2007 GWFC Players of the Week

Brown Named Defensive Player of the Week

           Oct. 15 – Southern Utah defensive back Derrick Brown has earned Great West Football Conference defensive Player of the Week honors for the second time this season after his performance in the Thunderbirds’ near-upset of No. 12 Youngstown State last Saturday.

              Brown, a senior cornerback from Brigham City, Utah, tallied eight tackles, five solo, in the 23-22 loss. Brown also had 1.5 tackles-for-loss as SUU held the Penguins to 324 total yards, 60 below their season-average, and just 160 rushing yards, well below their season-average of 215.8.

              The GWFC honor is Brown’s second this season. He also earned defensive Player of the Week recognition following the season-opener at Montana when he led all players with 12 tackles, including five solo stops.

Lewis Named Special Teams Player of the Week

               Oct. 8 – Southern Utah University cornerback DeWayne Lewis has been named this week’s Great West Football Conference Defensive Player of the Week for his play in the Thunderbirds’ game at Montana State Satruday.

              Lewis, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound cornerback from Denver, Colo., tallied seven tackles in the Thunderbirds’ near-upset of No. 13 ranked Montana State. Lewis had five solo stops, two sacks and was in on three tackles-for-loss in the 7-3 setback. He also forced a fumble and broke up a pass on third down late in the game as the Bobcats were trying to run out the clock to force a punt and give the Thunderbirds a chance to come back.

              North Dakota State running back Tyler Roehl and return specialist John Majeski earned offensive and special teams honors this week.

Ward Named Special Teams Player of the Week

             Sept. 10 – Southern Utah University punter Trevor Ward has been named this week’s Great West Football Conference Special Teams Player of the Week after his performance in the Thunderbirds’ 37-10 loss to North Dakota Saturday night.

              Ward, a sophomore from Ogden, Utah, punted nine times for 356 yards Saturday, an average of 39.6 yards per kick. More importantly, he pinned the Fighting Sioux inside their own 20 yard line with five of those punts.

              Ward is SUU’s second GWFC Player of the Week in as many weeks this season. He joins Thunderbird cornerback Derrick Brown, who earned the defensive award following his performance at Montana, Sept. 1.

Brown Named Defensive Player of the Week

             Sept. 3 – Southern Utah University senior cornerback Derrick Brown has been named this week’s Great West Football Conference defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Thunderbirds’ 37-17 loss at Montana last Saturday.

              Brown, a senior from Brigham City, Utah, by way of Snow College, led all players with 12 tackles, including five solo stops. He was also credited with a half-sack on UM quarterback Cole Bergquist that led to a safety and put the Thunderbirds on the scoreboard for the first time in the game.

              Cal Poly’s Ramses Barden received the conference’s offensive award after catching eight passes for 207 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while South Dakota State kicker Parker Douglass earned the special teams nod after kicking four field goals, including two in overtime.

2006 GWFC Players of the Week

Sanchez Named Offensive Player of the Week

               Southern Utah running back Johnny Sanchez has been named this week’s Great West Football Conference offensive Player of the Week following his play at McNeese State last weekend.

              Sanchez, a 5-9, 200-pound junior from Los Lunas, N.M., carried the ball 11 times for 161 yards and two touchdowns in Southern Utah’s 30-27 loss at McNeese State. His rushing total was the highest by a Thunderbird since the 2002 season, as were the team’s 280 rushing yards.  Sanchez scored on runs of 71 and 28 yards, with his last scoring run giving the Thunderbirds a 27-24 lead in the fourth quarter.

              South Dakota State LB Andrew Hoogeveen was named this week’s GWFC defensive Player of the Week after tallying 10 tackles, including a sack for a loss of 14 yards, in the Jackrabbits’ 20-7 win over Central Arkansas while Cal Poly LB Wes Pryor was named special teams Player of the Week after blocking a UC Davis punt in the end zone early in the third quarter for a safety in the Mustangs’ 23-17 win over UC Davis.

              Sanchez’ award gives SUU five GWFC players of the week so far this season, and the team’s third on the offensive side of the ball. QB Wes Marshall and RB Kyle Coop have also earned the offensive award while SS D.J. Senter and LB Robert Takeno have earned the award for their defensive play.

Takeno Named Defensive Player of the Week

              Southern Utah’s Robert Takeno was been named the Great West Football Conference Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Thunderbirds’ near-upset of No. 5 Cal Poly (Sept. 30).

               Takeno, a 5-foot-11, 210-pound redshirt freshman from Sandy, Utah (Hillcrest HS) had eight tackles, seven solo, recovered a fumble and scored a touchdown in the 18-14 SUU loss. His fumble recovery and subsequent 48-yard return led to the Thunderbirds’ first touchdown of the day, which erased a 3-point deficit and gave SUU a 7-3 lead at halftime. In the second half he scooped up a blocked punt and ran 11 yards for a touchdown to give the Thunderbirds a 14-3 advantage.

              Takeno is SUU’s second straight defensive player of the week, following safety D.J. Senter, who earned the honor last week. His selection brings to four the number of Thunderbirds selected as GWFC players of the week, as QB Wes Marshall and RB Kyle Coop earned the honor on the offensive side of the ball in weeks one and two.

              Brian Kofoed was SUU’s special teams player of the week nominee after he blocked the punt which Takeno returned for the score. South Dakota State kicker Parker Douglass earned special teams honors, however, after hitting 4-of-5 field goal attempts, including the game-winner, in the Jackrabbits’ win at McNeese State. North Dakota State QB Steve Walker earned offensive player of the week honors after guiding the Bison to a 19-7 win at Stephen F. Austin.

Senter Named Defensive Player of the Week

CEDAR CITY, Utah, Sept. 24 – Southern Utah University safety DJ Senter has been named the Great West Football Conference Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Thunderbirds' win over Texas State (Sept. 23).

Senter, a 6-foot, 210-pound sophomore from Las Vegas, Nev. (Bishop Gorman HS) paced the Thunderbird defense with nine tackles, five solo (also a team-high) and broke up a pair of passes in the 31-20 SUU victory. The sophomore forced a fumble with a monster hit on Texas State quarterback Bradley George late in the second quarter. SUU recovered the ball on the TSU 32 and scored six plays later to go up 21-7.

Senter is Southern Utah's third GWFC Player of the Week this season, but its first on the defensive side of the ball.
Quarterback Wes Marshall and running back Kyle Coop have also been recipients of the award.

Running back Johnny Sanchez was SUU's offensive nominee this week, after he had 170 all-purpose yards – including 145 rushing – in the SUU win but North Dakota State QB Steve Walker earned the nod after completing 29 of 46 passes for 451 yards and three TDs in the Bison's 29-24 win over Ball State.

Coop Named Offensive Player of the Week

CEDAR CITY, Utah, Sept. 10 – Running back Kyle Coop has been named the Great West Football Conference offensive Player of the Week for his performance in SUU's 55-3 rout of Western State College (Sept. 9).

Coop, a 5-11, 210-pound sophomore from St. George, Utah (Snow Canyon HS) carried the ball 12 times for 69 yards and a touchdown and caught four passes for 78 yards and another score in Southern Utah’s  victory. Coop averaged 5.8 yards per carry and 19.2 yards per reception, and his 147 total yards accounted for over a third of the Thunderbirds' 416 offensive yards. During the Thunderbirds' first drive he carried four times for 26 yards, including the drive-capper, a 7-yard run around the left end for a TD. Later he caught a swing pass and carried it 35 yards for another score.

Coop’s honor gives the Thunderbirds two straight GWFC offensive players of the week, as SUU QB Wes Marshall earned the award last week.

Senior cornerback Brian Kofoed was SUU’s nominee for defensive Player of the Week. Kofoed tallied five tackles, all solo, with a sack and a pass break-up as well as blocking two punts but Cal Poly’s Mark Restelli earned the award after notching seven tackles and returning an interception for a touchdown in the Mustangs’ 17-0 shutout of Weber State. Cal Poly punter Tim Chicoine was the conference’s special teams Player of the Week.

Marshall Named Offensive Player of the Week

CEDAR CITY, Utah, Sept. 3 – Southern Utah University quarterback Wes Marshall has been named the Great West Football Conference Player of the Week for his performance in the Thunderbirds’ 34-0 victory over Montana Tech (Sept. 2).

Marshall, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound junior from Minersville, Utah, completed 21-of-25 passes for a career-high 301 yards and three touchdowns and did not throw an interception nor take a sack in three quarters’ work. He also rushed for 18 yards on four carries to account for 319 of the team’s 469 yards of offense, the team’s highest total since the 2004 season finale. He threw touchdown passes of five, six and 18 yards. Marshall completed his first six pass attempts before throwing an incompletion and completed eight in a row later in the game.

Marshall is SUU’s first offensive player of the week since WR Joey Hew Len and QB Zac Connors shared the honor following a 33-21 loss at UC Davis last season.

UC Davis DE Mike Ng was named the conference’s defensive player of the week after tallying three sacks and recovering a fumble in the Aggies’ 38-7 win over Northern Colorado while North Dakota State kicker Shawn Bibeau was named special teams player of the week after hitting 9-of-9 extra points and a 26-yard field goal in a 66-7 Bison win over Concordia-St. Paul.

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