This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include QB Jacob Clark of Missouri State; DL Mi’Quise Grace of South Dakota; QB Jake Curry of Southern Illinois; and K/P Hunter Dustman of South Dakota State.
Offensive Player of the Week
QB Jacob Clark, Missouri State
6-5, 220, Sr., Rockwall, Texas (Rockwall HS)
Clark passed for a career-high 431 yards and tossed four TD passes to lead Missouri State to season highs in total yards (579) and points (59) in Saturday's win at Murray State. His effort moved him past Jay Rodgers (1999) for the Bears' single-season touchdown record with his 25th of the campaign. He also moved into second-place on MSU's single-season passing yards list, just 176 behind Jason Shelley's (2021) season standard (3,347), and completions (230), just five behind Shelley. Clark has thrown for 200+ yards in every game this season and pushed past 4,000 career passing yards as well in Saturday's win -- MSU's eighth in a row. Clark completed 11 straight passes at one stretch during Saturday's game.
Defensive Player of the Week
DL Mi’Quise Grace, South Dakota
6-4, 255, So., Cincinnati, Ohio (Princeton HS)
Grace was the biggest reason on the defensive line that Indiana State was held to a whopping (-3) rushing yards and just 129 total yards on the day. The 129 total yards allowed was a league-best in 2024 as was the 2.4 yards per play allowed and the minus-3 yards rushing. Indiana State did not have a rush longer than six yards in the contest -- also a league best by USD. Grace set a new career-best with his 3.0 tackles for loss, along with 1.5 sacks coming early in the second half. He also forced a fumble on a strip-sack and was credited with three quarterback hurries, living in the Sycamore backfield all day. The Coyotes got home for five team sacks in the shutout win, which marks a season-best. The pressure from Grace and the front seven was stout and instrumental to the Coyotes picking up a season-best 129 total yards and rushing yards allowed marks.
Newcomer of the Week
QB Jake Curry, Southern Illinois
5-11, 185, Fr., Edwardsville, Ill. (Edwardsville HS)
True freshman quarterback Jake Curry rallied SIU from a 28-0 deficit to beat Youngstown State, 37-33. It was the largest comeback in school history and tied for the largest in conference history. Curry completed 19-of-26 passes for 322 yards and three touchdowns and also led the team in rushing with 10 carries for 78 yards and one TD. He threw two touchdown passes in the final three minutes — an 18-yard fade route to TE Colton Hoag, and a 20-yard seam route to Bradley Clark for the game-winner with 1:09 remaining.
Special Teams Player of the Week
K/P Hunter Dustman, South Dakota State
6-4, 225, Sr., East Bethel, Minn. (St. Francis HS)
Dustman scored eight points and averaged 44.5 yards on four punts as part of an all-around solid performance by South Dakota State in a 38-7 road win at North Dakota on Nov. 9. He put the first Jackrabbit points on the board with a 32-yard field goal late in the first quarter, then kicked five extra points in the middle two quarters. Dustman landed two of his four punts inside the UND 20-yard line with a long of 51.
OTHERS NOMINATED
RB Charles Pierre Jr., South Dakota -- For the second time this season, sophomore running back Pierre Jr. (Orlando, Fla.) rushed for 150+ yards with 165 yards on 11 carries for a whopping 15.0 yards per carry mark. In the third quarter, he was able to break free from the Sycamore first level and break off a new career-best 83-yard touchdown run to make it 35-0 Yotes. It’s the second time in his career that Pierre Jr. has broken off an 80+ yard TD run against Indiana State, topping his previous career-best of 81 yards last season. Additionally, the stellar rushing performance this week puts Pierre Jr. as the top rushing Coyote (by total yards) in the Division I FCS era at 872 yards with two regular season games remaining.
RB Jacardia Wright, Missouri State -- Wright scored three touchdowns and racked up 166 all-purpose yards to help pace Missouri State's season-high 59-point outburst at Murray State on Saturday. Wright averaged 6.2 per carry on 12 carries, including a 30-yard TD carry. He also racked up 92 receiving yards on two receptions with TD catches of 60 yards and 32 yards. Wright has scored a touchdown in 10 straight games and has racked up 13 rushing touchdowns and 15 total touchdowns on the campaign, both of which rank in the top 5 in MSU single-season history. He became MSU’s first player to score three touchdowns in a game since Ty Scott (3) vs. UT Martin, 9/8/22.
RB Wenkers Wright, Illinois State -- Wright recorded his fifth 100-plus yard rushing effort of the season as the Redbirds rolled to a 31-9 win at UNI. The Floyds Knobs, Indiana, native rushed for 109 yards on 21 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns, as ISU tallied 217 yards rushing on the ground against UNI. Wright averaged 5.2 yards per carry and scored on touchdowns of three yards in the third quarter and capped off the day’s scoring with a 14-yard score in the fourth quarter.
WR Griffin Wilde, South Dakota State -- Wilde caught five passes for 140 yards and a career-high three touchdowns in South Dakota State’s 38-7 road win Nov. 9 at North Dakota. His first two touchdowns covered 25 and 39 yards as part of a 28-point second quarter by the Jackrabbits. He later capped the scoring with a 47-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.
LB Chris Presto, Southern Illinois -- Presto had a career-high 16 tackles, including 2.0 tackles for loss in SIU’s 37-33 comeback win over Youngstown State. After allowing 28 points in the first half, SIU’s defense held the Penguins to just a field goal in the second half and stopped YSU on three-straight pass attempts from the SIU 17 in the final 14 seconds of play.
RB Matt Lawson, Illinois State - Lawson had his best day as a Redbird as he helped lead ISU to a 31-9 victory at UNI. The Hoffman Estates, Illinois, native rushed for a career-high 84 yards and scored his third touchdown of the year in the win over the Panthers. Lawson averaged 5.2 yards per carry and ripped off a long run of 17 yards, as the Redbirds tallied 217 yards on the ground. His four-yard touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter put the Redbirds up 24-6 at the time and helped cement the team’s third win a row.
WR Allen Middleton, Southern Illinois -- Middleton had a break-out game for the Salukis in their 37-33 comeback win over Youngstown State with a team-high 7 catches for 102 yards and a touchdown. He had 37 yards after the catch.
WR Quaron Adams, South Dakota -- Adams (So., Phoenix, Ariz.) had another breakout performance in front of the home crowd, setting career highs in receiving yards (133), touchdowns (2), and longest catch (67 yards). He did all his damage on just two receptions with both resulting in 65+ yard touchdown grabs. He burnt the Sycamore secondary deep on the first drive of the game for a 66-yard touchdown reception, followed by a 67-yard touchdown reception from a second QB in the fourth quarter to cap off the scoring barrage as South Dakota picked up their second shutout of the season with a 49-0 win over Indiana State.
P Hayden Futch, Illinois State -- Futch didn’t have many opportunities to kick in Illinois State’s 31-9 victory over UNI, however when he did, he made the most of it. The Valdosta, Georgia, native averaged 50.0 yards per punt on just two attempts, with a long of 54 yards, and both of those punts pinned the Panthers inside the 20 yard line.
RB Jayden Becks, Missouri State -- Becks' 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of Saturday's win at Murray State tied for the 10th-longest in Missouri State history and was the Bears' first kickoff return for a TD since Montrae Braswell's 98-yard KO return against Central Arkansas in 2022. Becks finished the day with 220 all-purpose yards, the most by any Missouri State player 2015. He averaged 45.0 yards on three kickoff returns for the day and logged a game-high 85 rushing yards on 7 carries (12.1 ypc).
PK James London, Murray State -- London once again impressed for the Racers, making all three of his field goal attempts in Murray State’s matchup with Missouri State, including two of 50+ yards. The sophomore made field goals of 50 yards, 43 yards, and 52 yards and now has seven career field goals of 50 yards or longer, the most in Murray State football history. London now has three of the four longest field goals in the MVFC this season.