September 8th
Chris Casper- Quarterback- Carroll
Sophomore- Manitowoc, Wis.
Casper connected on 25-of-38 pass attempts for 321 yards to lead the Carroll University football team to a 55-14 win over North Park University in the season opener for the Pioneers. Two of Casper’s completions were good for touchdowns. He also rushed once for 12 yards. Carroll’s win over North Park snapped an eight-year non-conference losing streak.
September 15th
Alex Tanney- Quarterback- Monmouth
Sophomore- Lexington, Ill.
Tanney didn’t let a little thing like more than 6 inches of rain in 24 hours deter him from passing for 244 yards and three touchdowns in the Fighting Scots’ 47-2 win over Lawrence Saturday.
Playing on the rain-soaked field, the sophomore signal caller completed 24-of-36 passes to nine different players, including a 24 yard scoring strike in the final minute of the first half to propel the Scots to a 27-2 lead at intermission.
September 22nd
Jeremy Gezella- Wide Receiver- St. Norbert
Senior- Green Bay, Wis.
Gezella hauled in six catches for 176 yards, a hefty 29.3-yard per catch average, and two touchdowns in a 44-18 win over Lawrence. Gezella’s 59 yard touchdown pass in the second quarter put St. Norbert ahead to stay, and then he caught a 15-yard touchdown pass in the back corner of the end zone early in the fourth quarter to seal the win. On the year, Gezella has caught 14 passes for 288 yards and five touchdowns.
September 29th
Alex Tanney- Quarterback- Monmouth
Sophomore- Lexington, Ill.
Tanney equaled his brother Mitch’s school record, throwing six touchdown passes in the Fighting Scots’ 41-20 win over Carroll Saturday. The sophomore signal-caller found a different receiver for each of his TD passes. Tanney completed 28 of his 39 attempts for 317 yards and hit 10 different receives en route to the record-setting day as Monmouth stayed unbeaten and improved to 4-0.
October 6th
Rob Berger- Quarterback- St. Norbert
Sophomore- RIce Lake, Wis.
Berger ran for four touchdowns and threw for another in St. Norbert College’s 63-24 victory over Knox College. He completed 7 of 13 passes for 114 yards and also ran five times for 123 yards (24.6-yard average), including a 50-yard double-lateral in the second quarter. Berger threw a 14-yard touchdown in the second quarter, before scoring on a 30-yard run on the next possession. He added a 2-yard scoring run just before the half, and then ran 46 yards for his final touchdown in the third quarter. The only rushing attempt Berger didn’t score on was a quarterback sack.
October 13th
Joe Beckstrand- Running Back- Carroll
Freshman- Viroqua, WIs.
Beckstrand rushed 35 times for 265 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Carroll University football team to a 42-12 win over Illinois College on Saturday. The win improves Carroll to 4-2 overall, 3-2 in the Midwest Conference. Beckstrand’s 265 yards is the highest rushing total (on record) in Carroll history, passing the mark of 244 yards by Bryce Crocker versus Grinnell College in 2005. Beckstrand now has 624 yards in just five games played.
October 20th
Brock Stenberg- Running Back- Lake Forest
Freshman- Viroqua, WIs.
Brock Stenberg became the first player in the conference to surpass 100 yards rushing and receiving in the same game as he led Lake Forest College to a 24-16 victory over visiting Grinnell College. He ran the ball 37 times for 174 yards in the contest and caught six passes for another 112 yards. The 286 yards from scrimmage are a league-high this season and his rushing yardage total ranks second.
October 25th
Mitch Niekamp- Quarterback- Illinois College
Junior- Camp Point, Ill.
Niekamp broke a pair of school records when he directed the Blueboys to a 41-14 victory over Grinnell College. He fired five touchdown passes for the second week in a row and raised his single-season total to 27 – eclipsing the old mark of 24 set by Peter Jennings in 2006. The junior completed 22 of 42 passes for 324 yards. It marked the sixth time this season the IC quarterback has thrown for more than 300 yards in a game. He now has 195 completions – surpassing the former single-season mark of 194 set by Derek Leonard in 2001. Niekamp is 73 yards shy of passing Leonard for the Blueboys’ single-season record of 2,424 yards set in 1999.
November 3rd
Nick Wright- Wide Receiver- Monmouth
Junior- Canton, Ill.
Wright had the best day of his career in Monmouth’s 78-17 win at Illinois College Saturday. Wright pulled down seven passes for 177 yards, including an 89-yard touchdown reception. Wright’s touchdown catch was part of a 50-point onslaught in the first half by the Fighting Scots, who led 50-17 at the break. Monmouth clinched an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs and at least a share of the conference title.
November 10th
Michael Jennings- Wide Receiver- Illinois College
Junior- Fort Madison, Iowa.
Jennings broke three MWC receiving records in the Blueboys’ 42-27 loss to St. Norbert. He caught 19 passes for 280 yards to break the previous conference game records of 18 catches set by Grinnell’s Richard Werner in 1997 and 279 yards set by Lawrence’s Zach Michael in 2001. Jennings also set a new conference season record for receiving yards with 1,416, surpassing the previous mark of 1,383 set by David Snider of Grinnell in 1998. He broke the MWC season record for receptions Nov. 1 and increased his total to 110. Jennings also set Illinois College records for receptions, receiving yards, season (16) and career (27) touchdown receptions, and single-game touchdown receptions (4). With 179 career receptions, Jennings is tied for the school record with Joe Reed.
November 17th
Craig Ebert- Running Back- Lawerence
Senior- New London, Wis.
Ebert ran for more than 100 yards for the fifth time in six games to lead Lawrence to a 21-13
nonconference victory over Minnesota-Morris this past Saturday. Ebert, who led the Midwest
Conference in rushing yards per game, had 22 carries for 123 yards. He also caught four
passes for 49 yards and a touchdown. His 18- yard touchdown catch in the first quarter gave Lawrence a lead
it would not relinquish all afternoon.