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| Andrew Brightman Massachusetts Maritime athletics photo |
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Games of Sept. 23-24, 2022
The Team of the Week, presented by Scoutware, is D3football.com's weekly honor roll, in its 24th season of recognizing the top performance at each position from the previous week. Players are nominated by schools.
Offense
QB Jaran Roste, Sr., Bethel
Roste went 19-of-29 through the air with 321 yards and three touchdowns helping No. 20 Bethel snap an eight-game losing skid to Saint John's with a 28-24 victory over the No. 2 Johnnies. Roste's three touchdowns all came in the second half including the eventual game-winner with a 72-yard connection to Micah Niewald. His 321 passing yards is the second most in his career and the 72-yard TD reception is his second longest. He also added three carries for 43 yards as part of the Royals' 500-plus yards of offense.
OL Arturo Ramirez-Guzman, Nick Macon, Hunter Deibler, Jacob Phillips, Walker Klinger, Lebanon Valley
The Dutchmen offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage allowing LVC to dominate possession 40:11 to 19:49 in a 24-19 victory over Wilkes, including a 16-play 65-yard drive that took 9:10 off the clock ending in a field goal to give LVC a 24-12 lead. The Dutchmen had a season-high 189 yards rushing on 53 attempts while quarterback Braden Bohannon had ample time to complete 17 of 26 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns.
RB Max Freeman IV, So., Alfred
Freeman rushed for a game-high and career-high 274 yards on 33 attempts (8.3) and two touchdowns during a 31-23 Homecoming win past Kalamazoo, adding four receptions. Freeman scored on runs from the goal line in the first quarter and from a career-high 80 yards in the fourth quarter. His rushing yard total marked the third-most rushing yards in a single game in program history for Alfred.
RB Giovanni Weeks, Sr., Wheaton (Ill.)
Weeks' 266 rushing yards on Saturday was the most by a Thunder running back since Nov. 11, 2017. It was the seventh-highest single-game total in Division III this season. He averaged 7.4 yards per carry and none of his 36 carries were behind the line of scrimmage with no yards for a loss in a 38-28 victory at Augustana. Wheaton had 68 offensive plays in the game and 36 of those plays were Weeks carries.
WR Deandre Holliday, Jr. Benedictine
Holliday tied a conference record by reeling in four touchdown catches as the Benedictine offense continued to roll. He finished with seven catches for 181 yards. His touchdowns were from 35, 21, 31 and 78 yards.
WR Andrew Brightman, Jr., Mass. Maritime
Brightman put big numbers on Saturday in the Bucs 38-13 win over Fitchburg State. He caught nine passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns. His touchdown came from 75 yards, 40 yards and 1 yard out.
TE Mack Marston, Sr., Denison
Marston led the Big Red receiving corps with four catches for 109 yards during Denison's 45-42 win at Wabash, which was good for his second 100-yard performance of the season. Down 35-31 in the final three minutes, Marston compiled two catches for 97 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown, to give the Big Red the lead in only 43 seconds of clock time. He also added two rushes for 11 yards. It was Denison's first win over Wabash since 2018, and was only their second win ever in Crawfordsville.
Defense
DE Joey Asta, Jr., Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Asta finished with four tackles for loss ans two sacks, both of them on the final drive as Claremont-Mudd-Scripps defeated Redlands. Asta had eight tackles, seven solo.
DT Sam Gozelski, Sr., MIT
In a 35-6 home win over Dean, Gozelski posted a career-high three sacks for a loss of 26 yards as he finished with five total tackles and had one quarterback hurry and one blocked kick.
DT Chris Rubino, Jr., Allegheny
Rubino tied for the team lead in tackles with six, three solo, as Allegheny beat Waynesburg 31-15. It was Waynesburg's lowest point total of the season. He finished with career highs in tackles for loss (three) and sacks (twice).
DE Hugh Wells, Sr., Mass. Maritime
Wells recorded six total tackles, three solo, and two and a half tackles for loss in the Bucs' conference win over Fitchburg.
LB Johnny Smith-Rider, So., Mary Hardin-Baylor
Smith-Rider totaled 10 tackles with seven solo takedowns against No. 6 Hardin-Simmons. He forced two fumbles in the contest and recovered one for a 25-yard touchdown. Smith-Rider added one pass breakup. Both of his forced fumbles were recovered by the Cru.
LB Joe Copp, Jr., Alfred
Copp led Alfred with 11 tackles, including three sacks for a loss of 17 yards in a 31-23 win against Kalamazoo. Copp picked up nine solo tackles. Copp was credited with an additional tackle for a loss of 6 yards. Copp also finished with two crucial pass breakups.
LB Parker Rochford, So., Wartburg
Rochford tied Wartburg's school record with three interceptions in the Knights' 25-0 win over Dubuque. He led the team with seven tackles and added two pass breakups. It's the first time since 1942 that the Knights have won three consecutive shutouts.
CB Jaren Alves, Sr., Bridgewater State
Alves recorded a career-high three interceptions to go along with four tackles (one solo) and a pass breakup in the Bears' 40-27 MASCAC win at Western Connecticut State. The Bears turned his first two interceptions into points on a touchdown and field goal. His fourth quarter interception helped fend off the Wolves comeback bid.
S Alden Steele, So., Baldwin Wallace
Steele made the most of his first career start at safety. He started the game by recovering a fumble on the opening kickoff and returning it 11 yards for hist first career touchdown. Steele then led a Yellow Jacket defense with a game-high and career-high 14 tackles and had a sack.
S Jake Binkowski, So., Carroll
Binkowski recorded a pick-six in back-to-back games as he returned his interception against Illinois Wesleyan 36 yards for the score. He came away with two interceptions, one in each half. Binkowski finished with five tackles, four solo.
CB Riley Schwartz, Jr., Wheaton
Schwartz intercepted two Augustana passes in the second half. His first interception was with 1:50 remaining in the third quarter as he picked the ball off and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown. The second came with Wheaton leading by 10 and Augustana attempting to mount a rally in the final minutes. Schwartz finished with three tackles, two solo.
Special teams
K Jared Mendoza, Sr., McMurry
During the War Hawks' narrow 38-33 loss at Southwestern, Mendoza successfully converted a 51-yard field goal. It was the program's longest made field goal since 2005.
P Grant Gonya, Sr., John Carroll
Gonya had three punts with an average of 47.5 yards, including one inside the 20, and a long of 53 yards to help defeat No. 19 Heidelberg 24-7 at home. Gonya helped JCU win the field position battle against an offense that averaged 30-plus points a game.
RET K.J. Miller, Sr., Mary Hardin-Baylor
Miller totaled 135 yards on four returns for the Cru, averaging 33.8 yards per return. He had an 85-yard long that set the Cru up at the 3-yard line. UMHB capitalized on that advantage with the go-ahead score.
ST Cole Simmons, So., Merchant Marine
Simmons blocked his second punt in as many weeks late in the fourth quarter of the Mariners' 9-7 road win at Kean. The play resulted in the ball going out the back of the Cougars' end zone for what wound up being the game-winning score for Merchant Marine, as they moved to 2-1 on the season.