For Immediate Release
Monday, October 25, 2021
NSIC Media Relations
Media Packet

NSIC Offensive Player of the Week
#6 Malik Williams (WR, 5-8, 190, Sr., Lake Worth, Fla. / Lake Worth HS) - Bemidji State 
- Caught three touchdowns on 10 receptions in a  42-35 win at No. 16 Minnesota Duluth
- Totaled a career-high 176 receiving yards, averaging 17.6 yards per reception 
- Caught touchdown passes from 29, 33 and 59 yards
- Becomes the first Beaver with multiple touchdown catches in four straight games
- Moved into second in BSU single-season receiving touchdowns with 12
- Helped BSU defeat UMD for the first time since 1999, and win at UMD for the first time since 1941

NSIC Defensive Player of the Week
#43 Nicholas Joynt (LB, 6-1, 220, Jr., Garner, Iowa / Garner-Hayfield-Ventura HS) - Wayne State
- Had 12 tackles and an interception in a 38-16 win at Southwest Minnesota State
- Had three solo and nine assisted stops to go with an interception return for 34 yards
- Helped WSC hold SMSU to just 81 yards in first half and 257 for the game

NSIC Special Teams Player of the Week
#7 Carter Blackwell (KR/DB, 6-3, 190, Sr., Dickinson, N.D. / Dickinson HS) - MSU Moorhead
- Returned a kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown in a 35-31 win over UMary
- The kick return helped MSUM climb within 24-21 in third quarter and was part of 14 straight points
- It was his first career kick return for touchdown

Other Top Performances
Offense
#11 Kyle Saddler (AUGIE) threw for 438 yards and five touchdowns in Augustana’s first win at Minnesota State since 2003. The yard total was the second-most in Division II in Week 8. The 438 yards were the second-most of the senior’s career in a game. The 33 passes completed tied a career-high. He  has the No. 22 Vikings sitting at 7-1 and in first place of the NSIC.
#28 Cazz Martin (UMD) posted 131 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in a losing effort to Bemidji State on Saturday in Duluth. One of his touchdowns was a beautiful 69-yard touchdown run. It’s the third time this season that Martin has gone over 100 yards rushing.
#7 JD Ekowa (MSU) recorded career-highs in both passing yards (369) and touchdown passes (5) against Augustana. He is the first Maverick to throw five touchdown passes in a game since the 2007 season. He completed 19-of-31 passes.
#1 Ryan Bieberdorf (MSUM) caught a team-best eight passes in a 35-31 win over UMary. He hauled in two touchdown passes and shares the team lead with six.
#11 Dawson Macleary (MINOT) earned his first win as a starter passing for nearly 300 yards (292) and completing nearly 60 percent of his passes (19-of-31) to lead the Beavers to their first victory of the fall.
#4 Hunter Trautman (NSU) rallied the Northern State offense in Saturday’s second half victory over Concordia-St. Paul as he recorded 225 yards passing with three touchdowns. He completed 18-of-31 attempts with a 43-yard long and added 31 yards rushing, averaging 4.4 yards per rush. He broke the Northern State career record for passing touchdowns and he leads the NSIC in pass efficiency this season.
#27 Carter Slykhuis (USF) recorded career highs in catches with eight and yards with 102 in a 14-10 loss to Winona State. He has 21 catches for 185 yards and a TD this year,  averaging 8.81 per reception.
#6 Taurean Grady (WSC) had five catches for 123 yards and one TD, all in the first half, in Wayne State’s 38-16 win at SMSU. He accounted for 137 yards of total offense and had a 53-yard TD catch to open WSC scoring. It was his third 100-yard receiving game of season.
#84 Dakota Matthees (WSU) had two receptions for 80 yards and one touchdown. The first reception was a 10-yard reception on a fake field goal that set up a touchdown score. Matthees second reception was a 70-yard game-winning touchdown with less than two minutes left.

Defense
#94 Grayson Diepenbrock (AUGIE) recorded six tackles in the Vikings win at Minnesota State. Of the six tackles, 2.5 were sacks and totaled 21 yards. He had the sack on Minnesota State’s last gasp of trying to stay in the game with 2:04 on the clock. He was credited with a pass breakup.
#18 Zollie Kaplan (BSU) recorded 3.0 tackles for a loss and 1.0 sack in 42-35 win at No. 16 Minnesota Duluth. He recovered a fumble to secure BSU’s first win at Duluth since 1941. He was second on BSU with six tackles, including five solo. The career high 3.0 TFL went for 14 yards lost as he helped the Gang Green D limit UMD to 14 yards in fourth quarter. 
#27 Michael Kirkendoll (UMD), on Saturday against Bemidji State, posted four solo tackles, one interception, and one sack for a loss of 13 yards. Additionally, Kirkendoll tallied one pass breakup as well.
#90 Denver Sheets (MSUM) had four tackles, 1.5 for loss, forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and had a sack. 
#39 Carson Chrisman (MINOT) made his first career interception in the end zone midway through the 4th quarter, helping to seal the first win of the season for the Beavers.
#10 Donovan Lucas (NSU) gave Northern State a 24-17 lead over Concordia-St. Paul with his 22-yard pix-6 in the third quarter. He recorded six total tackles in the win, including four solo stops and added a pass break-up, as well as 1.5 tackles for a loss and half a sack. He sits top-10 in the league in interceptions and is one of just six players to return one for a touchdown. His score was the first defensive points of the season for the Wolves. 
#10 Cody Jantzen (USF) recorded a career high in tackles with 10, including a career-high seven solo stops, plus a tackle for loss in a 14-10 loss to Winona State. He has a team-high 41 tackles with 27 solo stops and four TFLs this season. He was part of a defense that held WSU to 20 points under its scoring average.
#2 Gage Roberson (SMSU) registered a career-high 13 tackles with eight solo stops, two for loss, one sack and his first career interception in SMSU’s loss to Wayne State. He ranks second on the SMSU squad this season with 58 tackles, including a team-high 7.5 for loss.
#20 DJ Green Jr. (UIU) recorded five tackles in UIU’s 17-14 loss at Minot State. The corner back also forced and recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass with a 27-yard return. The takeaways were Green’s second forced fumble, first recovery and second pick of the season.
#14 Lacy Aarion (WSU) in two interceptions and a pass break up. He totaled two solo tackles and helped lead the Winona State defense to hold Sioux Falls to just 10 points.

Special Teams
#39 Drew Jurgens (AUGIE) although punting just twice, totaled 75 yards he had a long of 41 yards. He has the Vikings ranked third in the nation in net punt average at 39.35 yards per.
#11 Alijah McGhee (MSU) blocked two field goals against Augustana.
#26 Dillon Fedor (MINOT) converted his 4th field goal of his college career, a 23-yard game-winner for the Beavers. Also converted a pair of PATs and averaged 48.0 yards per kick-off for 4 kick-offs on a windy day in North Dakota.
 

NSIC Football Players of the Week
9/7/21
O: #9 John Larson - UMD
D: #39 Clay Schueffner - WSU
SP: #26 Payton Eue - NSU
9/13/21
O: #10 Brandon Alt - Bemidji State
D:  #18 Andrew Egnarski - Concordia-St. Paul
SP: #26 Payton Eue - Northern State (2)
9/20/21
O: #34 Thuro Reisdorfer - SIoux Falls
D: #8 Peyton Buckley - Augustana
SP: #81 Curt Cox  - Minnesota Duluth
9/27/21
O: #11 Kyle Saddler - Augustana
D: #27 Hunter Bohannon- SMSU
SP: #41 Alex Powders - Wayne State 
10/4/21
O: #9 Logan Nelson - University of Mary
D: #51 Nate Pearson - Minnesota Duluth
SP: #4 Ty’Shonan Brooks - Minnesota State
10/11/21
O: #4 Hunter Trautman - Northern State 
D: #55 Alex Kowalczyk - Wayne State
SP: #5 Jake Balliu - Winona State
10/18/21
O: #7 JD Ekowa - Minnesota State
D: #43 T.J. Liggett - Augustana
SP: #81 Curt Cox  - Minnesota Duluth (2)
10/25/21
O: #6 Malik Williams - Bemidji State 
D: #43 Nicholas Joynt - Wayne State 
SP: #7 Carter Blackwell - MSU Moorhead

About the NSIC
The NSIC is a 16-team, 18-sport, NCAA Division II conference with institutions located in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The NSIC is a model Division II conference that uses high-level athletics competition to develop champions in the classroom and community while empowering student-athletes to be impactful and positive leaders. Formed in 1992 by the merger of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (men’s league) and the Northern Sun Conference (women’s league), the NSIC has flourished over the past quarter century, maturing into a 16-team union of Upper Midwest colleges and universities. The NSIC has won 24 team national championships and crowned 81 individual national champions. For additional information, visit NorthernSun.org.

About NCAA Division II
The NCAA, the national governing body for college athletics, is a volunteer association of more than 1,000 colleges and universities that classify their athletics programs in one of three membership divisions. The 300+ institutions in NCAA Division II support a balanced approach in which student-athletes can earn scholarships based on their athletic ability, pursue their desired academic degree, and participate in all the campus and surrounding community have to offer. Division II student-athletes annually graduate at rates higher than their student body peers, and they have access to the best championships-participant ratio among the NCAA’s three divisions. Division II gives student-athletes the unique opportunity to compete in the classroom, on the field, in their career, for their causes, and on their terms. For additional information, visit NCAA.org.