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| Thomas Wojnowski had a pair of takeaways for UW-Whitewater against UW-Eau Claire. UW-Whitewater athletics file photo by Michael McLoone |
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Games of Oct. 30, 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 Gavin Zimbelman, Sr., Aurora
Zimbelman accounted for eight of the nine touchdowns in Aurora's 63-41 victory over the Eagles of Benedictine. He finished the day with 432 yards on 31-of-43 passing, seven touchdowns, a 72.1 completion percentage and a passing efficiency of 210.2. He also added 19 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
OL Brayden Ehn, Diego Huerta, John Corcoran, Noah Furhmann, Brady Madsen, Buena Vista
Buena Vista faced a Wartburg defense that came in ranked 25th in D-III this season in rushing yards allowed per game (74.6) and 24th in total defense (251 yards). The BVU offense entered ranked 45th nationally in rushing yards per game and 23rd in total offense. The line allowed its quarterback to run for 84 yards and also pass for 217 more while not being sacked once during the game...the 192 rushing yards for BVU were the most allowed by Wartburg this season by nearly 40 yards. Wartburg's last two opponents had combined to rush for minus-21 yards. Only Central (459 yards) has a higher total offensive total against Wartburg this season than BVU's 409 on Saturday.
RB Anthony Marre, Sr., Illinois Wesleyan
Illinois Wesleyan was led by senior Anthony Marre's 243 yards on 16 carries. His rushing total marks the third-highest in program history and the most since Deon Hornsby tallied 244 Sept. 14, 1996. Marre rushed for three scores, including a 91-yard scamper, while he also added five catches for 72 yards. Overall, he finished with 315 all-purpose yards, the third-most in IWU history.
RB Paul Garrett, Jr., Greenville
Garrett rushed for more than 100 yards for the eight consecutive week and for more than 200 yards for the second consecutive week. In three quarters and on only 16 carries, Paul Garrett rushed for 239 yards and had 263 all purpose yards, including four touchdowns, in a 55-30 win against Crown.
WR Xzavier McNeil, Sr., Methodist
McNeil had game-highs in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns, with eight catches for 180 yards and two scores in a 31-27 win against Brevard. His two touchdown catches were of 27 and 68 yards.
WR Byron Owens, Fr., Finlandia
The first player ever named to the D3football.com Team of the Week from Finlandia, Owens scored three long touchdowns for the Lions in a 42-32 loss to Westminster (Mo.) Owens caught seven passes for 251 yards and two scores, one from 82 yards out and one from 94, and added a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to boot. All three touchdowns came in the fourth quarter as the Lions attempted to rally from a 28-6 deficit.
TE Cole Hissong, Sr., Wooster
Hissong went for 65 yards and two touchdowns while only playing in the first half of the Scots' 51-14 rout over Hiram on Saturday.
Defense
DE Colin Meropoulos, So., Endicott
Meropoulos broke the school record for sacks in a single-game (4.5) and a season (11.5) in Endicott's 19-17 win over University of New England. Meropolous finished the game with eight tackles (five solo), 4.5 sacks for 31 yards, and 4.5 tackles for a loss for 34 yards. His last sack came on the last play of the game, a 16-yarder to punctuate the win for the Gulls.
DT Mack Brown, Jr., Massachusetts Maritime
Brown tallied seven tackles, two and a half sacks, two and a half tackles for loss and recovered two fumbles for the Buccaneers.
DT Anthony Nobile, Jr., Delaware Valley
Nobile had two fumble recoveries including one that he scooped and returned 19 yards for a touchdown. He played a key role in the Aggies holding Lebanon Valley to zero rushing yards on 28 attempts and just 23 passing yards.
DE Ta'Mar Heart-Wilkins, Sr., Olivet
Heart-Wilkins had only five tackles in Olivet's 49-7 win against Kalamazoo. However, four and a half of the tackles were for a loss of minus-21 yards. And three of the tackles for loss were quarterback sacks for negative 19 yards. One of the sacks included a forced fumble.
LB Blake Rybar, Fr., Linfield
Rybar led the Linfield defense in a 38-7 win over George Fox to claim sole possession of first place in the Northwest Conference. He had a team-high 11 tackles, nine solo, with four and a half tackles for loss, a sack and a quarterback hurry. With Rybar anchoring the defense, George Fox was limited to just 1 rushing yard and 136 yards of total offense. The Bruins were forced to punt eight times and converted on just two of 11 third downs.
LB Cole Senior, Jr., Lycoming
Senior had 12 tackles, including forcing a fumble that led to Lycoming's last touchdown in a 30-27 barnburner over Wilkes. He posted two and a half tackles for loss and a sack. Senior single-handedly shut down Wilkes' first drive of the third quarter, tackling a running back for a 10-yard loss on 2-and-1, then sacking and forcing a fumble on the next play at the 7-yard-line, which was picked up and run in for a touchdown. Snior had nine first-half tackles and a season-high 12 overall, nine solo, for the Warriors.
LB Brendan Weinberg, Sr., Hampden-Sydney
Weinberg finished with a game-high 13 tackles, including three for loss, one sack, two interceptions, one blocked punt and one pass breakup to lead H-SC to a 38-21 non-conference road win at Apprentice. His blocked punt set up the Tigers' third touchdown scored during the decisive third quarter at 1:15, while his second interception of the day led to the visitors' final touchdown with 3:15 remaining.
CB Nick Freiwald, Sr., Washington & Jefferson
Freiwald filled the stat sheet with eight tackles (seven solo), an interception and five pass breakups in W&J's 28-24 road win at Grove City. Freiwald's team-leading fifth interception of the season came with 4:51 to play in the victory over the Wolverines.
S Cheyn Tam-Switzer, Jr., Pacific Lutheran
Tam-Switzer finished with two interceptions, including a pick-six, helping the Lutes to a 24-0 shutout of Willamette. It was the Lutes' first shutout since 2011, and first NWC shutout since 2007. He also added three solo tackles and a pass breakup.
S Sean Carroll, Sr., Salisbury
Carroll blocked a first-quarter field goal and scooped up a fumble in the third quarter, which was returned 51 yards for a touchdown. Carroll also added a pair of tackles in Salisbury's 84-14 win over Christopher Newport.
CB Thomas Wojnowski, So., UW-Whitewater
Wojnowski totaled three tackles, one interception and one fumble recovery Saturday during the No. 3 Warhawks' 48-6 victory against UW-Eau Claire at Perkins Stadium. On the Blugolds' second offensive play from scrimmage, he picked up a fumble and raced 75 yards for a touchdown to put UW-Whitewater ahead 7-0 with 13:47 on the clock. On a drive late in the second quarter, Wojnowski made a pair of tackles and, after UW-Eau Claire drove to the UW-W 12-yard line, intercepted Harry Roubidoux in the end zone to thwart the Blugolds' chance to get on the board.
Special teams
K Ian Plankenhorn, So., Lycoming
Plankenhorn was a perfect 3-for-3 on field goal attempts and 3-for-3 on extra points in a 30-27 win over Wilkes, including a 44-yard field goal. He connected on a 33-yard field goal with two seconds left in first half to give Lycoming a 17-7 lead. He added his 44-yard field goal in third quarter and hit a 20-yard field goal early in fourth quarter to seal the victory.
P Jefferson Fritz, Sr., Mary Hardin-Baylor
Fritz averaged 43.2 yards on five punts, pinning Belhaven inside the 20-yard line twice and forcing two fair catches.
RET Brandon Reed, Jr., Heidelberg
After Muskingum cut the lead to 14-7 early in the second quarter, Reed answered with a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and the Student Princes ran away with a 49-14 win.
ST Charles Kobe, So., Lakeland
Kobe blocked three punts to tie an NCAA Division III record for punt blocks in a game in a 45-16 win against Eureka. A reserve linebacker, Kobe's first career punt block came in the first quarter shortly after Lakeland had built a 14-0 lead. Kobe added two more blocks in the third quarter, and the first of those two did result in points, after he smothered a punt in the end zone and Karlis Ozols recovered for a touchdown and a 38-16 lead. Kobe busted through for another block on a punt at the end of the Red Devils' next drive, and with it he tied a mark held by five other players, first set by Jim Perryman of Millikin in 1980 and tied most recently by Matt Sheridan of Moravian in 2005.