48-31 victory over No. 7 Missouri State.


 
Newcomer of the Week
WR D'Ante' Cox, Southern Illinois
5-11, 177, Sr. (Rochester, Ill./Rochester HS/Missouri Baptist)
Southern Illinois scored all 19 of its points in the 2nd quarter at Illinois State and much of the credit goes to wide receiver D’Ante’ Cox. The twin brother of Peyton Award candidate Avante Cox, D’Ante had 6 catches for 102 yards — both career highs. He caught a 67-yard pass from QB Nic Baker to set up a 2-yard TD run by Javon Williams Jr, and added a 43-yard run on a reverse that set up a two-yard TD run by Romeir Elliott. He had 145 total yards rushing and receiving.
 
OTHERS NOMINATED
 
RB Jaleel McLaughlin, Youngstown State -- McLaughlin rushed for 150 yards on 17 carries against the Bison. He averaged an impressive 8.8 yards per carry. He caught three passes for 43 yards, including a 35-yard score in the fourth quarter. McLaughlin now has 7,096 yards in a career to move into sixth place all-time in NCAA history.
 
RB Tyler Hoosman, North Dakota -- Tyler Hoosman piled up a career-high 147 yards on 16 rushes and a touchdown, while averaging 9.2 yards per carry for North Dakota in the 48-31 win over No. 7 Missouri State. The 55-yard touchdown run in the third quarter put the Hawks up 26-20 and UND would not relinquish the lead after that point. The 147 yards on the ground for Hoosman was not only a career high, but also good for his third 100-yard game this season. His previous 100-yard games were vs. Northern Iowa (101 yards) and at Northern Arizona (102 yards).
 
LB Geoffrey Brown, Indiana State -- Geoffrey Brown was all over the field on Saturday afternoon against Northern Iowa as the sophomore linebacker posted his second double-digit tackling effort of the 2022 season. The Fishers, Ind. native paced the Sycamores with a team-high 10 stops on the day, but made his presence felt early in the second quarter with sacks on consecutive plays that moved UNI from a 1st-and-10 at the ISU 27 to a 3rd-and-31 at the ISU 48. The pressure on the ensuing play led to a Rylan Cole interception that swung the first half momentum to ISU. It was Brown’s first two sacks of the 2022 season and made him just the seventh player in the Curt Mallory coaching era to post two or more sacks in a single game.
 
LB Devon Krzanowski, North Dakota -- Devon Krzanowski paced the Fighting Hawks on defense with six tackles (five solo, one assisted), to go with a sack and a quarterback hurry. His sack came on 4th and 3 from the UND 43 with just under nine minutes to go. Not only did the sack end the drive, it gave North Dakota the ball back with the 41-24 lead, allowing the Hawks to chew up 4:51 on the next possession.
 
LB Von Young, Missouri State - Young had a career-high and game-high 12 tackles, including 8 solos at North Dakota, including a second-quarter interception that ultimately led to a Bears touchdown.
 
DE Richie Hagarty, Southern Illinois -- Made the game-winning play in a 19-14 victory at Illinois State. The Redbirds had driven to the SIU 13 yard line with under two minutes to play. On 4th-and-8, Hagarty blew past his blocker for a sack that ended the threat and allowed Southern to run out the clock. It was Hagarty’s fourth sack in the last three weeks. For the game, he also made five tackles and had two tackles for losses totaling 11 yards.
 
S T.J. Limehouse, Western Illinois -- T.J. Limehouse led the Leathernecks, finishing with 11 tackles, nine solo. It was the second-straight game Limehouse finished with double-digit tackles.
 
PK Colt McFadden, Youngstown State -- McFadden made a pair of field goals in the Penguins' 27-14 loss at North Dakota State. McFadden connected on a career-long 47-yard try in the third quarter and made a 22-yarder in the second quarter.
 
RB Jacardia Wright, Missouri State -- Wright racked up a team-high 122 all-purpose yards at North Dakota and came up just shy of his second 100-yard rushing game of the season. He carried 12 times for 97 yards, including a 55-yard rush on the first play of the game.
 
LB Jason Freeman, South Dakota State -- Freeman, who recently moved into the Jackrabbits’ starting lineup, was credited with five tackles (all solo), including a tackle for loss, and broke up a pass in South Dakota State’s 34-10 victory over Western Illinois on Oct. 1. Freeman was part of an SDSU defense that limited Western Illinois to 220 yards of total offense, of which only 19 came on the ground.