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Games of Oct. 21-22, 2022
The Team of the Week, presented by Scoutware, is D3football.com's weekly honor roll, in its 24th season of recognizing the top performance at each position from the previous week. Players are nominated by schools.
Offense
QB Nico Casares, Sr., Catholic
Casares tossed five touchdowns for the second time in just four career starts to lead Catholic to a 41-33 victory over Merchant Marine. Casares completed 71 percent of his throws for 349 yards and five scores as Catholic jumped ahead of the Mariners 34-8 before holding onto a victory over Merchant Marine to remain unbeaten in NEWMAC play. The Cardinals snapped a four-game losing skid to the Mariners with the win.
OL Daquan Griffin, Ryan Bitka, Jon Kabes, Connor Hill, Cody Aikey, Cortland
Cortland averaged 8.4 yards per rush, 11.7 yards per pass attempt and did not allow any sacks in a 48-21 win at Utica in a battle of unbeaten teams. The Red Dragons only had 1 lost yard rushing when they took a knee on the game's final play.
RB Jordan Embry, Sr., St. Olaf
Embry carried the ball 51 times for 270 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winning score with 21.7 seconds remaining, in the Oles' 33-28 victory at St. Scholastica. Embry's 51 carries are the most at any level of the NCAA this fall, while his 270 yards are the second-highest total in program history and are the seventh-highest single-game total in NCAA Division III this season. Embry carried the ball 11 times and had all 70 of the Oles' yards on the game-winning drive that culminated in his third touchdown of the game.
RB Solo Hines, Jr., Whitworth
With Whitworth down to a fourth-string quarterback who had never taken a varsity snap, Hines opened the game behind center in a wildcat formation for the Pirates. He finished with a career-high 243 rushing yards and four touchdowns in a 42-14 win against Willamette. He ran the ball 15 times for an average of 16.2 yards per carry. His first touchdown was a 58 yard run and his second came from 51 yards away.
WR Talsen Smith, So., Merchant Marine
Smith amassed a USMMA program-record 243 receiving yards on 10 catches and found the end zone three times in the Mariners' 41-33 road loss at NEWMAC opponent Catholic on Saturday. The three TD catches also tied the academy record, and it was his second three-TD game of his young career.
WR Trevor Chase, Sr., Norwich
Chase led the way for Norwich on the offensive side of the ball in their victory over MIT. He had nine catches for 205 yards and two touchdowns, each of which were 79 yards.
TE Alex Larson, Sr., St. John's
Larson caught six passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns in the Johnnies' 41-27 victory over Gustavus Adolphus. Both touchdown receptions came in the second half.
Defense
DE Chayce Meyer, Fr., Minnesota-Morris
Meyer had 14 tackles (five solo), a school record three and a half sacks, five tackles for a loss, three forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery in a 47-0 victory for Minnesota Morris over Martin Luther. The shutout was the second in a row for the Cougars, something that the program hadn't previously accomplished since 1978.
DT Christopher Montgomery, Sr., Millikin
Montgomery led a Millikin defensive effort that shut out Elmhurst and limited the Bluejays to just 99 yards of total offense. He had nine total tackles, four tackles for loss, two and a half sacks and forced two fumbles in a 13-0 win.
DT Nick Costanzo, Sr., John Carroll
Costanzo had a big stat line for a defensive tackle: nine tackles, four tackles for loss and two and a half sacks. Costanzo also added a pass breakup and a QB hurry in a 42-10 win vs. Capital.
DE Nick Fannon, Jr., Albion
Fannon helped the Brits to a 20-19 win at Trine on Saturday. Fannon notched 11 tackles, four and a half tackles for loss, three sacks, and had two pass breakups.
LB Philemon Benjamin Jr., Sr., Morrisville State
Benjamin led the Mustang defensive unit to their second shutout victory of the season, a 36-0 Empire 8 win over Alfred. The senior registered nine total tackles, five solo stops, that included two and a half tackles for loss. In addition, he also recovered a fumble on a muffed punt return by Alfred that set up a Mustang score.
LB James Ogunrin, Jr., Trinity (Texas)
Ogunrin led No. 7 Trinity to a 21-14 SAA win over Berry, keeping the Tigers undefeated and in first place in the standings. Ogunrin paced Trinity with 11 total tackles and had two forced fumbles in the second half. He forced a fumble on the first play from scrimmage in the second half, then ended Berry's first drive of the fourth quarter by forcing a turnover. The only touchdown Trinity allowed in the second half came on a blocked field goal.
LB Noah Jenson, Sr., Concordia-Moorhead
Jenson had a team-high 13 tackles, which featured two sacks and three and a half tackles for a loss in an overtime victory over Carleton. Jenson also recovered a fumble in the win.
CB Cy Taylor, Jr., Benedictine
Taylor blocked a field goal, forced a fumble, broke up a pass and tied for the team lead with seven tackles in a 70-27 win against Rockford.
S Zach Barber, Jr., King's
In a thrilling 34-24 win over Lebanon Valley, Barber led the King's defense with 10 total tackles, including six solo. He also added a huge pass breakup on a deep shot down the field early in the game and a breakup that led to the Monarchs interception in the first half, as well as forced a fumble on the King's 10-yard line that resulted in a Monarchs recovery to stop a late Lebanon Valley drive in a battle of one-loss MAC schools.
S Mason Hardy, So., Texas Lutheran
Hardy made six tackles, five of them solo, and had two fourth quarter interceptions to lead Texas Lutheran to a 17-10 win at McMurry. Hardy leads the American Southwest Conference with four interceptions.
CB Gavin Thorpe, So., Beloit
Thorpe added to his Midwest Conference-leading interception total with two more picks in Saturday's 56-0 win against Lawrence, returning one 29 yards for a touchdown to give the Buccaneers a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Thorpe also recorded three tackles (all solo) and a pass breakup.
Special teams
K Elijah Swett, Fr., Hampden-Sydney
Swett was 3-for-3 on field goals and accounted for 12 points, including the decisive PAT kick, during a 44-43 overtime road win at Washington & Lee. He kicked a 42-yard field goal on the final play of regulation to force the OT at 37-37, and kicked a career-best 45-yard field goal with no time on the clock before halftime after a defensive penalty, tying the contest at 17-17, while adding a 29-yard field goal in the fourth quarter for a 34-23 advantage.
P Owen Tapia, Sr., Chapman
Tapia hit a booming 80-yard punt, the longest in Division III this season and also the third-longest in all divisions of the NCAA. The 80 yard punt went in for a touchback and he dropped his two other punts inside the 20, averaging 54.3 yards on three punts in a 50-7 win against Whittier.
RET DJ Stewart, Jr., UW-Oshkosh
Stewart returned a kickoff 94 yards for the first kickoff return for a touchdown of his career as the deciding scoring play of No. 24 UW-Oshkosh's 19-14 win over UW-Stout on Oct. 22. His return was good for the third longest kickoff return in school history.
ST Mark Thrower, Jr., St. Olaf
Thrower recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown and blocked another punt in the Oles' 33-28 victory at St. Scholastica. Late in the second quarter, the junior got a piece of a punt that netted just 4 yards to set up the Oles at the Saints' 30-yard line, leading to a touchdown. Early in the third quarter, Thrower recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for the first touchdown of his collegiate career.