St. Louis, Mo. - Youngstown State freshman tailback Martin Ruiz was honored on Sunday as the Missouri Valley Football Conference's Newcomer of the Week following his three-touchdown performance against Duquesne yesterday.
In the 59-17 win over the Dukes, Ruiz had scoring runs of nine, five and four yards in the contest. He had 17 carries for 65 yards in the contest. In four games, Ruiz has scored eight touchdowns, including seven on the ground.
Other players to receive weekly honors are RB Zach Zenner of South Dakota State (Offense), LB Bryan Presume of Southern Illinois (Defense) and PK Tyler Sievertsen of UNI (Special Teams).
Next Saturday kicks off the first weekend for MVFC play. Youngstown State travels to Southern Illinois, Missouri State hosts Illinois State, South Dakota State hosts North Dakota State and Western Illinois hosts South Dakota. In non-conference play a matchup of unbeatens is on tap as UNI plays host to McNeese State while Indiana State visits Tennessee Tech.
The Penguins' (3-1) contest at SIU will be televised on WBCB in Youngstown and on ESPN3 and the Watch ESPN. As always, 570 WKBN AM will carry the game. Kickoff in Carbondale is set for 7 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Central time.
