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| Donell Mackey-Woodson's gesture echoes the results of his three-interception day against Lycoming. Wilkes athletics file photo by Ariel Reed |
Presented by 
Games of Oct. 11-12, 2024
The Team of the Week, presented by Scoutware, is D3football.com's weekly honor roll, in its 26th season of recognizing the top performance at each position from the previous week. Players are nominated by schools.
Offense
QB Aaron Syverson, Sr., St. John's
Syverson ended the day 29-of-39 passing for 399 yards and five touchdowns in the Johnnies' 38-31 win at Concordia-Moorhead. He completed 10 of 14 passes for 173 and two touchdowns in the second half, including a 5-for-7 performance for 128 yards and the two scores in the fourth quarter, down 31-24.
OL Tucker Kinney, Isaiah Corbin, Jason Koopman, Cole Hotz, Ethan Stockwell, Wartburg
Our offensive line paved the way for 401 rushing yards on 42 attempts for a 9.5 yard per rush average. When removing the two kneeldowns at the end of the game, Wartburg had 403 yards on 40 attempts for a 10-yard-per-rush average. They did not allow a sack in the game and had no penalties in the offensive line group.
RB Jack Carey, Sr., Rockford
Carey set single-game highs in carries, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns in Rockford's 74-45 win at Concordia-Chicago. Carey ran the ball 30 times for 246 yards (8.2 yards per carry) and scored four touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 23 yards. His 246 rushing yards are the third most by an NCAA Division III player this season.
RB Barrett Hudson, Fr., Austin College
Hudson had a huge game to help lead the 'Roos to their first win of the season, a 35-17 conference road victory at Lyon. He only carried the ball 11 times, but gained a whopping 240 yards for an average of nearly 22 yards-per-carry, and had three touchdowns of at least 71 yards. Hudson's first score came from 75 yards, with each of his next two touchdowns coming from 71 yards.
WR Tommy Asleson, Sr., Denison
Asleson hauled in six catches for a career-high 191 receiving yards and scored two touchdowns in Denison's 48-30 win at Wooster on Saturday night. Asleson had a touchdown reception of 24 yards for Denison's opening score. He later added an 86-yard touchdown score in the third quarter.
WR Ben Bonga, Sr., Wheaton
Bonga had eight catches for 160 yards and scored four touchdowns as Wheaton defeated Illinois Wesleyan 42-21. Bonga was accountable for 160 of Wheaton's 272 receiving yards in the win. Bonga gave the Thunder a 7-0 lead with his first touchdown catch, a 10-yard reception that he caught on a deflection late in the first quarter. His second touchdown catch was a 13-yard touchdown early in the second quarter as Wheaton's lead improved to 14-0. Bonga added a pair of 51-yard touchdown catches in the second half of the game.
TE Derek Hansen, Sr., St. Olaf
Hansen had four receptions for 81 yards and caught both of St. Olaf's touchdowns in the Oles' 19-13 win over crosstown rival Carleton on Saturday. The fifth-year senior caught touchdowns of 10 and 17 yards in the second and third quarters to help St. Olaf build a 17-0 lead in the sixth multi-touchdown game of his career.
Defense
DE Jake Leclaire, Sr., Lakeland
Leclaire finished with five tackles for loss including two sacks in less than three quarters of work before starters were rested with a big lead in 49-8 win over Eureka.
DE Alex Atchison, Sr., Coe
Aitchison had his best game of the season in a defensive battle against Central, helping the Kohawks to a 16-13 double-overtime victory over the Dutch. He made seven total tackles including six solo while adding three tackles for loss and two sacks. Aitchison also broke up one pass on the afternoon.
DT Kane Strohman, So., McMurry
Strohman had a school-record 6.5 tackles for loss, which ties for the third-most in a single game in SCAC history, in the War Hawks' 28-10 conference victory at Centenary. He finished the game with seven total tackles, including two and a half sacks.
DE Connor Carter, Sr., Ursinus
Carter registered a game-high nine tackles (four solo) and set career-highs of four sacks and 5.0 tackles for a loss in the Bears' 23-17 win over Franklin & Marshall. Carter also forced a fumble on his first sack of the game in the first quarter and delivered his fourth and final sack on third down during the Diplomats' last drive that ended inside the red zone.
LB Dave Giulian, Jr., TCNJ
Giulian was a force in Saturday's game at Rowan, racking up a career-high 21 tackles (11 solo) and a half-sack. The 21 tackles were the most in a single game by a TCNJ defender since D3football.com All-America selection Nick Bricker had 22 against Cortland in 2011.
LB Reid Pakkebier, Sr., Central
Pakkebier had three solo sacks and an assisted TFL in the fourth quarter and overtime of a 16-13 2OT loss at Coe Saturday. He finished with nine total tackles, seven of them solo.
LB Kyle Dietzen, Jr., UW-Oshkosh
Dietzen accumulated a team-high 11 tackles (four solo) and three pass breakups in UW-Oshkosh?s upset win over No. 12 UW-La Crosse. Two of his breakups came in the Eagles' final possession of the game, slowing their drive and keeping them from reaching the red zone.
CB Micah Henderson, Fr., Hardin-Simmons
Henderson had two first-half interceptions, one he returned 20 yards for a touchdown as Hardin-Simmons won in Belton for the first time in 20 years.
S Jake Connolly, Sr., Ithaca
Connolly recorded 13 total tackles (seven solo) with a half tackle for loss, forced fumble and a pass breakup in a 24-0 shutout win over Rochester, which entered Saturday's game undefeated at 5-0.
S Brett Boelkow, So., St. Norbert
Boelkow led St. Norbert to a 14-0 shutout win over Benedictine, directly responsible for forcing four of the Green Knights' seven takeaways. Boelkow had three interceptions, including a 4-yard pick six, and also forced and recovered a fumble. Boelkow's three interceptions marked just the eighth time in school history a St. Norbert defender has posted at least three intercepts in a game.
CB Donell Mackey-Woodson, Sr., Wilkes
Mackey-Woodson had a career day and continued his strong play in 2024 posting three interceptions, returning two for touchdowns including a 47-yard and 98-yard pick six in a 53-28 win against Lycoming.
Special teams
K Ivan Shuran, Sr., Williams
Shuran broke his own Ephs' record for most field goals in a game with five Saturday at Middlebury. He went 5-of-5 on field goals and 2-for-2 on PATs. The field goal kicks were of 43, 32, 32, 28 and 22 yards.
P Richard Brice II, So., Alfred State
Brice averaged 49 yards per punt, including a 63-yarder, in Alfred State's 30-16 loss to Curry. Three of Brice's four punts landed inside the Curry 20-yard line, with no touchbacks.
RET Brite Cannon, Fr., Westminster (Pa.)
Cannon scored a special teams touchdown for the third consecutive week with a 57-yard punt return for a score as the Titans defeated Bethany 49-7 on Saturday. Cannon has three punt return touchdowns in 2024.
ST Elijah Short, Sr., St. Olaf
Short returned a blocked extra point 88 yards for two points late in the fourth quarter to help the Oles hold off Carleton by a 19-13 margin on Saturday. After the Knights scored to make it 17-13 with 6:18 remaining in regulation, the senior ran the blocked extra point back to make it a six-point game. The play was the difference in the game after the Knights made it into field-goal range in the final minute but needed a touchdown rather than a game-tying field goal.