This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include QB Beau Brungard, Youngstown State; DL Logan Wilson, Indiana State; PK Matt Maldonado, Illinois State; WR Larry Stephens III, Indiana State; and OT Jake Pope, Illinois State.


Offensive Player of the Week
QB Beau Brungard, Youngstown State, Jr., New Middletown, Ohio
Brungard set a school and conference record for rushing yards in a game by a quarterback with 264 on just 10 carries against Robert Morris on Saturday. Brungard rushed for scores of 72, 28, 20 and four yards in the victory. His longest run of the afternoon was a 78-yard scamper to set up another score. He had 386 yards of total offense while rushing for four touchdowns and passing for another. He played just 33:09 of the contest before exiting with YSU leading 49-3 with 12:51 left in the third quarter.
 
Defensive Player of the Week
DL Logan Wilson, Indiana State, R-Sr., Appleton, Wis.
Wilson controlled the line of scrimmage and filled the stat sheet again on Saturday afternoon as Indiana State shut down the high-powered EIU rushing attack in the 38-14 win. Wilson recorded nine tackles, 3.0 tackles-for-loss, 1.5 sacks, and added a batted down pass at the line of scrimmage to highlight his afternoon. The nine tackles were a career-high, while the 3.0 TFL marked the second consecutive week he has posted at least three stops behind the line of scrimmage, and he sits as the MVFC leader through two games. The Sycamores limited EIU, averaging 336 rushing yards per game, to just 89 yards on 45 carries (1.9 ypc) on Saturday.
 
Special Teams Player of the Week
PK Matt Maldonado, Illinois State, Sr., Montgomery, Ill.
Maldonado connected on both of his field goal attempts and was a perfect 5-for-5 on extra point attempts on Saturday night in the Redbirds’ 41-13 win over Morehead State. The senior transfer from Murray State connected on a 27-yard field goal late in the first quarter to cut the MSU lead at the time to 6-3, and later in the third quarter he drilled a career-best 45-yarder to put the Redbirds up by two scores at the time. In total, he scored 11 of the team’s 41 points and is now a perfect 3-for-3 on the season in field goal attempts.
 
Newcomer of the Week
WR Larry Stephens III, Indiana State, R-Sr., Springfield, Ohio
Stephens hauled in a game-high five passes for 67 yards and his first touchdown in the Sycamore Blue & White on Saturday afternoon. The redshirt senior found himself wide-open for the four-yard score in the second quarter to make it a 14-0 lead. He added a 23-yard reception on a pass from Rashad Rochelle to set up a Sycamore touchdown in the second quarter.
 
Offensive Lineman of the Week
OT Jake Pope, Illinois State, Sr., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Pope had one of his best games as a Redbird in his seventh season of collegiate football on Saturday against Morehead State. The Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, native graded out at 92 percent on the night and was credited with 11 pancake blocks in the win for the Redbirds. The Redbird offensive line was stellar all night, allowing the Birds to rush for 223 yards on the ground while not allowing a sack to the Eagles in the victory. ISU averaged 5.9 yards per carry in the contest and had a pair of backs with over 80 rushing yards in Victor Dawson and Wenkers Wright.