This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include QB Ricky Davis of Youngstown State; LB Keelon Brookins of UNI; RS Matt Rush of Missouri State; and RT James Torgerson of Western Illinois.
Offense
QB Ricky Davis, Youngstown State
6-3, 215, Sr., Middletown (Ohio) Cincinnati Moeller
In his first start of the season, Davis accounted for six touchdowns and had career highs in passing yards and rushing yards in the Penguins' 66-24 win at Indiana State. Davis completed 10-of-12 passes for 349 yards and four scores. His yardage total was the fourth-most in school history and the most by a YSU QB since 1983. He also added 98 yards rushing and two scores on 14 attempts. He had scoring runs of one and 57 yards in the first quarter.
Defense & Newcomer
LB Keelon Brookins, UNI
5-11, 206, R-Sr., St. Paul (Minn.) Tartan High (Wisconsin)
In a 34-29 upset over No. 6 South Dakota, senior Keelon Brookins put the Panthers up 34-23 with 2:23 remaining after taking an interception back 29 yards for a score. The interception and touchdown were each career firsts for Brookins. The senior finished the game with six total tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss and two pass breakups to go along with his game-tilting interception.
Special Teams
RS Matt Rush, Missouri State
5-10, 181, Jr., Springfield (Mo.) Hillcrest High
In his first career appearance handling kick return duties, Matt Rush registered 134 total yards on his four returns to help the Bears to their first road win of the season Saturday at Southern Illinois. The junior from Springfield countered an early SIU touchdown with a 72-yard return on the ensuing kickoff to set up a short scoring drive that helped spur a 24-point first-quarter outburst by MSU.
Offensive Lineman
RT James Torgerson, Western Illinois
6-5, 310, Sr., Springfield (Ill.) High
Torgerson graded out to a 93 percent and had seven pancakes with zero sacks allowed in Western Illinois' 31-14 victory at Illinois State. The senior helped the Leathernecks score 31 unanswered points, paving the way for Western Illinois to run for 118 yards on 3.7 yards per carry, far above the seasonal averages for Illinois State (77 rushing yards allowed per game, 2.5 yards per carry) coming in. Torgerson's efforts also helped Sean McGuire pass for 288 yards on a 63.3 percent completion rating.
Others Nominated
Offense
DJ Davis, Southern Illinois -- DJ Davis piled up 225 all-purpose yards for Southern Illinois on Saturday against Missouri State. Davis recorded his first career 100-yard receiving game with 130 yards on nine receptions. He added 40 yards rushing and 55 yards in the return game for SIU. Davis’s 225 all purpose yards are the most by any player in the MVFC in the last month, and they were the most for an SIU player since Daquan Isom had 275 against Northern Iowa in 2015.
WR Christian Gibbs, Illinois State -- Gibbs recorded his second 100-plus yard receiving performance of the season for the Redbirds against Western Illinois. The Aurora, Illinois, native caught five passes for 113 yards and scored the game’s first touchdown, a 65-yard strike from Jake Kolbe late in the first quarter.
RB LeMonte Booker, Indiana State -- Booker set a career high Saturday with 167 yards on the ground against Youngstown State. Averaging 8.8 yards per carry, Booker led all players in rushing yards. He set a Sycamore season long rush in the first quarter with a 77-yard touchdown run to put ISU on the board.
QB Chris Streveler, South Dakota -- Streveler passed for 401 yards, the fifth-highest total in program history, and threw two touchdown passes against UNI Saturday inside the UNI-Dome. It was his second 400-yard effort in his last three games. Streveler threw touchdown passes to Josh Hale (16 yards) and Dakarai Allen (1 yard).
QB Taryn Christion, South Dakota State -- Christion completed 23-of-33 passes for 329 yards and two touchdowns in leading the Jackrabbits to a 33-21 victory over second-ranked North Dakota State on Nov. 4. Christion also rushed 11 times for 25 yards and a score, giving him 354 yards of total offense. On the opening drive of the game, Christion completed all five of his passes for 75 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Brown. He later ran for a 1-yard touchdown late in the first half and capped the scoring with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert.
WR Isaiah Weston, UNI -- In a 34-29 upset over No. 6 South Dakota, freshmen wide receiver Isaiah Weston caught two scores to push the Panthers past the Coyotes. The touchdowns came on throws of 59 and 4 as Weston is now tied for second on the team in touchdown receptions. The two-score also marked the first time a UNI freshman has caught a pair of touchdowns this decade. Weston finished the game with three catches for 62 yards.
QB Sean McGuire, Western Illinois -- McGuire completed 19-of-30 passes (63.3 percent) for 288 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in Western Illinois' 31-14 win over Illinois State. The Franklin, Wis., native also ran five times for 25 yards in the effort, helping the Leathernecks score 31 unanswered points, all coming in the second half. McGuire's two passing touchdowns gave him 44 for his career, moving him into a tie for fourth in school history.
TB Jason Randall, Missouri State -- Randall played a pivotal role in the Bears’ first road win of the season Saturday at Southern Illinois, totaling a game-high 139 rushing yards on 16 carries. Randall scored on a 10-yard run to kick off a first-quarter stretch that would see the Bears score 24 unanswered points en route to their most productive quarter of the Dave Steckel era. The Thomasville, Ga., product then helped seal the outcome with a 62-yard burst late in the fourth quarter to set up a field goal that stretched the lead to eight points. His 139 yards represented a career high, helping the Bears top the 400-yard mark in total offense and the 30-point barrier for the fourth straight game.
Defense
Darius Joseph, Missouri State -- Joseph registered a career day in helping lift the Bears to a 36-28 road win over Southern Illinois Saturday, turning in a career-best 12 stops to go along with an interception and two pass break-ups in Carbondale. Joseph, who made a game-high eight solo tackles on the day, halted a Saluki scoring threat by picking off a pass in the end zone late in the first half to help preserve a double-digit MSU lead. Thanks to Joseph’s efforts, the Bears limited the Salukis to 6-of-15 third-down conversions en route to securing MSU’s first two-game win streak since Sept. 2016.
LB Pete Swenson, Western Illinois -- Swenson compiled five tackles, including three tackles for a loss from three sacks, in Western Illinois' 31-14 win at Illinois State. He also forced a fumble on a strip-sack that teammate Khalen Saunders returned for 45 yards, the longest fumble return of the season for Western Illinois. Swenson helped the Leathernecks register five sacks in a game for the first time since they had six in the 2015 FCS Playoffs at Dayton, and Western Illinois secured 11 tackles for a loss, their third double-digit TFL game of the season. Swenson also helped hold Illinois State to just 88 yards rushing, far below the consecutive 300-plus yard games on the ground the Redbirds had compiled coming in.
LB Lee Wright, Youngstown State -- Wright had a team-high eight total tackles, two pass breakups and a TFL in the 66-24 win over Indiana State. Wright had seven solos and assist in the game.
Special Teams
PK Zak Kennedy, Youngstown State -- Kennedy scored 12 points in the Penguins' 66-24 win over Indiana State. Kennedy had nine PAT kicks and a 19-yard field goal in the contest.
PK Ryan Weese, South Dakota -- Weese made three field goals in the second quarter against UNI Saturday to push the Coyotes out to a 16-13 halftime lead. He made good from 32, 24, and 33 yards. Weese doubled his made field goals this season to six.
P Adam Fellner, Western Illinois -- Fellner punted five times for a 44.2 average in Western Illinois' 31-14 win at Illinois State. Fellner had a long of 49 yards, and pinned the Redbirds inside the 20 on one of his boots.
PK Chase Vinatieri, South Dakota State -- Vinatieri made all five of his kicks for a total of nine points in South Dakota State’s 33-21 victory over second-ranked North Dakota State. He connected on field goals of 21 and 41 yards, and was a perfect 3-for-3 on PATs.
Newcomer
QB Peyton Huslig, Missouri State -- Huslig was solid in the pocket once again for the Bears in their first road victory of the season Saturday at Southern Illinois, completing 15-of-29 passes for 265 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the 36-28 win. The Andover, Kan., native tossed the go-ahead 26-yard TD pass to Erik Furmanek with just over eight minutes to play, after hooking up with Malik Earl on a 57-yard scoring connection earlier in the game. He threw for 116 yards as part of a 24-point scoring run that netted the Bears their most productive quarter of the Dave Steckel era, and helped MSU to its fourth-straight game of 400 yards of total offense and 30-plus points.
RB Clint Ratkovich, Western Illinois -- Ratkovich set a career-high with two touchdowns in Western Illinois' 31-14 victory at Illinois State. The Crete, Ill., native made a spectacular diving catch for a 27-yard touchdown, and also ran in a score from a yard out. Overall, Ratkovich set a career-high with 44 receiving yards on three receptions, including his touchdown. He also ran five times for 11 yards and his score.
DL Nathan Schultz, South Dakota -- Schultz had three tackles-for-loss for 18 yards including two sacks against UNI Saturday inside the UNI-Dome. Schultz was credited with six tackles in all. He was part of a unit that allowed just 283 yards of offense and limited UNI to 55 yards rushing on 35 carries (1.6 ypc).
WR Samuel St. Surin, Youngstown State -- St. Surin had the first touchdowns of his YSU career against Indiana State. In the third quarter, St. Surin caught a 61-yard pass and later in the quarter hauled in a 64-yard grab. He had two catches for 125 yards against the Sycamores.
WR Isaiah Weston, UNI -- In a 34-29 upset over No. 6 South Dakota, freshmen wide receiver Isaiah Weston caught two scores to push the Panthers past the Coyotes. The touchdowns came on throws of 59 and 4 as Weston is now tied for second on the team in touchdown receptions. The two-score also marked the first time a UNI freshman has caught a pair of touchdowns this decade. Weston finished the game with three catches for 62 yards.
Offensive Lineman
Brad Pryor, Missouri State -- Pryor played a pivotal role in the Bears’ offensive success against Southern Illinois over the weekend, grading out at 87 percent at left tackle in just his third career start on the MSU offensive line. Pryor’s efforts helped pave the way to a big first quarter for the Bears, who scored 24 unanswered points to build a 17-point advantage. In all, MSU racked up 443 yards of total offense, marking the fourth-straight game the Bears have topped the 400-yard mark and the 30-point barrier.
