This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include RB Trevor Bouma of South Dakota, CB Deiondre' Hall of UNI, QB Aaron Bailey of UNI, P/PK Miles Bergner of South Dakota, and LT Joe Haeg of North Dakota State.
Offense
RB Trevor Bouma, South Dakota, 5-11, 210, Jr., LeMars (Iowa) Gehlen Catholic
Bouma averaged better than 10 yards per carry in racking up a career-best 186 yards and scored two touchdowns in the Coyotes’ 27-17 win against UC Davis Saturday evening in Davis, Calif. Bouma scored on runs of 10 yards and a career-long 63 yards, the latter accounted for the final score of the game with 6:12 remaining in the third quarter. His final carry went for 18 yards, a first down and sealed the win. Bouma was also the team’s leading receiver with three catches for 48 yards.
Defense
CB Deiondre’ Hall, UNI, 6-2 190, Sr., Blue Springs (Mo.) High
Hall had a hand in helping UNI to its 74th win in program history over a top-25 opponent and its 18th win over a top-10 ranked team since 2001. The senior from Blue Springs, Mo., finished the game with six tackles, a pass breakup and a pick-six that would end up securing UNI’s win over the Eagles. Hall grabbed Jordan West’s pass and returned it for 16 yards into the end zone. It was the senior’s third career interception return for a touchdown, tying him for the school record.
Newcomer
QB Aaron Bailey, UNI, 6-2, 226, Jr., Bolingbrook (Ill.) High/Illinois
Bailey helped UNI to its 38-35 victory over No. 7 Eastern Washington. Bailey went 7-13-0 for 91 yards and added a career-high 134 yards on the ground. His 19 carries led the team in attempts and yards, gaining 128 of his 134 in the second quarter. He also finished the game with two passing touchdowns, including an impressive 32-yard pass to Daurice Fountain in the corner of the end zone in the second quarter to tie the score 14-14.
Special Teams
P/PK Miles Bergner, South Dakota, 6-0, 225, Jr., Longmont (Colo.) High
Bergner made field goals of 30 and 45 yards and netted 41.1 yards per punt in South Dakota’s 27-17 win against UC Davis Saturday evening in Davis, Calif. Bergner punted seven times for 293 yards for an average of 41.9. He had two punts of 50 yards or more including a long of 57. He pinned three inside the Aggies’ 20-yard line. Bergner also averaged 59.8 yards on six kickoffs and had one touchback. His 45-yard field goal was the ninth 40-yarder in his collegiate career and fourth-longest overall.
Offensive Lineman
LT Joe Haeg, North Dakota State, 6-6, 310, Sr., Lake Shore (Minn.) Brainerd
Haeg played 77 of 81 snaps and led the Bison with 12 total knockdowns with nine pancakes and two decleaters. He had NDSU’s highest grade with a 99 percent on assignment and 92 percent on technique. Haeg was responsible for zero sacks or quarterback hurries for the second week in a row. NDSU rolled up 316 rushing yards between nine different ball carriers and passed for 281 yards.
OTHER NOMINEES OF NOTE:
OFFENSE
RB Darrian Miller, UNI -- Career-high 112 rushing yards vs. No. 7 Eastern Washington. He also added 41 receiving yards. His longest rush of the game was a 20-yarder along with a big 27-yard catch late in the fourth quarter to keep possession in UNI’s hands.
WR Billy Reed, SIU -- Set a career high with 112 yards receiving in SIU’s 27-24 loss at Southeast Missouri. Reed set career highs in all aspects on Saturday with six receptions, 112 yards and a long of 37.
RB Marshaun Coprich, ILS -- Rushed for 130 yards on 20 carries (did not play the entire fourth quarter) and scored three touchdowns against Morgan State. With his three scores, Coprich now has 39 rushing touchdowns in his career, which tops the previous best of 37 set by Toby Davis.
RB Chase Morlock, NDSU -- Morlock accounted for 212 yards and two touchdowns in North Dakota State’s 41-14 win over Weber State. He had a career-high seven receptions and 136 receiving yards and ran eight times for 76 yards.
RB Brady Mengarelli, SDSU -- Set career highs with 143 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the Jackrabbits’ 55-10 home-opening win over Southern Utah. His 143 yards came on 17 carries – an average of 8.4 yards per carry – and including scoring runs of 13, 37 and 10 yards.
QB Matt Adam, INS -- Was 18-of-37 for 194 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 88 yards on 19 touches against Purdue.
TB Calan Crowder, MSU -- Racked up a career-best 164 rushing yards on 23 carries to lead a Bears offense that totaled 279 yards on the ground in a 21-13 victory over Chadron State Saturday. The Bartlesville, Okla., native reeled off a career-long 34 yard run and averaged 7.1 yards per carry for the afternoon.
DEFENSE
DB Lonnell Brown, INS -- Tallied seven stops on Saturday against Purdue – all solo – with ISU’s lone sack on the day as well for a loss of two yards. Had one of ISU’s two fumble recoveries on the day.
LB Chase Allen, SIU -- Set a career high with 19 tackles in SIU’s 27-24 loss at SEMO. He had the most tackles for any Saluki player in at least the last 10 seasons and added two PBU and a half sack.
SS Jacob Warner, USD -- Had two of South Dakota’s three interceptions during the Coyotes’ 27-17 win against UC Davis Saturday evening in Davis, Calif. Both interceptions came in the first half. Warner was credited with five tackles, four solo, and a pass breakup.
LB Cody Hazelett, SDSU -- Was credited with four total tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack, adding an interception and fumble recovery on a kickoff.
LB Brett Taylor, WIU -- Recorded a career-high 16 tackles in the game at Illinois, including two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble. His previous high of seven tackles was already surpassed early in the second quarter. He moved up to third in the MVFC and 25th nationally averaging 11.0 tackles per game.
OLB Dylan Cole, MSU -- Cole had 11 tackles Saturday in the Bears’ 21-13 victory over Chadron State. The junior logged four solo stops, assisted on a tackle for a loss and made a key fourth-down tackle late in the contest to help MSU lock up its first win of the season and its second-straight victory in a home opener.
LB Nick DeLuca, NDSU -- Made eight tackles including four solo stops against Weber State. He had one sack for 11 yards on a third down play to force Weber State to punt from its own 4-yard line. DeLuca is averaging 10 tackles per game and is tied for the league lead in sacks.
DE Derek Rivers, YSU -- Had a career-best nine tackles, including a sack on the game’s final play to preserve the Penguins’ 21-14 win overtime win over Robert Morris on Saturday night. He finished with 4.5 TFPS for 13 yards in losses and had seven solo stops.
SPECIAL TEAMS
PK Sean Slattery, ILS -- Accounted for 16 of Illinois State’s 67 points in a convincing win over Morgan State. The Rockford, Illinois, native nailed all three of his field goal attempts and was a perfect 7-for-7 in extra point attempts against the Bears. The field goals were the first for Slattery in his career at ISU.
P Osborn Umeh, INS -- Umeh booted six punts for 222 total yards (37.0 average), including a long of 50 and two downed inside the 20.
P Ben LeCompte, NDSU -- Punted four times for a 52.5 average including a season-long of 73 yards as North Dakota State won its 24th straight home game 41-14 over Weber State. He had one inside the 20 and two touchbacks and leads the FCS with a 49.2 punting average through two weeks.
P Sam Kuhter, UNI -- Had six punts for 264 yards. He averaged a booming 44.0 yards per punt, including a career-long 50-yarder in the fourth quarter. He hit four of his six punts inside the 20-yard-line.
DB/KR Je Ryan Butler, SDSU -- Accounted for 98 yards in returns during South Dakota State’s 55-10 victory over Southern Utah. He tallied 67 yards on two kickoff returns, including a 40-yarder.
NEWCOMER
DE Andrew Van Ginkel, USD -- Had seven tackles including his first collegiate sack and another tackle-for-loss in South Dakota’s 27-17 win against UC Davis Saturday evening in Davis, Calif.
QB Breck Ruddick, MSU -- Completed a career-high 19 passes in 34 attempts for 128 yards and the go-ahead touchdown pass to Eric Christophel that paved the way to a 21-13 victory for MSU Saturday vs. Chadron State. Ruddick also chipped in with 69 rushing yards on 12 attempts, including a 55-yard TD.
RB Daquan Isom, SIU -- Averaged 10.7 yards on six carries out of the backfield, and he added 20 yards receiving with a receiving touchdown and 60 yards on kick returns in the game. For the second-straight week, the true freshman led SIU in all-purpose yards with 144.
DL Matt Swaine, ILS -- Finished with five tackles, recorded his first half sack and finished the day with 1.5 tackles-for-loss in the 67-14 win for the Redbirds. He was also credited with a quarterback hurry in the victory.
LB Katrell Moss, INS -- Had two tackles on Saturday at Purdue, but his first of the day was potentially the most important of the day for the Sycamores. After getting on the board in the second quarter to cut Purdue’s lead to 14-7, Moss stripped Purdue RB D.J. Knox on the ensuing kickoff for a turnover to put ISU right back into Boiler territory.
K Cam Pedersen, NDSU -- Made 5 of 5 extra point kicks and 2 of 2 field goals. He connected from 27 yards in the third quarter and 37 yards in the fourth quarter to extend North Dakota State’s lead to 34-7 en route to a 41-14 victory over Weber State, the 24th straight home win for NDSU.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
Derek Chancellor, Sr., RT, USD, McCook, Neb., McCook HS
Chancellor led a South Dakota ground game that averaged 6.5 yards per rush and totaled 240 yards. He paved the way for running back Trevor Bouma’s career-high tally of 186 yards and 10.3 yards per tote. The Coyotes totaled 377 yards in all against the Aggies and averaged 6.4 yards per play.
Mark Spelman, C, 6-3, 280, Jr., ILS, Brookfield, Wisconsin (Marquette University HS)
Junior center Mark Spelman graded out at 95 percent and did not allow a sack or any pressures during Illinois State’s dominant win over Morgan State. The Brookfield, Wisconsin, native called the line checks for the Redbirds and helped lead the way for Marshaun Coprich, who rushed for 130 yards and three touchdowns against the Bears. Spelman also protected for quarterback Tre Roberson, who passed for 259 yards and tied a career-best with four touchdown passes, as the Redbirds put up 67 points (fifth most in school history). Spelman helped the Redbirds amass a total of 247 yards on the ground and 513 yards of total offense as the team improved its winning streak to 14 wins in a row at home.
Jacob Ohnesorge, 6-3, 265, So., Center, South Dakota State (Waunakee, Wis./Waunakee H.S.)
Ohnesorge received a 1.80 grade (90 percent) and recorded 11 knockdown blocks in South Dakota State’s 55-10 home victory over Southern Utah on Sept. 12. The Jackrabbits racked up 579 total yards — their most since a 580-yard performance in a 2012 FCS playoff victory over Eastern Illinois. SDSU tallied 188 yards on the ground and 391 through the air against Southern Utah
#70 Jacob Rathmacher, SR, UNI, Story City, Iowa
Jacob Rathmacher graded out at an 85 percent in UNI's win over Eastern Washington and was an integral part in UNI finishing the game with 460 total offensive yards. He created holes for both Aaron Bailey and Darrian Miller, who both finished with over 100 rushing yards. It was the first time UNI has had two rushers with 100 or more yards since 2011. The Panthers were also able to throw for 194 yards with only three sacks allowed.