This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include QB Cam Miller of North Dakota State; LB Tye Niekamp of Illinois State; P Brendon Kilpatrick of Youngstown State; WR Quaron Adams of South Dakota; and LT Grey Zabel of North Dakota State.



Offensive Player of the Week
QB Cam Miller, North Dakota State
6-1, 212, Sr., Solon, Iowa (Solon HS)
Miller led six scoring drives in seven possessions before leaving the game late in the third quarter of North Dakota State’s eventual 41-17 victory over North Dakota. Miller accounted for 207 yards of total offense and three touchdowns, including his 42nd career rushing touchdown, a new MVFC record for quarterbacks. He completed 13 of 19 passes for 168 yards and two scores, took zero sacks for the second straight game, and extended his streak to 12 games and 235 passing attempts without an interception.



Defensive Player of the Week 
LB Tye Niekamp, Illinois State
6-3, 240, So., Normal, Ill. (Normal Community HS)
Niekamp recorded a season-best 11 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, and one pass break in the dominant road win at Southern Illinois. Following a pivotal interception from Niekamp, his second of the season, the Birds got the ball back in Saluki territory and pulled out the trick double pass play where Daniel Sobkowicz took a backwards pass and stopped in his tracks to throw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Loyd to make the score 31-10 with 12:42 left in the game. Niekamp was instrumental in the ‘Birds recording eight tackles for loss, four sacks, and allowing just 10 points to the nationally ranked Salukis on their home field. 



Special Teams Player of the Week
P Brendon Kilpatrick, Youngstown State
6-2, 220, Jr., Cortland, Ohio (Lakeview HS)
Against Indiana State, Kilpatrick averaged 47.8 yards on five punts. He had kicks of 52, 51, 50, 44 and 42 in the win. He had two inside the 20-yard line and placed one inside the 10. His last punt put the Sycamores at their own eight with under six minutes left.



Newcomer of the Week
WR Quaron Adams, South Dakota
5-7, 175, R-So., Phoenix, Ariz. (Chandler HS)
For the second-straight week, the Iowa State transfer was electric in the passing game. He put up a career-high 83 receiving yards on just three receptions as the receptions mark also ties his career-best. He connected with Aidan Bouman for a 46-yard touchdown in the first drive of the game to set up the game’s first score, after which South Dakota never looked back in the 59-0 dominant win.



Offensive Line
LT Grey Zabel, North Dakota State
6-6, 305, Sr., Pierre, S.D. (T.F. Riggs HS)
Zabel graded out at 94 percent with zero sacks, hurries or tackles for loss allowed in North Dakota State’s 41-17 home win over North Dakota. Zabel led the NDSU offensive line in physicality points as the Bison averaged 4.6 yards per carry and rushed for 208 yards. NDSU converted 11 of 16 third downs, controlled the ball for more than 34 minutes, and scored on six of its first seven possessions to pick up its fifth straight win and earn FCS National Team of the Week honors from Stats Perform.


OTHERS NOMINATED

RB Charles Pierre Jr., South Dakota -- Pierre Jr. (Orlando, Fla.) put up a career-high three rushing scores as South Dakota dominated Murray State 59-0 on the road for the program’s second-straight season starting 2-0 in MVFC play. Only running for 69 yards on 13 carries, but three of those led directly to 21 Coyote points. In a balanced backfield, Pierre Jr. compliments Theis as the Yotes ran for a season-best 361 yards on the day, the first time running for 250+ yards as a team since Cal Poly game in 2021. He accounted for three of the team’s seven rushing scores, the first time running for seven touchdowns in a single game since 2008 (vs. Culver-Stockton (Mo.))

QB Tommy Rittenhouse, Illinois State -- Rittenhouse had a dominant performance in No. 18 Illinois State’s 45-10 victory over No. 19 Southern Illinois. The Geneva, Illinois, native led the Redbirds in rushing yards (84), including a 36-yard touchdown run on second and twenty for the first score of the game. The rushing touchdown marked his fourth of the season, which leads the Redbirds. Rittenhouse also threw for 172 yards, including a 38-yard pass to Daniel Sobkowicz to put the Birds ahead 14-7 in the second quarter. Rittenhouse was a key part of the offensive attack that put 45 points on the board against a top-25 opponent on the road.

RB Angel Johnson, South Dakota State -- Johnson totaled 109 all-purpose yards and scored a touchdown as part of a balanced offensive attack for the Jackrabbits in a 41-3 victory at Northern Iowa on Oct. 5. Johnson caught two passes out of the backfield for 78 yards, including a 66-yard touchdown on a screen pass in the third quarter, and added 31 rushing yards on six attempts.
 
S Dennis Shorter, South Dakota -- Shorter (Sr., Daytona Beach, Fla.) was instrumental in leading the Yote defense to their first MVFC road shutout in program history in the 59-0 dominant win over Murray State, and just the third MVFC shutout for the Yotes. He picked up his second interception of the season and recorded a pair of tackles. Eight of the 12 Racer drives ended with a punt, while three others ended by way of a turnover. 

S Sam Jung, North Dakota State -- In his second game after switching from free safety to strong safety, Jung led the Bison with six total tackles in North Dakota State’s 41-17 victory over North Dakota. He made four solo tackles and two stops for zero or lost yardage as the Bison defense limited UND to 5 of 11 on third down and 101 rushing yards, less than half UND’s season average. Jung, a second-year starter with 61 career games played, leads the NDSU defense with 28 total tackles this season.

DT Jarod DePriest, South Dakota State -- DePriest wreaked havoc in the Northern Iowa backfield all afternoon by registering a career-high six tackles, including two for loss and a sack in South Dakota State’s 41-3 road victory at Northern Iowa on Oct. 5. DePriest also had a hand in two of the four turnovers forced by SDSU, forcing a fumble near midfield on the Panthers’ opening drive of the game and then recovering a fumble following a Max Baloun strip sack as part of a 20-point second quarter for the Jackrabbits. In all, the Jackrabbits scored 24 points off UNI turnovers. SDSU has not allowed a touchdown in its last three games.

Hunter Allen, Youngstown State -- Against Indiana State, Allen registered two sacks and two quarterback hurries in the 21-14 win over the Sycamores. For the contest he had four solo tackles. His final QB hurry came on the ISU's last play, a 4th-and-23 from the YSU 25 with just over a minute and a half left.

K Griffin Crosa, North Dakota State -- Crosa converted two field goals and five extra points in North Dakota State’s 41-17 victory over North Dakota. His 34-yard field goal late in the second quarter gave NDSU a 24-10 halftime lead, and he connected from a season-long 45 yards in the fourth quarter. He ranks third in NDSU history for career field goals (48) and is second in PATs (229).

PK Ian Wagner, Illinois State -- Wagner accounted for nine points for Illinois State in its 45-10 win over No. 19 rival Southern Illinois on Saturday night at Saluki Stadium. Wagner drilled a career-long 47-yard field goal in the second quarter to put the Birds ahead 17-7, and was a perfect 6-for-6 on extra point attempts on the night. He also handled the kickoff duties for the Redbirds, with six touchbacks on eight kickoffs on the night in Carbondale. 

RB Ethan Wright, Youngstown State -- Against Indiana State, Wright rushed for a team-leading 81 yards on 15 carries and scored two touchdowns in the 21-14 victory. He had two scoring runs of two yards to help the Guins take a 21-0 halftime lead against the Sycamores.

DL Ben Harman, Illinois State -- True freshman defensive lineman Ben Harman helped to hold down the defensive line in the second half, which kept Southern Illinois to just three points in the final two quarters of play in a dominant 45-10 victory at Saluki Stadium. The Stoughton, Wisconsin, native did not play until the second half, but still finished the game with 1.5 sacks, 1.5 tackles for loss, five total tackles, and a quarterback hurry. His contributions led to eight total tackles for loss, four total sacks, and two turnovers for a Redbird defense that allowed just 10 points to the nationally-ranked Salukis at home. 

RB CharMar Brown, North Dakota State -- Brown had a game-high 21 carries and 83 yards rushing with one touchdown in North Dakota State’s 41-17 victory over North Dakota. His 2-yard touchdown run capped a seven-play opening drive to put NDSU out to a 7-0 lead. He also caught a 7-yard pass for a third-down conversion as NDSU’s two-minute offense moved into field goal position and built a 24-10 halftime lead. Brown leads the Bison in rushing attempts (95), yards (449) and touchdowns (6) this season.