This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include QB Beau Brungard of Youngstown State; LB Geoffrey Brown of Indiana State; RB CharMar Brown of North Dakota State; PK Andrew Lastovka of Youngstown State; and OC Cash Hudson of Missouri State.



Offensive Player of the Week
QB Beau Brungard, Youngstown State
6-0, 215, So., New Middletown, Ohio (Springfield HS)
Brungard helped engineer YSU's first win over a top-10 team since November 2019 with a four-touchdown performance vs. North Dakota on Saturday night at Stambaugh Stadium. He rushed for 176 yards on 18 carries and had three scores while passing for another in the 41-40 overtime win. He scored on runs of 2, 13 and 28 yards and passed for a seven-yard touchdown. He set the school record for single-season rushing yards by a QB with 777 yards on 109 carries and now has 11 TDs during the evening.



Defensive Player of the Week
LB Geoffrey Brown, Indiana State
6-1, 230, Sr., Fishers, Ind. (Fishers HS)
When the Sycamores needed a defensive spark on Homecoming, they got it from their senior captain as Geoffrey Brown stepped in front of an SIU pass early in the third quarter and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown starting a 20-0 unanswered run in the second half as Indiana State topped Southern Illinois on Saturday afternoon, 20-17. Brown posted his second double-digit tackling effort of the 2024 season with 11 tackles, moving him to 286 career stops, and added a tackle-for-loss as the defensive leader stepped up in Garret Ollendieck’s absence in the middle of the field. His pick-six marked Indiana State’s fourth defensive touchdown of the 2024 season as the Sycamores limited SIU to just 140 yards and seven first downs in the second half.



Newcomer of the Week
RB CharMar Brown, North Dakota State
5-11, 214, RFr., Omaha, Neb. (Creighton Prep HS)
Brown rushed 13 times for 97 yards and three touchdowns in North Dakota State’s 59-6 win at Murray State. He scored on runs of 7 and 3 yards in the first half and added a 1-yard TD in the second half. Brown has scored in 6 of 9 games this year. He ranks fourth in the MVFC with 10 rushing TDs and leads all Division I freshmen with 674 rushing yards.



Special Teams Player of the Week
PK Andrew Lastovka, Youngstown State
5-8, 170, So. Sagamore Hills, Ohio (Nordonia HS)
Lastovka kicked field goals of 34 and 35 yards and made five extra points in the 41-40 upset win over North Dakota. His 35-yard kick with six seconds left in regulation helped tied the contest at 34 with 12 seconds left. His final extra point was the difference in the contest.



Offensive Lineman of the Week
OC Cash Hudson, Missouri State
6-3, 290, So., Tulsa, Okla. (Bishop Kelley HS)
  In Missouri State's road win over Northern Iowa, Cash helped anchor a stellar performance by the Bears' offensive line that rolled up 575 total yards, 300 ground yards, 49 points, and 28 first downs to collect the team's sixth straight victory. It marked MSU's first 300-yard rushing game since 2017, producing two 100-yard rushers for the first time since 2013 and rolling up 40 or more points for the third straight game for the first time since 2003. MSU averaged 10.0 yards per carry on 30 attempts at UNI with just one negative play (one yard). In fact, the O-Line did not allow any sacks on the afternoon with Hudson grading out at 98 percent for the game's assignments, 96 percent effort grade, and 90 percent technique grade. The Preseason All-MVFC center was named as a Phil Steele Freshman All-America pick last season.


OTHERS NOMINATED 

WR Bryce Lance, North Dakota State -- Lance caught four passes for 108 yards and three touchdowns all in the first half of North Dakota State’s 59-6 win at Murray State. It was Lance’s first three-touchdown game. He had a career-long 74-yard reception from Cam Miller for a touchdown on the first play after a missed field goal as the Bison jumped out to a 14-0 lead. Lance is tied for the league lead with eight touchdown catches, the most by an NDSU player since Darrius Shepherd’s nine in 2018.

QB Simon Romfo, North Dakota -- In the 41-40 overtime loss at Youngstown State, Simon Romfo was 20-for-25 passing for 207 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 24 yards rushing in the game. UND’s overtime possession as highlighted by a Romfo 24-yard rush on 3rd & 12 from the YSU 27.  At the half, Romfo was 13-for-14 for 154 yards and a touchdown. Through the first three quarters, Romfo was 16-for-17 for 175 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His only incomplete pass at that point was a drop.

RB Jacardia Wright -- Wright helped lead the Bears to a thrilling 49-42 win at Northern Iowa, compiling 145 rushing yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns and 8.5 yards per carry. His two second-half touchdowns on consecutive possessions proved pivotal in helping the Bears build a 14-point lead late in the third quarter, while he helped grind out the victory in the fourth quarter with three first-down rushes on MSU's final scoring drive of the night. He finished with six carries of 11 yards or more, a long of 37, six first downs and two touchdowns. His two rushing scores pushed him to fifth on MSU's career list (26) while becoming the 11th Bear to eclipse 2,000 career rushing yards. Thanks to Wright and fellow running back Jayden Becks, the Bears compiled a season-high 575 yards of total offense, scored touchdowns on seven of their first nine possessions on the game, and posted 300 ground yards.

LB Enock Sibomana, North Dakota State -- Making his first career start at linebacker, Sibomana made four tackles and scored his first career touchdown all in the first half of North Dakota State’s 59-6 win at Murray State. Sibomana returned his first career interception 34 yards for a touchdown as the Bison jumped out to a 21-0 in the first quarter. It was the first defensive touchdown for NDSU this season.

LB Ben Bogle, Southern Illinois -- Recorded 9 tackles, 1 interception and 1 fumble recovery in a 20-17 loss to Indiana State on Saturday. His interception just before halftime led to a Saluki field goal with 1 second left that gave SIU a 17-0 halftime lead. Bogle had a tackle for loss and continues to rank No. 2 in the nation in tackles for loss with 14.0 on the season.

QB Elijah Owens, Indiana State -- Owens continues to make waves in the second half of games as the Jacksonville, Ill. native led the Indiana State offense to a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown drives to secure the Sycamores’ come-from-behind 20-17 win over Southern Illinois. Trailing 17-7 and backed up on their 2-yard line, Owens guided the Sycamores on a 14-play, 98-yard drive that spanned nearly eight minutes before connecting with Lance Rees for a two-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit down to 17-14. Owens rushed for 25 yards and completed passes to Zavion Taylor and Rashad Rochelle (twice) to move the chains before finding Rees for the score. After the Indiana State defense forced a fumble near midfield, Owens carried the ball three times on the seven-play, go-ahead scoring drive picking up gains of seven and five yards before breaking through the middle for the 28-yard go-ahead touchdown with 7:45 to play. Late in the game, Owens picked up 13 yards on 4th-and-6 to keep the clock rolling and secured Indiana State’s second MVFC win of the season. Owens finished the contest with 15 carries for 119 yards and a touchdown on the ground, and shook off a first-half interception to complete 13 of 17 passes for 78 yards and a touchdown through the air.

K Griffin Crosa, North Dakota State -- Crosa converted seven extra-point kicks in North Dakota State’s 59-6 win at Murray State. He moved into second place on NDSU’s all-time scoring list with 387 points, passing NDSU all-time leading rusher Lamar Gordon (384) and College Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jeff Bentrim (386). Crosa also passed UNI running back David Johnson (384) for fourth place on the MVFC career scoring list.