This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include QB Michael Lindauer of Southern Illinois; LB Tye Niekamp of Illinois State; LB Nate Ewell of South Dakota; WR/RS Sergio Morancy of UNI; and OC Joey Lombard of South Dakota.
Offensive Player of the Week
QB Michael Lindauer, Southern Illinois
6-3, 202, Sr., Evansville, Ind. (Reitz Memorial/Cincinnati)
In his first and last career start, Lindauer passed for a school-record seven touchdowns, as Southern Illinois blanked Murray State, 62-0, on Senior Day. A remarkable comeback story, Lindauer retired from playing football last spring, having never attempted a collegiate pass. The Evansville native had spent five seasons between Cincinnati and Southern Illinois, but injuries limited his opportunities, and he turned to coaching as a graduate assistant on SIU's staff heading into the 2024 season. In a twist of fate, SIU's quarterback room became decimated by injuries this season, and Lindauer was called back to active duty in Week 8, after the Salukis had lost three quarterbacks, including their first and second-string QBs. Lindauer mainly served as backup to true freshman Jake Curry, but then Curry suffered a hamstring injury in Week 10, opening the door for Lindauer to start this week on Senior Day. Lindauer completed 20-of-33 passes for 283 yards, seven TDs and no interceptions.
Defensive Player of the Week
LB Tye Niekamp, Illinois State
6-3, 240, So., Normal, Illinois (Normal Community HS)
Niekamp led the Illinois State defense in its dominant 35-13 win over North Dakota on Senior Day. The reining MVFC Freshman of the Year had one of his better performances of the year, leading the team with 10 tackles while adding a sack and three pass breakups in the victory. Niekamp and the Redbirds defense held the dangerous UND offense to just 266 yards of total offense in the win, while ISU forced two turnovers and recorded 5.0 tackles-for-loss.
Newcomer of the Week
LB Nate Ewell, South Dakota
6-2, 225, Sr., Waterloo, Iowa (West HS)
Ewell had one of his biggest days as a Coyote against the top-ranked team in the nation. He posted his second double-digit tackle game of the season, tied with teammate Dennis Shorter, with 10 tackles. He also picked up a tackle for loss for six yards, just his second TFL of the season. The Grand View (Iowa, NAIA) transfer was also active in the pass game defense, picking up a quarterback hurry on a blitz and pass breakup.
Special Teams Player of the Week
WR/RS Sergio Morancy, UNI
6-3, 185, Sr., Naples, Fla. (Lely HS)
Morancy scored a league-season best 24 points (4 TDs) in UNI's 41-34 victory against Indiana State. Morancy's 63-yard punt return for a touchdown put the Panthers ahead 10-7, and his next two scores -- both TD receptions -- turned a 14-10 deficit into a 24-14 Panther lead, one they would not relinquish. Morancy's fourth TD in the game turned a 3-point lead into a 10-point Panther advantage with 7:44 remaining in the contest. Morancy's punt return touchdown was the first punt return for a touchdown for the Panthers since Jalen Rima took one to the house against Indiana State in 2016. Morancy also became the first Panther since Rima in 2016 to return a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown in the same season. Morancy also added a 57-yard kickoff return in the game. Morancy recorded the first 3+ touchdown game of his career. He also became the first Panther since Isaiah Weston in 2019 to record three reception touchdowns in the same game. Morancy's 119 yards are the third-most in his career and the fourth time breaking the 100-yard threshold.
Offensive Lineman of the Week
OC Joey Lombard, South Dakota
Lombard was an anchor on the Coyote offensive line at center that gave QB Aidan Bouman time to throw on the final two drives of the game to secure the 11-point comeback win. As a member of the USD O-line, the protection awarded to Bouman resulted in four explosive plays of 20+ yards, including two touchdown passes of 25 and 40 yards. The Coyotes would put up 390 yards of offense against NDSU (272 through the air). The 390 yards of total offense on the day was the most given up the Bison against FCS opponents this season. Lombard graded out with a 91 PFF on the week in the 29-28 comeback victory over No. 1-ranked North Dakota State on Senior Day.
OTHERS NOMINATED
RB Tye Edwards, UNI -- Edwards' 75-yard touchdown rush was the Panthers' longest rush of the season, Edwards' longest of his career, and the longest touchdown of his career. Edwards set a new career high with 229 rushing yards. He is the first Panther since 2015 to rush for over 200 yards. He's the first back in the MVFC to rush for 200+ yards this year.
RB Wenkers Wright, Illinois state -- Wright took over the game on the ground in the second half for Illinois State, helping the Redbirds secure a 35-13 home finale win against North Dakota. The Floyds Knobs, Indiana, native rushed for 83 of his game-high 118 yards in the final two quarters of play and finished the game with a pair of rushing touchdowns in the win over the Fighting Hawks. Wright scored on runs of 10 and 18 yards, respectively, to record his sixth 100-plus yard rushing performance of the season. His 118 yards rushing also put him over 1,000 on the year and he currently sits at 1,035.
WR Griffin Wilde, South Dakota State -- Wilde caught four passes for 139 yards (34.8 ypr) and a touchdown in South Dakota State’s 45-9 road win at Missouri State on Nov. 23. All four of Wilde’s catches went for at least 17 yards, including a 53-yard catch and run in the third quarter that resulted in a touchdown. It was the fourth time this season that Wilde topped the 100-yard mark in receiving and he finished the regular season with team highs of 56 receptions, 900 receiving yards and 8 receiving touchdowns.
QB Aidan Bouman, South Dakota -- Bouman (Jr., Buffalo, Minn.) erupted for 271 yards and two touchdown scores in the dramatic 11-point comeback victory in the fourth quarter to down No. 1 North Dakota State and secure a share of the MVFC title, the first in program history. Bouman threw for 200+ yards for the first time in his career against the Bison and picked up his 20th win as the starting quarterback at South Dakota. The redshirt junior also threw for 200+ yards for the seventh time this season and 2+ touchdown passes for the fifth time, while cracking the USD single season top-10 list for passing yards in a season for the second-straight year. He led back-to-back touchdown drives in the final four-plus minutes, throwing for over 50% of his passing yards, that completed the comeback down 28-17 with four-plus minutes left. The final two touchdown drives saw TD passes of 40 and 25 yards.
DB Dennis Shorter, South Dakota -- Shorter (Sr., Daytona Beach, Fla.) stepped up in a big way on his Senior Day inside the DakotaDome. The senior stepped up in both the passing and running games, recording a tie for the game-high with 10 tackles, along with teammate Ewell. He was a big reason as to why the Coyote defense held the Bison to their second-lowest amount of rushing yards (166) against FCS opponents this season. He also recorded a pass break-up for the Coyote secondary.
S Tucker Large, South Dakota State -- Large registered five tackles and broke up three passes to help lead a South Dakota State defense that did not allow a touchdown in a 45-9 road win at Missouri State to close out league play on Nov. 23. One of Large’s pass breakups came after the Bears recovered a muffed kickoff at the SDSU 2 late in the second quarter and had to settle for a short field goal. The Jackrabbits then went on to score the game’s final 28 points to pull away for their 10th win of the season and the MVFC’s automatic bid to the playoffs. Large’s five tackles tied a season high and his three PBUs tied a career best.
LB Shug Walker, Southern Illinois -- A Murray State transfer, Walker led the team with 11 tackles, 2.0 sacks, 3.0 tackles for loss, an interception and a forced fumble in SIU’s 62-0 win over Murray State. The 62-point margin of victory was the largest against a Division I opponent in stadium history and the 10th largest all-time.
WR Xavier Loyd, Illinois State -- Loyd recorded his second 100-plus yard receiving performance of the season in Illinois State’s 35-13 victory over North Dakota on Senior Day. The Blue Springs, Missouri, native led the Redbirds with eight receptions on the day and finished with a game-high 121 yards. He also scored the game’s first touchdown, as he hauled in a 30-yard touchdown throw from wideout Eddie Kasper in the first quarter to give the Redbirds an early lead.
RB Allen Middleton, Southern Illinois -- Redshirt freshman wide receiver Allen Middleton was moved to running back, and carried 15 times for 124 yards (8.3 ave), giving Southern its first 100-yard rushing game since Week 2. He also caught three passes for 17 yards.
QB Elijah Owens, Indiana State -- Owens recorded his third 100-yard rushing effort of the 2024 season and went 14-of-20 for 168 yards and a touchdown through the air in leading Indiana State against Northern Iowa this weekend. Owens posted 20 carries for 107 rushing yards and two touchdowns for his third 100-yard rushing game and added both four-yard and a two-yard touchdown runs in the first half against the Panthers. Owens added a 73-yard passing touchdown to Kevin Barnett in the third quarter as Indiana State mounted a comeback after trailing 34-17 late against UNI.
K/P Paul Geelen, Southern Illinois -- Geelen was perfect on the day, making field goals from 47 and 39 yards, plus 8-of-8 on PATs. As the team’s punter, he averaged 52.5 yards on two punts. On kickoff duty, Geelen contributed three kickoffs for touchbacks.
PK Yousef Obeid, Missouri State -- Obeid was 3-for-3 on field goals and accounted for all of Missouri State's scoring in Saturday's season finale against No. 2-ranked South Dakota State. He also averaged 61.8 yards on 8 kickoffs, including five touchbacks. His 50-yard field goal in the second quarter was a career long and MSU's longest three-pointer since 2021 and matched the 16th-longest in club history. He finished the season with a team-record 53 extra points, while his 86 points matched the third-most in Bears history.