This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week are QB Paul McIntosh of Southern Illinois; DE Coulter Boyer of North Dakota State; WR Bryce Morris of Southern Illinois; and LG Nick Bledsoe of Illinois State. Each played a key role in his team's victory this past Saturday.
Offense
QB Paul McIntosh, Southern Illinois, Fr., 6-2, 205, Evansville (Ind.) Reitz High
Redshirt freshman QB Paul McIntosh threw for 159 yards and ran for 57 with two rushing touchdowns while making his first career start. He completed 15-of-22 passes without an interception in SIU's 33-0 win over Indiana State. McIntosh's longest completion was for 37 yards to Bryce Morris and his long run on the day was a 32-yard scamper. He was not sacked once on the afternoon.
Defense
DE Coulter Boyer, North Dakota State, So., 6-4, 255, Hurley (S.D.) High
Boyer had three of North Dakota State's seven sacks in the Bison 14-7 win over Western Illinois in Macomb. Boyer had five tackles including 3.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Two of Boyer's sacks came during the Leathernecks final two drives of the game including a forced fumble on the last drive. NDSU's defense held Western Illinois to 206 yards of total offense. The Bison had a season-high four takeaways - the previous high was two at Iowa State and vs. Wagner.
Special Teams
WR Bryce Morris, Southern Illinois, 6-1, 215, Sr., Olathe (Kan.) South High
Morris blocked a punt late in the second quarter that was recovered by Beau Hoffman and returned four yards for a touchdown. It was the second-straight game that SIU has blocked a punt. Morris finished the day with four catches for a career-high 80 yards and the first blocked punt of his career.
Offensive Lineman
LG Nick Bledsoe, Illinois State, So., 6-2, 290, Wheeling, Ill. (Wheeling HS)
Bledsoe led the way for Illinois State's first 100-yard rusher of the season and graded out at 91 percent in Illinois State's 24-14 road win at Missouri State on Saturday. The Wheeling, Ill., native was also credited with a pancake block and two knockdowns against the Bears as the Redbirds racked up a season-high 178 yards on the ground thanks to Cliffton Gordon's career-high 122 yards rushing. Bledsoe and his teammates also did not allow a sack in the game, marking the third time this season the unit has accomplished that feat.
OTHER STAR PERFORMERS
Offense
RB Dre Gibbs, WIU -- 7th career 100-yard rushing game with 109 yards on 24 carries.
RB Cliffton Gordon, ILS -- Career highs with 30 carries and 122 yards in win at Missouri State.
TE Clay Harbor, MSU -- 8 catches, 102 yards vs. Illinois State
RB Kyle Minett, SDSU -- 22 carries, 87 yards and two TDs, 2 catches, 32 yards in win at YSU.
RB Pat Paschall, NDSU -- 19 carries, 111 yards and two TDs, 3 catches, 44 yards in win at WIU.
Defense
DE Danny Batten, SDSU -- 8 tackles, 1 sack, YSU had only 1 play in the red zone in SDSU victory.
LB CJ Cook, INS -- 10 tackles, career-high 3 TFLs vs. Southern Illinois
LB Buddy Dudczak, WIU -- career-best 13 total tackles, including a sack and 1.5 TFLs.
LB Ryan Patton, SIU -- 6 tackles, 2 TFLs, 1 sack as SIU limited Indiana State to 90 yards (ninth fewest yards allowed in school history)
DL Bert Whigham, ILS -- 5 tackles, 2 sacks (career high), 2 PBUs
LB Antoine Wilkinson, MSU -- Career-high 20 tackles (10 solo), 1 TFL, 1 PBU
Special Teams
PK Zach Kutch, ILS -- 42-yard FG in 24-14 win at MSU. He is now 10-of-15 on the year.
P Gabe Mullane, INS -- 9 punts (34.9 average) -- long of 50 yards, two inside the 20-yard line.
P Dean Priddy, SDSU -- 5 punts (43.6 average) -- long of 54 yards and two inside the 20-yard line.
RS Shamen Washington, NDSU -- 1 kickoff return (65 yards) to set up a TD in a 14-7 win at WIU.
