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| Brett Holmes and the Colby defense shut Amherst down in a 10-7 win. Colby athletics photo by Eileen Sawyer |
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Games of Sept. 24-25, 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 Blaine Hawkins, Sr., Central
In just the first half, Hawkins had school records for passing yards (424) and passing touchdowns (7) as Central rolled to a 84-16 win over Simpson. The Dutch streaked to a 56-3 halftime lead with Hawkins behind center, remarkably needing just 7:26 of possession time in the game's first 30 minutes to score eight touchdowns. Hawkins completed 22 of 24 passes.
OL Chris Toth, Jackson Nazos, Oscar Nava, Jalen Cole, Matt Kickel, Aurora
The Aurora offensive line helped pave the way for a 70-20 victory over Rockford with 431 yards rushing on the day on 30 carries. The Spartans finished the day with a school record 800 yards of total offense with 369 yards passing and no sacks for the starting unit.
RB Joey Mauriello, Sr., Salve Regina
Mauriello ran for a school record 279 yards on 29 carries, the second time this season he has run for more than 260 yards. He scored three fourth quarter touchdowns to complete the Seahawk rally. Mauriello's 40-yard rush early in the final period tied the score at 35-all before Chris Maida hit the extra point for the first Seahawk lead. With 5:10 to go in the game and holding a one-point lead, Mauriello took a shovel pass from quarterback Jack Maguire on a broken play at the 18-yard line and ran the rest of the way to the left corner pylon for 22-yard score. Mauriello finished with 325 all-purpose yards (279 rushing, 46 receiving) and three touchdowns.
RB Justin Edwards, Fr., Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Edwards led CMS to a 29-21 win over previously undefeated and No. 17 Chapman by scoring all four Stag touchdowns on the ground. He finished the day with 204 yards, including scoring runs of 1, 1, 3 and 5 yards. CMS had been using running back by committee system through the first three games, when Edwards had a combined 133 yards, but he became the workhorse on Saturday, earning 32 carries and totaling 204 yards, while adding 32 receiving yards for 236 all-purpose yards.
WR Jarrod Mosby, Sr., Averett
Mosby became the first Averett player in program history to have a 200-yard receiving game, and he did it before halftime in the Cougars' 47-10 win against Maryville. He finished with 223 yards on eight receptions and also set an Averett single-game record with four receiving touchdowns.
WR Talsen Smith, Fr., Merchant Marine
Smith caught four passes for a game-high 169 receiving yards and found the end zone three times in Merchant Marine's 56-7 victory over Kean in the Mariners' home opener. Last week's return specialist on the D3football.com Team of the Week, Smith has recorded five touchdowns in his last two games (four receiving and one punt return).
TE Cole Hissong, Sr., Wooster
Hissong caught 10 passes for 119 yards and a career-high three touchdowns on Saturday. Hissong surpassed 1,000 career receiving yards on his final touchdown grab, becoming the 20th player in program history to hit the milestone, and just the second to do so as a tight end. Hissong is the fourth tight end in program history to reach 10 career receiving touchdowns.
Defense
DE C.J. Mustain, Jr., Merchant Marine
Mustain recorded a team-best nine tackles (seven solo) in Merchant Marine's 56-7 victory over Kean in the home-opener this past Saturday to help the Mariners improve to 3-0 on the season. He had four and a half tackles for losses including three and a half sacks, one of which forced a fumble in the Cougars' territory that USMMA recovered and scored on a few plays later. Mustain also broke up a pass and had a quarterback hurry.
DT Blade Durbala, Sr., Central
Durbala was second on the team with six tackles and had 1.5 sacks, both on third down. On a third-and-7 from the Central, Durbala had an 8-yard sack and eventually led a turnover on downs. The half sack also came on third down and forced a punt.
DE Drake Neuberger, Sr., Marietta
Neuberger racked up 12 tackles, including four tackles for loss and three sacks in a win against Capital. The Marietta defense held Capital to 54 rushing yards.
LB Jacob Mueller, Sr., Mary Hardin-Baylor
Mueller led UMHB's defense in a strong stand in the second half of action against HSU. He had a pass breakup in the third quarter to force an HSU punt then had a big lick to end the quarter, forcing a third-and-18. Mueller was also big in HSU's final drive, recording five tackles, including one for a 4-yard loss to force the Cowboys into fourth-and-13. Muellers finished with 10 total tackles, two and a half tackles for loss.
LB Christopher Cox, Sr., Alfred
Cox had a standout defensive performance as he led the Saxons to keeping the Hornets of Kalamazoo to 10 yards rushing and 129 yards passing. He had a game-high 14 tackles and 10 solo tackles. Cox also had a game-high four tackles for a loss for 12 yards including a sack for minus-5 yards.
LB Tommy Cavallo, Jr., Union
Cavallo played an instrumental part for Union's defense in a 30-9 win against Utica. The Dutchmen defense held Utica to only 47 yards on the ground, no touchdowns, and were 5-for-5 on fourth down stops. Cavallo had six tackles on the day, including three tackles for a loss of 17 yards. He also registered a sack in the third quarter on a key third down and a pass breakup.
LB Geoff Banning, So., Brevard
Banning had a breakout game for the Tornados, with a career-best eight tackles, five solo, and three and a half tackles for loss incuding half a sack against Huntingdon.
CB Brett Holmes, Sr., Colby
Holmes led Colby to its first win against Amherst in 22 years, intercepting a pass early in the second quarter in the red zone to preserve a 7-0 lead, then delivering a game-winning interception at the goal line with 23 seconds remaining to secure a 10-7 victory.
S Rylie Van Fleet, So., Alfred State
Van Fleet had a huge day with three interceptions as the Pioneers defeated Defiance 35-28. All three of his interceptions led to Pioneers touchdown drives. He was credited with 101 yards of returns on the day on the three interceptions. He also led the team with six tackles and one pass breakup.
S Brenden Torrence, Jr., McMurry
Torrence made six tackles, had one sack and one interception. His a sack came on a long third down play, preventing a potential pass toward the end zone in the third quarter. All of the tackles came in second half.
CB Kirby Baynes, Fr., Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Baynes led the CMS defense in an upset win over 18th-ranked Chapman (29-21) in non-league action. Baynes registered nine total tackles, eight solo, and picked up a tackle for a loss of 2 yards. He also broke up a pair of passes and intercepted the Panthers' quarterback on their first drive of the game to help set the tone for the Stags' victory.
Special teams
K Jared Mendoza, Sr., McMurry
Mendoza accounted for 15 points in a 41-31 win against Southwestern. He converted on four of five field goal attempts, including a career long 47-yard kick. Prior to kicking that 47-yard field goal, Mendoza sent one through the uprights from 32 which was nullified on a facemask penalty. He was also good from 40, 38 and 21 yards, as well as 3-for-3 on PATs. To boot, he put five of his eight kickoffs into the end zone, while two of the other three were squib kicks.
P Clay Olley, Sr., Susquehanna
Olley had a massive game for the River Hawks in a 31-14 win over Dickinson, averaging 48.6 yards per punt while pinning the Red Devils inside the 20-yard line three times. On his first punt, he hit a 51-yarder that was downed at the Dickinson 4, and on the next drive boomed a 62-yarder from his 12 to the opposing 26. In the third quarter, his next attempt was a 49-yarder that pinned the Red Devils on their 3. His last punt of the day was a 39-yard attempt that was downed at the Dickinson 4.
RET Harrison Wellmann, Sr., Johns Hopkins
Wellmann set a Johns Hopkins record and tied the Division III national record with two kickoff returns for touchdowns at Moravian. His returns covered 90 and 73 yards and were his only two returns of the game.
ST Kevin Cooke, So., Carnegie Mellon
Cook made a huge impact in the Tartans' 39-3 win over Waynesburg. Midway through the third quarter, the Tartans defense pushed the Yellow Jackets back to their own 2-yard line and forced a punt. Cooke then penetrated the line to block the punt out of the back of the end zone for a safety to make the score 25-3. It was Cooke's first career block and the sophomore ended the game with a career-best six tackles.