For Immediate Release
Monday, October 31, 2022
NSIC Media Relations
Media Packet

NSIC Offensive Player of the Week
#2 Anthony Watkins (RB, 5-10, 180, Sr., Harvey, Ill. / Thornton Fractional North HS) - Wayne State
- Scored four touchdowns and had 156 yards of total offense in a 56-14 win over Upper Iowa
- Rushed for 123 yards on just 10 carries with touchdown runs of 14, 4 and 2 yards
- Added two catches for 33 yards with a 31-yard touchdown reception

NSIC Defensive Player of the Week
#9 Ian Marshall (DL, 6-1, 270, Gr., Springfield, Mo. / Glendale HS) - Northern State 
- Broke the Northern State single season sacks record, notching 3.5 versus MSU Moorhead 
- Brought his season sacks total to 13.5 with 92 yards lost 
- Totaled five tackles, including 4.5 tackles for a loss (-29 yards) 
- Added a fumble recovery on a bad snap and a 22-yard return, which resulted in a Wolves touchdown the following drive 
- Leads the NSIC and sits second in the nation in sacks this season
- Named NSIC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season (10/17/22)

NSIC Special Teams Player of the Week
#37 Damian Chowaniec (K/P, 6-0, 190, So., Manhattan, Ill. / Lincoln-Way West HS) - Minnesota State
- Scored eight points in a 38-24 road win over #19 Sioux Falls
- Connected on a 32-yard field goal and went 5-of-5 in extra point attempts
- Is now 23-for-24 on point after attempts this season

Other Top Performances
OFFENSE
#10 Brandon Alt (BSU) threw for 359 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Bemidji State Football team to a 35-14 victory at SMSU Saturday. He completed 25-of-38 passes for a completion percentage of 65.8 and didn’t throw an interception.
#3 Dave Small Jr. (UMary) ran for a career-high 147 yards on 32 carries in Marauders 23-13 road win at Concordia-St. Pau. He ran for his 8th touchdown of the season in the fourth quarter to seal UMary’s win. He also caught two passes for 29 yards. He has scored a touchdown in all nine UMary games this season, and NCAA era record for the Marauders. He is now seventh all-time at UMary with 1,499 rushing yards.
#8 Armani Carmickle (UMD) made two receptions, which both resulted in touchdowns. His longest reception of the game was a season high 75 yarder. With his second reception, he notched his 2000th career receiving yard, making him one of six in program history to reach 2000.
#15 Hayden Ekern (MSU) threw for 197 yards and two touchdowns, completing 10-of-20 passes. He also rushed for 32 yards and two touchdowns.
#39 Wyatt Block (NSU) tallied a career high 110 yards rushing in Northern’s 35-7 victory over MSU Moorhead, He recorded his first rushing touchdown of the 2022 season. He averaged 7.3 yards per carry with a 39-yard long. He added 26 yards receiving for 136 yards of total offense. He moved into the top-20 of the NSIC in total rushing yards and yards per game. 
#83 Hunter Schneider (USF) had a career high 108 receiving yards on 10 passes this past weekend.
#1 Darryl Williams (WSU) had a big impact on the Winona State 24-7 victory over Augustana. He had two touchdown receptions in the first quarter and registered three catches overall for 66 yards. He had a longest reception of 30 yards and returned a punt for 12 yards. 

DEFENSE
#9 Spencer Wehr (BSU) helped lead the BSU defense to hold SMSU to just 239 yards of total offense and 15 points by leading the team with nine tackles including six solo.
#20 Nate Eschleman (UMary) had two tackles for loss and a blocked punt for the Marauders in a 23-13 win at Concordia-St. Paul. The blocked punt in the first half set up Marauders first points.  He had one of the Marauders three sacks in the game while making four solo tackles.
#49 Dakota Smith (MSU) intercepted a pass and returned it 31 yards to the USF one yard line. The Mavericks would score a touchdown two plays later to go up 21-7. He recorded four tackles in the game.  
#2 Marcus Gulley (MSUM) had a career-high 10 tackles (five solo) in last week’s loss to Northern State. He had a career-high three tackles for loss, two of those being sacks (also a career-high) for 16 yards lost.
#37 Carson Cayko (MINOT) turned in a career-high 12 tackles to lead the Minot State defense, adding in one tackle for a loss for the Beavers.
#43 Ikenna Ujuagu (WSU) scored a defensive touchdown on a 35 yard pick-six in the fourth quarter. He racked up seven total tackles in the game, the second most on the team. He had five solo stops and was credited with a quarterback hurry.

SPECIAL TEAMS
#4 Justin Cash (MINOT) helped the Beavers in the field-position battle with nine punts, including a long of 57 yards which was his second-longest this season.
#46 Tristan Root (WSU) helped win the field position battle in a 24-7 victory over Augustana. He hit eight punts in the game, just one shy of a career best and racked up 358 total yards, good for 44.8 yards average. He had a longest kick of 56 yards and three kicks over 50 yards in the game with one kick inside the 20. 
NSIC Football Players of the Week
9/6/22
O:  #10 Jalen Sample - Minnesota State
D: #7 Alijah McGhee - Minnesota State
SP: #26 Payton Eue - Northern State
9/12/22
O: #24 Jesse Sherwood - SMSU
D: #5 Alex Kowalczyk - Wayne State
SP: #2 Trey Vaval - Minnesota State
9/19/22
O: #24 Jesse Sherwood - SMSU (2) 
D: #94 Grayson Diepenbrock - Augustana
SP: #26 Payton Eue - Northern State(2)
9/26/22
O: #34 Thuro Reisdorfer - USF
D: #0 Onte Burns - SMSU
SP: #27 Jacob Scott - WSU
10/3/22
O: #4 Jesse Forknell - UMary
D: #90 Zach Durfee - USF
SP: #95 Ian Kopf - UMary
10/10/22
O: #18 Will Madler - Northern State
D: #5 Alex Kowalczyk - Wayne State (2)
SP: #41 Alex Powders - Wayne State
10/17/22
O: #34 Thuro Reisdorfer - Sioux Falls (2)
D: #9 Ian Marshall - Northern State
SP: #14 Luke Gunderson - Northern State
10/24/22
O: #6 Gage Florence - MSU Moorhead
D: #8 Mitch Snitker - Winona State  
SP: #11 Danny Kittner - University of Mary
10/31/22
O: #2 Anthony Watkins - Wayne State
D: #9 Ian Marshall - Northern State (2)
SP: #37 Damian Chowaniec - Minnesota State

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 25 team national championships and crowned 96 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.