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| Nero Schrader blocked a punt and forced a fumble on a kickoff for Salisbury. Salisbury athletics photo by Paul Jacko |
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Games of Oct. 18-19, 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 Rocco Abdinoor, Jr., Gettysburg
Abdinoor racked up 504 yards of total offense against Muhlenberg, completing 25 of 38 passes for 352 yards and running 13 times for 152 more, accounting for four touchdowns, three through the air. His rushing touchdown went for 75 yards.
OL Nate Graser, Aidan Glynn, Ryan Bitka, Jayden Lont, Cody Aikey, Cortland
Cortland finished with 587 yards of total offense (289 rushing and 298 passing) and averaged 7.7 yards per play in a 59-17 win at Alfred. The Red Dragons finished with 35 first downs in the win.
RB Dawson Rud, So., Wartburg
Rud ran for 229 yards and on 22 carries and matched a career high with two rushing touchdowns as Wartburg defeated Simpson 46-21. Rud averaged 10.4 yards per rush.
RB Zayne Cawley, Jr., Waynesburg
Cawley had 28 carries for 255 yards and three touchdowns as Waynesburg defeated Bethany 34-14 on Saturday. All of Cawley's touchdowns came in the first half, as the Yellowjackets mounted a 20-7 lead.
WR Devon Guest, Sr., Lewis & Clark
Guest went off for a career-high 236 receiving yards and three touchdowns to lead Lewis & Clark past Pacific 51-37. He caught eight passes and scored touchdowns from eight, 49 and 89 yards out. His 236 receiving yards are the third-most by a Pioneers receiver in program history and the eighth-most by a D-III receiver this season.
WR Talsen Smith, Sr., Merchant Marine
Smith caught 11 passes for a season-high 208 yards with three touchdowns in the Mariners' 49-7 home NEWMAC win over Norwich. Early in the first quarter, the senior set the USMMA program record for all-time career receiving yards which was set in 1994. He now has 2,868 career receiving yards over his four seasons.
WR Caden Kleinschmidt, Jr., Gustavus Adolphus
Kleinschmidt had a career day, hauling in seven catches for 228 yards and three touchdowns in a 36-7 win at Macalester. His total receiving yards are the fourth most in a single game in program history. All three of Kleinschmidt's touchdowns were in the first half and were at least 40 yards with a long of 76 yards.
Defense
DE Jacquez Mabin, Sr., Delaware Valley
Jacquez Mabin set a Delaware Valley record in the Aggies' 33-8 victory vs. FDU-Florham recording five sacks and three forced fumbles in handing the Devils their first conference loss. His game totals included six and a half tackles for loss among his eight total tackles.
DT Alex Mincey, Jr., Berry
Mincey recorded five total tackles, three of them solo, including a sack in a 53-10 win against Sewanee.
DE Sean Holt, Jr., Catholic
Holt played a massive role in Catholic's 14-12 victory at Lycoming on Saturday afternoon. He finished with seven tackles, three and a half TFLs, two and a half sacks, and a forced fumble. The majority of Holt's production came in the second half with the Cardinals holding onto a 14-6 lead for much of the remainder of the contest.
LB Jalen Todd, Sr., Washington & Lee
Todd played a pivotal role on the defense side of the ball in the Generals' 40-23 win over Guilford. He recorded a career-high 22 tackles (nine solo) with two sack and two tackles for loss. His 22 stops is tied for the most in a single game in Division III this season.
LB Marshall Koch, Jr., Rose-Hulman
Koch tallied three and a half sacks, two and a half of them in the fourth quarter to help lead Rose-Hulman to a 29-25 win over Defiance. Koch finished with nine tackles and forced a fumble late in the game on a sack on Defiance's final drive.
LB Gabe Banks, Sr., Crown
Banks had three tackles of the day, including half a tackle for loss, but his big contribution was three interceptions, including a pick-six, as Crown picked up a win on the road at Westminster (Mo.).
CB Jacob Wilson, Fr., Centenary (La.)
Wilson came up with a game-defining play on Saturday for the Gents in their thrilling 28-21 comeback win at Lyon as he intercepted a Scots' pass and returned it 24 yards with the game tied at 21-21 and only 53 seconds remaining. The Gents took over at their own 35-yard line and moved 34 yards in five plays and scored on a TD pass with 15 seconds left to win. Wilson added four total tackles and two pass breakups.
S Joey Johnson, Sr., Mary Hardin-Baylor
Johnson helped the Cru shut out Howard Payne with five tackles, three of them solo. He added one interception, which he returned for a touchdown, one pass breakup and blocked a kick.
S Jake Binkowski, Sr., Carroll
Binkowski recorded a game-high 11 tackles, seven of them solo, and added a pass breakup in Saturday's 30-20 win.
S Jacob Halek, Sr., St. Olaf
Halek recorded nine tackles (eight solo), one interception, and one fumble recovery as the Oles remained unbeaten with a 36-33 win over St. Scholastica. He recovered a fumble in the first quarter, picked off a pass in the second quarter, and posted the second-highest tackle total of his career in the victory.
CB Anthony Mendoza, Sr., Gallaudet
Mendoza finished with a team-high 11 tackles all but one were solo as the Bison defeated Anna Maria 39-34. Mendoza forced a fumble that led to a big return to set up GU's fifth touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter. Anna Maria completed a pass and Mendoza hit the opposing receiver, who made a catch, and the ball popped up in the air and GU's Braxton Heffelfinger was in the right place and grabbed the ball and ran 25 yards down the Bison sideline before being forced out. Mendoza broke up three passes and recovered a fumble at the Gallaudet 1 to begin the game as Anna Maria was on its way for a score. GU used that turnover and marched 99 yards for the game's first touchdown and points. The 11 tackles is a career-high and the 10 solo tackles is a career best.
Special teams
K Ivan Shuran, Sr., Williams
Shuran kicked a 47-yard field goal at the end of the first half and went 3-for-3 on extra points, scoring six points in a 24-21 home win against Bates.
P George Ethan Ferry, Sr., Merchant Marine
Ferrey averaged an impressive 49.0 yards on three phenomenal punts for the Mariners in their 49-7 home NEWMAC win vs. Norwich. Two were 50 or more yards, with his first going for 53 yards and the other two pinning the Cadets within their 20-yard line at their 6 and their 15.
RET Ethan Cockhill, Jr., Concordia-Moorhead
Cockhill returned the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown in the Cobbers' win at Hamline. The kick return for a touchdown is the first in the MIAC this season. Cockhill also returned six punts on the day, averaging 13.7 yards per return.
ST Nero Schrader, Sr., Salisbury
In the first half, Schrader forced a fumble on a kickoff handing the ball right back to the Salisbury offense. On the first punt of the second half for the Red Hawks, Schrader broke through and blocked the punt setting up the SU offense directly in the red zone. Salisbury went on to defeat Montclair State 44-8.