|
| Cortez McGinnis helped make sure the Muskingum defense got on the board and helped keep Waynesburg off of it. Muskingum athletics photo |
Presented by 
Games of Sept. 2-5, 2021
The Team of the Week, presented by Scoutware, is D3football.com's weekly honor roll, in its 23rd season of recognizing the top performance at each position from the previous week. Players are nominated by schools.
Offense
QB Ryan Stevens, Jr., Johns Hopkins
Making the first start of his career, Stevens was 31-of-46 for 483 yards with five touchdowns against one interception in a 53-18 win at Stevenson. The 483 yards are a JHU record for a season opener and the third-highest single-game total in school history, while the five TD passes are the most by a Blue Jay in an opener since 2015.
OL Jacob Berault, Nathan Mars, Matthew Goldade, Randy Ruple, Gavin Smith, Merchant Marine
Fueled by the performance of the offensive line, Merchant Marine's run game was the difference in the Mariners' 49-27 road victory over FDU-Florham on Friday night as they posted 362 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground, totaling nearly 36 minutes of possession over the course of the game.
RB Connor Ramage, Fr., Ripon
His last name isn't rampage, but it might as well be. Ramage's first collegiate football game was one to remember, as he ran for 226 yards and six touchdowns to help Ripon get past Augsburg 46-38. Ramage ran for touchdowns of 16, 5, 8, 18, 6 and 7 yards.
RB Joey Mauriello, Sr., Salve Regina
Mauriello led the Seahawk offense with 261 yards on 34 carries, averaging 7.7 yards per carry. He finished 4 yards shy of the single-game school record as Salve Regina defeated Norwich 38-0.
RB Autin Belot, Sr., UW-Eau Claire
Belot ripped off three long touchdown runs en route to 364 yards on 17 carries in UW-Eau Claire's 45-14 win against Luther. The senior ran for touchdowns of 80 and 84 yards in the first quarter alone and added a 54-yard TD run on the Blugolds' first drive of the third quarter before sitting out the fourth quarter.
WR Errol Breaux, Sr., Dean
Breaux set a Dean record for most touchdowns in a game by scoring all six in Saturday's season opening 42-6 victory over Fitchburg State. Breaux finished with eight receptions for 247 yards and five touchdowns. He added a 4-yard touchdown run. The senior had TD catches of 10 yards, 36 yards, 38 yards, 57 yards and 71 yards.
WR Eric Pacheco, Sr., Buena Vista
Pacheco turned in a game-high 210 yards receving on 10 catches during Saturday's 80-58 loss to Gustavus Adolphus. He was also a holding penalty away from returning a kickoff 96 yards for a score.
TE Seth Logan, Sr., Greenville
Logan scored four of Greenville's five touchdowns in a come-from-behind victory against Millikin in Week 1. He collected 10 receptions for 151 yards, including touchdown receptions of 29, 34, 6, and 19 yards. His final reception was the winning touchdown with 30 seconds to play.
Defense
DE Da'Sean Davis, Sr., Bridgewater (Va.)
Davis set a school record with four and a half tackles for loss, for a defense that totaled 15 TFLs overall in a 31-7 win against Gettysburg. He added six tackles, four solo, a half-sack and a quarterback hurry.
DT Dimitri Pali, So., Montclair State
Pali racked up eight tackles, including six solo, and added two and a half sacks (for minus-12 yards), and recorded four and a half tackles for loss overall (for minus-17 yards) in a 21-20 loss to RPI.
DT Jimaar Edwards, Jr., Union
Edwards put together a solid game defensively in a 48-14 win against Morrisville State. He totaled five tackles including a sack for a loss of 12 yards. Edwards and the Dutchmen defense held Morrisville State to 38 rushing yards on 27 attempts.
DE Brandon Brubaker, Sr., Lebanon Valley
Brubaker led Lebanon Valley with 12 total tackles, including seven solo, and four tackles for loss. Late in the fourth quarter, he picked off F&M's Logan Clouse and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown that helped the Dutchmen complete the comeback. This was the Dutchmen's first win over the Diplomats since 1981.
LB Cameron DeArman, Sr., Birmingham-Southern
DeArman picked up eight tackles, six of them solo, in a 42-17 win against LaGrange. He had two sacks for loss of 10 yards, four tackles for loss, and three quarterback hurries.
LB Armon Wells, Sr., Centre
Wells racked up a career-high 18 tackles, 16 of them solo, in a 56-34 win against Hanover. Wells recorded a sack on the first play from scrimmage and later forced a fumble. Four plays later, Centre was in the end zone with a 21-7 lead in the second quarter.
LB Ryan Daines, So., UW-La Crosse
Daines led UW-La Crosse with seven tackles, six unassisted, and four and a half tackles for loss in a 42-21 victory against Dakota State (S.D.). He recorded one quarterback sack and one pass breakup as the Eagles held the Trojans to 9 rushing yards.
CB Tyler Geiman, Jr., Dubuque
Geiman had two interceptions, one in the end zone and one at the 1-yard line, stopping would-be go-ahead scores as Dubuque held on to defeat Marietta 30-25. He finished with six tackles in the win.
S Kobe Nadu, So., Wooster
Nadu had a 46-yard fumble return for a touchdown during the Scots' 42-35 win over Geneva on Saturday night. In the third quarter, Nadu caught a Golden Tornado pitch attempt and took it to the house. He also had five tackles, including a tackle for loss.
S Drew Ehrlich, Jr., Washington & Jefferson
Ehrlich posted a game-high 12 tackles during W&J's 21-14 road win over John Carroll. The W&J defense limited the Blue Streaks to 106 total yards and no points during a scoreless first half.
CB Cortez McGinnis, Sr., Muskingum
McGinnis scooped up a fumble and raced 52 yards for a touchdown in a 49-6 win against Waynesburg. It marked Muskingum's first fumble return for a TD since 2017. He finished with four tackles, including a tackle for loss.
Special teams
K Jack Hanson, Fr., Bethel
Hanson had an impressive collegiate debut, going 8-for-8 on extra points and nailing a 46-yard field goal late in No. 17 Bethel's 59-7 win at North Park.
P Dylan Boswell, Jr., Franklin
Boswell averaged 45.4 yards per punt on eight kicks, helping Franklin flip the field several times in their win over Illinois Wesleyan. Four of his eight landed inside the 20 with no touchbacks, with a long of 55 yards.
RET Jaylen Grant, Fr., UW-Oshkosh
Grant averaged 46.5 yards on four kickoff returns during UW-Oshkosh's 28-24 victory at Huntingdon. Grant, who was playing in his first collegiate game, returned his first kickoff 59 yards to set up a UW-Oshkosh touchdown one play later that tied the score at 7-7. Following a Huntingdon touchdown, Grant returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown that tied the score at 14-14.
ST Tanner Schminke, Sr., Central
Schminke, the holder on placekicks for Central, took a snap on a fake field goal and rolled out to his right, hitting tight end Billy Friis for a 25-yard touchdown pass in a 46-27 win at St. Olaf.