This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include RB David Johnson of UNI; DE Kyle Emanuel of North Dakota State; RS Aaron Killebrew and PK Eric Heidorn of Indiana State; QB Hunter Wells of Youngstown State; and LT Jack Rummells of UNI.
Offense
RB David Johnson, UNI, 6-1, 229, Sr., Clinton (Iowa) High
Johnson racked up 129 rushing yards in UNI’s 42-28 win over No. 6 and previously unbeaten Illinois State. His 129 yards pushed him into first all-time at UNI in career rushing yards, giving him a total of 4,051. It is the third school record the senior has broken this year. He scored three times, including a career-long 98-yard kick return. He finished the game leading both teams in all-purpose yards with 255 (129 rush, 5 rcv, 121 KR).
Defense
DE Kyle Emanuel, North Dakota State, 6-3, 251, Sr., Schuyler (Neb.) Central
Emanuel had a career-high 10 tackles, 4.0 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss in No. 1-ranked North Dakota State’s 37-17 victory over No. 18 South Dakota State. He had three sacks and eight tackles by halftime and also had a forced fumble and quarterback hurry in the game. Emanuel stopped SDSU leading rusher Zach Zenner five times totaling six yards and caught Zenner after a 34-yard gain in the NDSU secondary. His strip sack with 4 minutes left in the game gave NDSU the ball at the SDSU 23 and led to a touchdown five plays later for the final score.
Special Teams (Co)
RS Aaron Killebrew, Indiana State, 5-10, 165, Fr., Evansville (Ind.) Harrison High
Killebrew had a 32-yard kickoff return which set up an eventual game winning field goal. Trailing by a point with 42 seconds remaining against the Bears, the Sycamore kickoff return team fielded a squib kick and six players formed a group huddle where they appeared to kneel down the ball to conserve time. Suddenly, the huddle broke with six players breaking in two different directions and all six Sycamores appeared to have the ball. Killebrew eluded a pair of Bear defenders and raced 32 yards to
set up Heidorn’s game winning field goal.
PK Eric Heidorn, Indiana State, 5-8, 185, Jr., Avon (Ind.) High
Heidorn hit at 30-yard field goal with 2:06 remaining to push the Sycamores ahead of Missouri State 17-15. But the Bears would answer with a 41-yard field goal with less than a minute to go. The Memorial Miracle hidden ball kickoff return set the Sycamores up on the edge of field goal range before Heidorn hit a 38-yard field goal with just six seconds left to give Indiana State an improbable 20-18 win.
Newcomer
QB Hunter Wells, Youngstown State, 6-5, 195, Fr., Navarre (Ohio) Fairless High
Wells helped lead the Penguins to a 28-17 win over South Dakota. He completed 12 of his final 17 passes for 244 yards and a score rallying the Guins from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit. Wells improves to 4-0 as a starter with three wins coming in MVFC play. It was the first fourth-quarter comeback of his career.
Offensive Lineman
LT Jack Rummells, UNI, 6-5, 300, Sr., West Branch (Iowa) High
Rummells graded out at a 90 percent in UNI’s 42-28 win over No. 6 ranked Illinois State. Rummells was an integral part in creating holes for RB David Johnson, who gained 129 yards on the ground against the Redbirds.
NOTABLE POW SUBMISSIONS
OFFENSE
TB Martin Ruiz, YSU -- Rushed for a season-high 185 yards on 28 attempts and scored a touchdown in the Penguins’ 28-17 come-from-behind win over South Dakota. Through three quarters, Ruiz had 83 yards on 19 carries, but in the fourth, he had nine rushes for 102 yards and a game-clinching touchdown.
QB Carson Wentz, NDSU -- Accounted for 215 yards of total offense in No. 1-ranked North Dakota State’s 37-17 victory over 18th-ranked South Dakota State. He had career highs of 16 rushes and 100 yards with one touchdown, and went 12 of 20 passing for 115 yards and one touchdown.
RB Marshaun Coprich, ILS -- Rushed for 166 yards on 27 carries and rushed for three touchdowns. His career-long of 76-yards tied the game with less than ten minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
QB Kierra Harris, MSU -- Accounted for 256 yards of total offense, gained a career-high 97 rushing yards and passed for two scores for the Bears at Indiana State.
RB LeMonte Booker, INS -- Recorded a career-high 116 rushing yards on 12 carries as he averaged 9.7 yards per attempt. He set up ISU’s first score with an 87-yard rush. Added two catches for 16 yards.
DEFENSE
Tim Kilfoy, UNI -- turned in a career-high performance Saturday, sealing UNI’s 42-28 victory over No. 6 Illinois State. He finished with a career-high 10 tackles against the Redbirds, including a tackle for a loss of two yards. He also grabbed his first and second career interceptions against Illinois State during pivotal moments in the game.
DE Derek Rivers, YSU -- Tied a school record with four sacks in the Penguins’ 28-17 win over South Dakota. His final sack came with YSU leading 21-17 in the fourth quarter on a third-and-8 –play by USD. He had six total tackles for the game, including five solo stops.
TJ Lally, SDSU-- Had a game-high 20 tackles, including six solo stops and one TFL, in SDSU’s loss at No. 1 North Dakota State. The 20 tackles are a league season-best -- four more than the previous MVFC high.
LB Connor Underwood, INS -- Broke the Sycamore career record for QB sacks in just his 32nd game as he now has 26 for his career as part of the 20-18 victory over Missouri State. Underwood recorded nine total tackles, including 1.5 quarterback sacks and 2.5 tackles for a loss and PBU and a QB hurry vs. MSU.
OLB Dylan Cole, MSU -- Racked up 8 total tackles, 6 solo stops, a sack, 2 tackles for loss and a pair of quarterback hurries to orchestrate MSU’s defensive efforts. He also had an interception overturned due to an unnecessary roughness penalty against a teammate.
DE Teddy Corwin, ILS -- His second career interception in the fourth quarter set up the game-tying touchdown. Corwin recorded 2.0 tackles-for-loss and combined for half of a sack. He also had 5 solo tackles, and finished with 8 total tackles on the day.
SPECIAL TEAMS
PK/P Miles Bergner, USD -- Made a career-long 50-yard field goal to stay perfect on the year at 13-for-13. It was his 15th consecutive field goal dating back to last season, which set a USD record. He averaged 45.7 yards on 10 punts with a net of 43.6 yards. Bergner placed a career-high five punts inside the 20. He had punts of 52, 59, 68 and 69 yards to set a new career long in that category. Youngstown’s average starting field position was its own 20. The team started two drives outside its own 25 (own 27, own 35).
P/K Ben LeCompte, NDSU -- Averaged 64.5 yards on two punts (63, 66) and got touchbacks on 6 of 8 kickoffs in No. 1-ranked North Dakota State’s 37-17 victory over 18th-ranked South Dakota State. He helped limit SDSU to an average starting position of its own 24-yard line on 10 kicks.
PK Marcelo Bonani, MSU -- Despite suffering a first-half injury to his kicking leg, Bonani converted a pair of fourth-quarter field goals, including what appeared to be a game-winning 41-yarder with 42 seconds left in the game. His 3-pointers gave MSU the lead twice in the final period.
NEWCOMER
CB Eric Phillips, MSU - In his eighth start of the season, the true freshman snagged his third interception of the season deep in MSU territory to halt a pivotal Sycamores drive. The pick was MSU’s only take-away of the afternoon. Phillips also contributed 6 total tackles, 2 solo stops and a tackle for loss.
RS Aaron Killebrew, INS -- shared Special Teams honors with teammate PK Eric Heindorn.
