This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include RB Charles Pierre Jr. of South Dakota; QB Beau Brungard of Youngstown State; S Matthew Durrance of South Dakota State; WR Xavier Loyd of Illinois State; K Griffin Crosa of North Dakota State; and RT Mason Miller of North Dakota State.
Co-Offensive Player of the Week
RB Charles Pierre Jr., South Dakota
5-10, 205, R-So., Orlando, Fla. (Ocoee HS)
Pierre Jr. accounted for 48 percent of the South Dakota's 512 total offensive yards (248 total yards, two touchdowns). The sophomore set new career-highs in rushing yards (173), receiving yards (75), and longest reception (53) as the Coyotes erased a 14-0 early deficit to down North Dakota 42-36 for their first-ever win in the Alerus Center and first win in Grand Forks since 1985. He also became the first Coyote in the USD NCAA Division I FCS era to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Pierre Jr. also had half (3) of the team’s explosive plays of 20 or more yards in the win. He had 100+ yards alone in the second half (119) as the 76-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter put him over the 1,000-yard mark for his career. The career-best 173 rushing yards was the fifth time he’s rushed for over 100 yards and the third time for over 150 yards this season.
Co-Offensive Player of the Week
QB Beau Brungard, Youngstown State
6-0, 215, So., New Middletown, Ohio (Springfield HS)
Brungard threw for two touchdowns and ran for a pair in the Penguins’ thrilling season-ending 39-38 win over UNI on Saturday at Stambaugh Stadium. He completed 31-of-36 passes (86 percent) for 256 yards and two scores and rushed 16 times for 78 yards and two touchdowns. In the first quarter he scored on runs of 17 and 1 yard as the Guins jumped out to a 14-0 lead. In a back-and-forth fourth quarter he threw a 22-yard touchdown pass and added a 12-yard score with 1:18 left in the game. In OT, he connected with Austin Bray for the game-winning two-point conversion. He competed his first 13 passes of the game.
Defensive Player of the Week
S Matthew Durrance, South Dakota State
6-2, 215, Jr., Lutz, Fla. (Steinbrenner HS)
Durrance intercepted two passes and registered four solo tackles in South Dakota State’s 41-10 home victory over Southern Illinois on Nov. 16. Durrance’s first interception was returned 12 yards to the SIU 20 early in the second quarter to set up the second of four Jackrabbit touchdowns in the period. His second interception of the game came on a deep pass on the Salukis’ first drive of the second half and led to the final SDSU touchdown of the game.
Newcomer of the Week
WR Xavier Loyd, Illinois State
6-2, 195, Jr., Blue Springs, Mo. (Blue Springs HS / Kansas State)
Loyd nearly tied a school single-game record in Illinois State’s big 31-19 road win at Indiana State. The Blue Springs, Missouri, native caught nearly everything thrown his way and hauled in 13 receptions against the Sycamores, one catch shy of the school single-game mark of 14. Loyd finished the game with 94 yards and scored the Redbirds’ first touchdown on an eight-yard reception from Rittenhouse early in the second quarter that started a string of 31 unanswered points scored by Illinois State.
Special Teams Player of the Week
K Griffin Crosa, North Dakota State
6-1, 184, Sr., Dublin, Ohio (Dublin Scioto HS)
Crosa became NDSU’s all-time leading scorer with 11 points in North Dakota State’s 59-21 win over Missouri State. He kicked eight extra points and a 32-yard field goal to move his career total to 404 points, breaking the NDSU record of 399 points set by Cam Pedersen from 2015 to 2018. Crosa ranks third in MVFC history behind South Dakota State running back Zach Zenner (416) and Northern Iowa kicker Matthew Cook (413).
Offensive Lineman of the Week
RT Mason Miller, North Dakota State
6-7, 305, Sr., Ada, Minn. (Ada-Borup HS)
Miller was the highest graded offensive lineman in North Dakota State’s 59-21 win over Missouri State. Miller graded 93 percent with no sacks or tackles for loss allowed. NDSU averaged 9.6 yards per carry and rushed for a season-high 364 yards. The Bison had two 100-yard rushers for the first time since 2022 in Barika Kpeenu (169) and CharMar Brown (113).
OTHERS NOMINATED
RB Barika Kpeenu, North Dakota State -- Kpeenu rushed 10 times for a career-high 169 yards and two touchdowns in North Dakota State’s 59-21 win over Missouri State. Kpeenu gained six first downs and had the three longest runs of his career, including a 52-yard touchdown on NDSU’s second play of the game, and a 49-yard TD run in the third quarter. It was NDSU’s biggest rushing performance since 2022.
Adrian Hawkins (Jr., Baltimore, Md.) was the highest-graded USD offensive lineman (87.8% PFF Grade) with an offense that put up their fifth 500-yard game and fourth 300-yard rushing game of the season in the comeback victory on the road at North Dakota. So far this season, he has started every single one of the 10 games at right guard for the Coyotes.
WR J’Kalon Carter, Murray State -- Carter had a game-high in receptions and receiving yards in the Racers matchup with SEC opponent Kentucky. The Aubrey, Texas native hauled in seven catches for 130 yards against the Wildcats on Saturday for a season high in both categories. Carter leads the Racers receiving core with 38 receptions and 498 receiving yards this season and ranks 10th in the Valley in receptions and 13th in receiving yards.
RB Amar Johnson, South Dakota State -- Johnson rushed for a career-high 157 yards on 14 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns as South Dakota State closed out the home portion of its regular season schedule with a 41-10 victory over Southern Illinois on Nov. 16. Johnson gained 43 yards on the Jackrabbits’ first play from scrimmage, then added scoring runs of 9 and 3 yards in the middle two quarters as he moved into the SDSU career top 10 for rushing yards with 2,824. In addition, Johnson caught three passes for 39 yards, giving him a career-high 196 all-purpose yards.
QB Tommy Rittenhouse, Illinois State -- Rittenhouse put together one of the best passing games of his career in Illinois State 31-19 road win at Indiana State. The Geneva, Illinois, native completed 70 percent of his passes (29-of-41) and tallied his second 300-plus passing yard performance of the season with 319 yards and three touchdowns in the victory against the Sycamores. His completions and attempts were both career highs, and his 84-yard touchdown reception to Daniel Sobkowicz in the second quarter was the longest in his time at ISU. His first touchdown of the day was a six-yard connection to Xavier Loyd and his final of the day was his second to Sobkowicz, an eight-yard score that made it 24-7 at the time.
WR Bo Belquist, North Dakota -- In North Dakota’s 42-36 loss to No. 5 South Dakota, Bo Belquist pulled in a game-high 10 receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown. Belquist’s three-yard touchdown reception with 23 seconds left almost allowed the Fighting Hawks to have a chance for the win in the final seconds. Belquist was also involved in the final onside kick attempt, where both him and Travis Theis wrestled for the ball before it was ruled a dual-possession, which is awarded to the return team. With his touchdown reception, Belquist is now just two touchdown grabs away from breaking UND's Division I record in career touchdown receptions. He trials only Greg Hardin (2010-13), who hauled in 31 touchdowns in his career.
LB Amir Abdullah, Illinois State -- In his third game back from injury, senior outside linebacker Amir Abdullah looked close to being back to his old self in the Redbirds’ 31-19 win at Indiana State. The Chicago, Illinois, native recorded six tackles, a sack and 2.5 tackles for loss while adding a pass breakup. Abdullah has now recorded a sack in two straight games and has been instrumental in the Redbirds giving up just an average of 14 points in the last three wins while the defense has averaged three sacks and six tackles for loss since the bye week.
LB Wyatt Pedigo, North Dakota -- Pedigo recorded a team-high six tackles (all solo) in North Dakota’s 42-36 loss to No. 5 South Dakota. Pedigo also recovered an onside kick after the Hawks trimmed the deficit to 42-28 with just under six minutes remaining in the game.
PK C.J. Elrichs, North Dakota -- In UND’s 42-36 loss to No. 5 USD, C.J. Elrichs gave the Fighting Hawks a chance to win the game in the final minutes. With just under six minutes to go in the game, Elrichs executed an onside kick to perfection to allow UND to get the ball back after trimming the deficit to 42-28. With 23 seconds left in the contest, he also had another great onside kick which was fought for by Bo Belquist and Travis Theis and ruled a dual-possession, which goes to the receiving team and allowed South Dakota to escape with the 42-36 win. Prior to the late-game heroics, Elrichs was 4-for-4 on extra point attempts and recorded four kickoffs for 221 yards, averaging 55.3 yards per kick.
PK Will Leyland, South Dakota -- Leyland (Jr., Souderton, Pa.) was efficient for the Yotes at North Dakota, putting 10 total points on the board in the 42-36 comeback victory. He put the first USD points on the board in the first quarter with a season-long 45-yard FG. On the day, he would go 2-for-2 in field goals with both from 40+ yards (40- and 45-yard field goals). It’s the third time this season he’s made a pair of field goals in a game, with an offense that scores TDs at a very high clip. He was also a perfect 4-for-4 on the day in PATs and is a perfect 48-for-48 on the season.
P Brendon Kilpatrick, Youngstown State -- Kilpatrick placed both of his punts inside the UNI 10-yard line during the game. He had two kicks for an average of 48.5 per punt. He placed his first punt at the UNI 8-yard line. His second punt was even better as it was downed at the 4-yard line. On YSU’s final PAT attempt of the game, he snared a high snap to set it for a good kick with 1:18 left in regulation.
RB Sawyer Seidl, North Dakota -- In North Dakota’s 42-36 loss to No. 5 South Dakota, Sawyer Seidl had seven rushes for 68 yards and a 51-yard touchdown run. He also had 127 kickoff return yards on five returns, highlighted by a 51-yard return which allowed the Hawks to extend their lead to 21-10 before intermission.
WR Quaron Adams, South Dakota -- Adams (So., Phoenix, Ariz.) continues to electrify the crowd with his receiving ability. He collected another 44 yards on just two receptions (has yet to record more than three in a single game this season). Adams continues to pace the Valley with his 31.5 yards per catch as the constant South Dakota deep threat. Through 10 games this season, he leads the team with his five receiving touchdowns and sits second with 427 receiving yards. He averaged 22.0 yards per catch on the day and brought down a 31-yard reception into the red zone that would then immediately turn into a 13-yard touchdown grab on the very next play as USD cut the lead to 21-17 just before the half.
QB Elijah Owens, Indiana State -- Elijah Owens led Indiana State with 277 yards of total offense including 213 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns, while adding 64 rushing yards and another score on Saturday afternoon against Illinois State. Owens engineered a 17-play, 75-yard game-opening drive that spanned 9:19 in the first quarter and was capped by his one-yard touchdown plunge on fourth down to give the Sycamores an early 7-0 lead. He added two 80-plus yard scoring drives over the final six minutes of the game with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Zavion Taylor and a six-yard toss to Rashad Rochelle as the Sycamores mounted a late comeback against the Redbirds. Owens’ completed 22 total passes to six different receivers on the day, while adding 20 carries for a game-high 64 yards against Illinois State.
RB CharMar Brown, North Dakota State -- Brown rushed 14 times for 113 yards and one touchdown in North Dakota State’s 59-21 win over Missouri State. It was his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season. Brown picked up five first downs and averaged 8.1 yards per carry including a 48-yard touchdown to cap NDSU’s opening drive of the second half to take a 42-14 lead. He leads the FCS and ranks second among Division I freshmen with 911 rushing yards.