Football 2019 Student-Athletes Of The Week
WEEK OF NOV. 11-17
Offensive: Zondre Faraj-Washington, Lewis & Clark (Jr., RB)
Faraj-Washington (San Jose, Calif.) had more rushing yards than any other NWC running back with 131 - a career high - in a win last weekend and his 8.2 yards per carry average led everyone (10+ carries). With the Pios leading by one score and starting from their own 2, he broke off a 73-yard rush, the longest of the year for the Pios, and scored four plays later to give L&C a two-score lead. His performance helped secure the Pios fourth win of the season (their most since 2012), third home win (most since 2011) and first win over the Loggers since 2013.
Defensive: Kale Wong, Whitworth (Sr., LB)
Wong (Gig Harbor, Wash.) had a career-high 16 tackles as Whitworth rallied from a 28-14 deficit by shutting out Pacific over the final two-and-a-half quarters of the game. One of those was a tackle-for-loss.
Special Teams: Alex Brost, Pacific Lutheran (Sr., K/DB)
Brost (Waimea, Hawaii) kicked two field goals and five extra points in Pacific Lutheran’s 45-20 win over Willamette, racking up 11 points for the Lutes.
WEEK OF NOV. 4-10
Offensive: Kenyon Harris, Pacific (Ore.) (Jr., QB)
Harris (Ogden, Utah) became the first quarterback in Pacific history to throw for over 400 yards three times in a season with 426 yards in the Boxers' 46-31 win over PLU. He had three passing touchdowns for his fifth multi-touchdown passing game of the season in leading Pacific to its first road win over the Lutes since 1972.
Defensive: Iain Black, Whitworth (Sr., LB)
Black (Snohomish, Wash.) led Whitworth's defensive effort against #18 Linfield with a career high 18 tackles, including 3.5 for losses of six yards. He also broke up a pass.
Special Teams: Keegan Weiss, Linfield
WEEK OF OCT. 28-NOV. 3
Offensive: Wyatt Smith, Linfield (Jr., QB)
In just over three quarters, Smith (McMinnville, Ore.) threw for 399 yards and six touchdowns on Saturday afternoon against Lewis & Clark. Smith has thrown for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns in every conference game this season. He leads the NWC in all but one passing category. Versus L&C, Smith completed 69 percent of his passes (24 of 35) without yielding an interception for the second straight game.
Defensive: Keyell Davis, Linfield (Sr., S)
Davis (Gig Harbor, Wash.) made 10 tackles to lead the way for the Wildcats defense against the Pioneers on Saturday afternoon. Linfield held Lewis & Clark to 184 total yards, including 74 rushing. The Gig Harbor, Washington, native is sixth in the NWC with 7.7 tackles per game.
Caden Almer, Pacific (Ore.) (So., K)
Almer (El Dorado, Calif.) made 6 of 7 point-after attempts as the Boxer offense accounted for a school record 676 yards of total offense in a 60-55 win over Puget Sound.
WEEK OF OCT. 21-27
Offensive: Wyatt Smith, Linfield (Jr., QB)
In just three quarters, Smith (McMinnville, Ore.) threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday afternoon against Pacific Lutheran. Smith has thrown for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns in every conference game this season. Smith leads the NWC in passing yards per game, passing touchdowns and offensive efficiency.
Defensive: Roger Hernandez, Lewis & Clark (Jr., DB)
With a defensive touchdown, Hernandez (Phoenix, Ariz.) was the only of eight NWC players with double-digit tackles and multiple takeaways in a victory last weekend. In the Pios' 49-34 win over Willamette, Hernandez returned a first-quarter interception for a 23-yard touchdown. The TD came after he recovered a fumble that gave the Pios the ball at the Willamette 44 and set up their first TD drive. Of Hernandez's 10 tackles, nine were solo. Lewis & Clark won its third game in a season for the first time since 2012.
Special Teams: Anthony Garcia, George Fox (Sr., RB)
Garcia (Whittier, Calif.) put on a returns clinic against the Boxers, racking up 143 yards on kick returns. The senior busted a 93-yard runback for a touchdown on a kick return and finished the day with 169 all-purpose yards.
WEEK OF OCT. 14-20
Offensive: Wyatt Smith, Linfield (Jr., QB)
In just two and a half quarters, Smith (McMinnville, Ore.) was responsible for seven touchdowns in Linfield?s 77-0 win over Willamette. This was the second straight game that Smith threw for at least six touchdowns. The junior has thrown for 300 yards or more in every conference game this season.
Defensive: Andrew McCoy, Whitworth (Sr., DE)
McCoy (Snohomish, Wash.) led Whitworth's defensive effort in the win over George Fox. He had two of the Pirates' three sacks in the game, accounting for 19 yards in losses. He had three total tackles for loss and tied for the team lead with seven stops.
Special Teams: Andrew Starkel, Linfield (Jr., K)
Starkel (Pacific, Wash.) was eight for eight in his extra-point attempts for the second straight game in Saturday afternoon?s win over the Bearcats. Starkel has made his last 24 extra-point attempts.
WEEK OF OCT. 7-13
Offensive: Wyatt Smith, Linfield (Jr., QB)
Smith (McMinnville, Ore.) threw for 357 yards and eight touchdowns to help Linfield defeat Puget Sound 77-22 on Saturday. Smith's eight touchdown passes broke the Linfield single-game record of seven set twice by former Wildcats All-American Brett Elliott in 2004 and 2005. Against the Loggers, he completed 79.3 percent of his passes and did not surrender an interception for the third straight game.
Defensive: Daniel Campos, George Fox (Sr., LB)
Campos (Whittier, Calif.) leads the Bruins tackles weekly and added another 12 this week, including 1.5 for loss. The senior leads the NWC in both tackles per game (12.0) and total tackles (60) this season and was eighth in the NCAA in tackles this season coming into the weekend matchup against PLU.
Special Teams: Andrew Starkel, Linfield (Jr., K)
Starkel (Pacific, Wash.) was 8 for 8 in his kick attempts on Saturday afternoon's win over the Loggers. The Pacific, Washington, native has made his last 16 point after attempts. He also averaged 63.75 yards on four kickoffs.
WEEK OF SEPT. 30-OCT. 6
Offensive: Wyatt Smith, Linfield (QB, Jr.)
Smith (McMinnville, Ore.) threw for 303 yards and four touchdowns to help the Wildcats defeat the Boxers 52-14 on Saturday. The four touchdowns tied a season high and career high for the junior.
Defensive: Dwight Jackson, Puget Sound (Sr., LB)
Jackson (Stockton, Calif.) recorded a career-high two sacks in the Loggers' nailbiting 24-23 victory over George Fox.
Special Teams: Alex Everett, Puget Sound (So., K)
Everett (Bellingham, Wash.) sent the Loggers' Saturday game against George Fox into overtime with a 20-yard field goal and no time left on the clock. He also recorded three points after touchdownts and had a 48-yard punt as the Loggers defeated the Bruins by one in OT.
WEEK OF SEPT. 16-22
Offensive: Murdock Rutledge, Puget Sound (Jr., QB)
Rutledge (Everett, Wash.) threw four touchdown passes to four different receivers in a 28-24 victory over La Verne.
Defensive: Keanu Songcuan, Puget Sound (Sr., FS)
Songcuan (Federal Way, Wash.) racked up a career-high 15 tackles in the Loggers' 28-24 win over La Verne.
Special Teams: Anthony Garcia, George Fox (Sr., RB)
Garcia (Whittier, Calif.) racked up 162 all-purpose yards against Pomona-Pitzer, including 119 on punt returns. The senior broke an 87-yard scamper for a touchdown on his third punt return of the night and averaged nearly 40 yards per run-back on the night.
WEEK OF SEPT. 9-15
Offensive: Wyatt Smith, Linfield (Jr., QB)
Recovering from an interception on the first drive, Smith (McMinnville, Ore.) matched his career high of four touchdown passes. The McMinnville, Oregon native, spread the ball around throwing touchdowns to three different receivers. The Wildcats led by Smith defeated the Rowan Profs 35-14 to move to 1-0 on the season.
Defensive: Brian Pullman, Linfield (So., LB)
Pullman (Bellingham, Wash.) was all around the field for Linfield during Saturday's win against Rowan. The Bellingham, Washington native, had his career high in total with 15 and eight solo tackles. The 15 tackles are the most by an NWC player in a single game this season. His second career forced fumble helped the Wildcats move to 1-0 on the season.
Special Teams: Chris Adamo, Linfield (So., CB)
Adamo (Bend, Ore.) set up great field positions for the Wildcats with 49 return yards on 4 returns on Saturday. The Bend, Oregon, native also made his impact on defense catching an interception in the end zone to halt a scoring chance for the Rowan Profs.
WEEK OF SEPT. 2-8
Offensive: Leif Ericksen, Whitworth (Sr., QB)
Ericksen (Kalispell, Mont.) played only the first two quarters of the game, leading Whitworth to a 43-7 halftime lead at La Verne. He completed 72.4% (21-29) of his passes for 288 yards with five touchdowns and one interception. His longest pass was a 53-yard touchdown to Andrew Meredith.
Defensive: Zach Hillman, Whitworth (Sr., DB)
Hillman (Post Falls, Idaho) had nine of his team-high 10 tackles by halftime, leading a defensive effort that held La Verne to only 109 yards in the first two quarters to grab a 43-7 lead at the break. Eight of his tackles were solo efforts. He also had a tackle for a seven-yard loss.
Special Teams: Noah Alejado, Whitworth (Jr., WR)
A converted wide receiver who had to take on kicking duties this season, Alejado (Kapolei, Hawaii) performed very well in his first game. He averaged 39.2 yards per punt (5 punts), including a 55-yard effort. Three were downed inside the 20 yard line. He made all six of his extra points. He averaged 58 yards per kick off.