September 8th
Rob Berger-Quarterback-St. Norbert
Junior-Rice Lake, Wis.
Berger set a St. Norbert record with 443 yards of total offense in a 42-35 overtime win over No. 17 Wartburg. Berger passed for 317 yards, completing a school-record 28 passes on 37 attempts with four touchdowns and no interceptions. His 8-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Gezella on the final play of regulation forced overtime. Berger rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns on 16 attempts, making him the first player in St. Norbert history to pass for 300 yards and rush for 100 yards in the same game.
September 14th
Mitch Niekamp - Quarterback - Illinois College
Senior - Camp Point, Ill.
Niekamp tied his Illinois College single-game record for touchdown passes when he threw six scoring aerials in the Blueboys’ 42-24 come-from-behind win over Knox College on September 12. After tossing his first TD pass in the first half, Niekamp directed five consecutive scoring drives during the third and fourth quarters and rallied the visitors from a 24-21 deficit with 21 unanswered points. His touchdown passes covered 5, 28 and 10 yards to Michael Jennings, 13 yards to Colin Duling and 14 yards to Kevin Wallace. For the day, Niekamp completed 18 of 30 passes for 231 yards and one interception.
September 21st
Alex Tanney-Quarterback-Monmouth
Junior-Lexington, Ill.
Alex Tanney took just three minutes of Saturday’s 58-0 win over Beloit to set the Fighting Scots career touchdown pass record. Tanney’s 5-yard toss to Mike Blodgett broke Rob Purlee’s career TD mark of 83 set from 2000-03. The score capped an eight-play, 94-yard drive. The junior connected for two more TDs on the day, giving him 86 for his career with more than a season and a half to play. Tanney, who played just one series in the second half, finished the game with 283 yards on 27-of-36 (75%) passing for a pass efficiency rating of 168.53. It was Tanney’s third consecutive game this season passing for 200-plus yards and the 14 straight overall.
September 28th
Brian Maughn-Quarterback-Beloit
Sophomore-Sunrise, Fla.
Maughn tied a Beloit record with 373 yards passing in leading the Bucs over Knox College 42-14 in Galesburg on Saturday. He was 20-28 with an interception and two TDs. His long pass was a 58-yard scoring toss to Andrew Christensen 19 seconds into the second half to give Beloit a 21-7 lead. Maughn has thrown for 200-plus yards in three of Beloit’s four games this season and his five touchdown passes are one short of the six total the Bucs had in the entire 2008 season.
October 5th
Julian Ross-Wide Receiver-Beloit
Junior-Oak Forest, Ill.
In Saturday’s 29-22 win over Lake Forest College, Ross had ten catches for 187 yards and a 69-yard touchdown. The 187 yards was just two yards short of the all-time Beloit single-game record of 189 yards receiving set by All-American tight end Mike Meteyard against Carroll in 1994. Seven of Ross’ receptions went for 12-yards plus and three of the ten were third down conversions.
October 12th
Alex Tanney-Quarterback-Monmouth
Junior-Lexington, Ill.
In Saturday’s 29-22 win over Lake Forest College, Ross had ten catches for 187 yards and a 69-yard touchdown. The 187 yards was just two yards short of the all-time Beloit single-game record of 189 yards receiving set by All-American tight end Mike Meteyard against Carroll in 1994. Seven of Ross’ receptions went for 12-yards plus and three of the ten were third down conversions.
October 19th
Brian Maughn-Quarterback-Beloit
Sophomore-Sunrise, Fla.
In a 50-42 shootout loss at Illinois College on Saturday, Maughn threw for a school-record 423 yards on 27-37 passing with three touchdowns and an interception. The 27 completions were also a school record. He now stands just 23 yards away from breaking the single-season passing yardage record. Included in his TD passes were a 66 and 65-yarder.
October 26th
Julian Ross-Wide Receiver-Beloit
Junior-Oak Forest, Ill.
In a 44-14 win over Lawrence, Ross caught seven passes for 186 yards and a school record-tying three touchdowns. He had TD catches of 81, 8 and 55 in the game. His three TD catches marked the third time in Beloit history a player has had three receiving TDs, the first time since 1990. It was also his third game this season with 186 yards or more in receiving yardage. For the season he has 46 receptions for 844 yards and six touchdowns, leaving him just 14 receptions, 96 yards and two TDs short of equally the single-season record in each category.
November 2nd
Alex Tanney-Quarterback-Monmouth
Junior-Lexington, Ill.
Alex Tanney broke his own single-game passing record in Saturday’s 44-17 win over Illinois College as the Fighting Scots clinched no worse than a share of the Midwest Conference title. The junior signal caller passed for 437 yards, breaking his previous record of 405 yards set his freshman year. Tanney completed 33 of 46 passes with three touchdowns and one interception against the Blue Boys for an efficiency rating of 168.71. With more than a season left, he has thrown for a school-record 9,346 yards and 110 TDs, including 36 scores and 3,044 yards this season.
November 9th
Matt Shepherd-Wide Receiver-Monmouth
Junior-Leesburg, Fla.
Monmouth College receiver Matt Shepherd scored three second half touchdowns in the Fighting Scots’ 42-0 win over Knox Saturday in the 121st meeting of the two teams. The junior recorded a game-high 14 receptions and gained 141 yards as Monmouth’s offense came alive in the final 30 minutes. For the year, Shepherd has caught 90 passes for 948 yards and nine TDs.
November 16th
Nick Maxam-Quarterback-Lawerence
Senior-Appleton, Wis.
Nick Maxam completed 11 of 18 passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns in Lawrence’s 21-17 nonconference victory at Minnesota-Morris this past Saturday. Maxam hit on three third-and-long situations for all three of Lawrence’s scores. He connected with Nate Nelson on a 61-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter to give Lawrence a 7-0 lead. He then hit Jeremiah Johnson on a 12-yard scoring pass in the third quarter to put the Vikings up 14-10. Maxam then converted a third-and-30 when he hit Nelson with a 48-yard scoring pass that gave Lawrence the lead for good at 21-17. The three touchdown passes ties Maxam’s career high.