For Immediate Release
Monday, September 16, 2019
NSIC Media Relations
Media Packet

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NSIC Offensive Player of the Week
#9 John Larson (QB, 6-1, 220, Sr., Braham, Minn. / Braham HS) - Minnesota Duluth
- Led second half comeback over MSUM, finishing 17-of-24 for 252 yards and three touchdowns in a 48-20 win
- Rushed for 104 yards on 12 carried, adding a rushing touchdown;
- Totaled 356 yards of total offense
- Trailing 20-13 at half, engineered three consecutive three-play scoring drives to start the third quarter

NSIC Defensive Player of the Week
#45 Jake Portz (LB, 6-0, 227, So., Plainfield, Ill. /Plainfield South HS) - Concordia-St. Paul
- Recorded the second-most tackles in a single game in CSP history with 18 in a 28-23 win at UIU
- Recorded the most tackles in a game since 2015 for a CSP player
-  Had 7 of his 18 tackles in the 4th quarter to preserve the win
-  Had one tackle for a loss of two yards

NSIC Special Teams Player of the Week
#89 Daniel Esparza (K, 5-10, 150, Jr., Dallas, Texas / Bishop Dunne HS) - Sioux Falls
- Scored 10 points in a 34-12 victory over Winona State
- Was perfect on his kicking, making two field goals of 17 yards and 50 yards and all four extra points
- His 50-yard field goal was the longest of his career and best at USF since Stu Vanden Heuvel connected from 50 yards in Sept. 2017
- Is 3-of-3 on field goals and 6-of-6 on extra points this season, ranking second in the NSIC in made field goals and his 7.5 ppg is also second

Other Top Performances
Offense
#15 Jared Henning (BSU) threw for a career-high four touchdowns in BSU’s 52-7 home-opening win over UMary; Completed 77 percent of his passes with no turnovers; Averaged 11.2 yards per completion for a total of 191 passing yards; Added 24 rushing yards on five carries.

#2 Shaq Johnson (CSP) recorded his third career 100-yard game; Averaged 9.8 yards per carry (12-118); Added a 36-yard catch and 25-yard kickoff return for 179 all-purpose yards.

#84 Shane Zylstra (MSU) caught MSU’s final two touchdown passes against Augie that put the game out of reach; His 108 receiving yards mark the ninth time in his career that he has tallied more than 100 receiving yards in a game;  Led the team with six catches.

#2 Caden Walters (USF) completed 17-of-26 passes for 215 yards with a TD and interception;  Set a career high by rushing for 70 yards on nine carries or 7.8 per tote; Registered 11 passes of 11 yards or more with five of 20 or more to five different receivers.

#13 Alexander Stevens (UIU) caught 7 passes for 81 yards and 3 touchdowns.

#11 Andy McCance (WSC) accounted for 385 yards of total offense and engineered game-tying and winning TD drives for WSC in 19-13 overtime win over SMSU... completed 21 of 38 passes for 290 yards and two TD’s and rushed for team-high 95 yards on 17 attempts... fired five-yard TD pass to Jason Hawkins with :03 left to send game into overtime, then threw 10-yard strike to Mason Lee for game-winner in overtime.

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Defense
#20 Michael Junker (BSU) recorded his 11th career interception, which was returned for a touchdown in BSU’s 52-7 win over UMary;  Took a pick-six back 38 yards for his second career touchdown return; Ranks sixth all-time at BSU in interceptions; Added one tackle.

#51 Nate Pearson (UMD) collected four tackles including 2.5 sacks for a net loss of 18 yards; help hold MSUM to -10 rushing yards in the game.

#36 Tucker Stout (USF) played a lead role as USF bottled up the Winona State offense in 34-12 win;  Recorded five tackles - all solos - with a tackle for loss and a diving interception; Part of defense that held Winona State to 228 yards in total offense on 57 plays and 49 yards rushing on 20 carries (2.5 per rush)

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Special Teams 
#90 Mason Hoffer (BSU) went perfect in field goal and extra-point attempts, totaling 10 of BSU’s 52 points over UMary... Converted seven of seven attempted extra point attempts... Made a 19-yard field goal to cap BSU’s final score... Totaled seven kickoffs for an average of 53.7 yards with one touchback.

#26 Luke Williams (MSU) went 2-for-2 in field goal attempts, both from 36 yards out.; went 3-for-3 in extra point attempts for a total of nine points; averaged 31.2 yards per punt and downed one punt inside the 20.

NSIC Football Players of the Week
9/9/19
O: #23 Nate Gunn - Minnesota State
D: #32 Dalton Smerchek - Concordia-St. Paul
SP: #13 Cory Carignan - Minot State

9/16/19
O: #9 John Larson - Minnesota Duluth
D: #45 Jake Portz - Concordia-St. Paul
SP: #89 Daniel Esparza - Sioux Falls