September 3
Cody Craig - Quarterback - St. Norbert College
Senior - Neillsville, Wis./Neillsville
Craig matched a career-high for passing yards when he threw for 308 yards in the Green Knights 34-27 season-opening victory over visiting NAIA scholarship school Olivet Nazarene. The senior quarterback completed 20-of-37 passes with three touchdowns and one interception. Craig threw a pair of second quarter TD passes to wide receiver Nick Albert and followed with a 53-yarder to Judd O’Connell in the third quarter that broke a 20-20 tie. Craig was 4-of-6 for 58 yards on the Green Knights’ fourth quarter scoring drive that gave them the lead for good.
September 10 - (Co-players)
Bryce Crocker - Running Back - Carroll College
Senior - Lena, Wis./Oconto Falls
Crocker rushed for 202 yards and four touchdowns on 15 carries during the Pioneers 35-6 win at Beloit on Saturday. Crocker scored on runs of four, three and 60 yards before recording the third longest run in MWC history when he got loose on a 93-yard scamper in the third quarter. The senior running back added three receptions for 35 yards.
Pete Jennings - Quarterback - Illinois College
Senior - Neillsville, Wis./Neillsville
Jennings was nearly perfect in the Blueboys’ 41-0 win at Knox, as the senior quarterback completed 23-of-30 passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns. Jennings TD throws covered nine, 36, 22 and 13 yards, respectively. Jennings became Illinois College’s career leader in touchdown passes (56) during the contest.
September 17
Judd O’Connell - Wide Receiver - St. Norbert College
Senior - Green Bay, Wis./Ashwaubenon
O’Connell paced St. Norbert’s offense in a 40-11 win over Lawrence at home on Saturday. The 5-11, 180 pounder finished with six catches for 166 yards and three touchdowns. It was his third consecutive 100-yard receiving game, marking the third time in St. Norbert history that a player has accomplished that feat and the second time O’Connell has done it. The senior wide receiver’s touchdowns covered 21, 16 and 78 yards. He currently leads the MWC in receiving yards (448), receiving touchdowns (6) and all-purpose yards (546).
September 24
Tygh Walters - Quarterback - Ripon College
Junior - West Bend, Wis./West Bend West
Walters enjoyed a career afternoon in a 48-17 win at Illinois College, as the junior quarterback accounted for six touchdowns in the victory. The conference leader in passing efficiency entering the game, Walters maintained his rank by throwing for 173 yards and four touchdowns (7, 59, 13, 25) on 10-of-17 passing. The 5-11, 180-pound QB also keyed the Red Hawk rushing attack, which produced 349 yards on the ground, with 120 yards and two touchdowns (2, 5) on 21 carries. The win leaves Ripon as one of three MWC teams with a 3-0 league mark and gave the Blueboys their first conference loss.
October 1
Dan Carter - Wide Receiver - Lake Forest College
Sophomore - Arlington Heights, Ill./St. Viator
Carter led the Foresters to their first victory of the season on Saturday, as Lake Forest outlasted Beloit on the road in a shootout, 44-36. The 6-4 sophomore wide receiver caught nine passes for 164 yards in the game and tied a school record with three touchdown receptions. His first score was a 42-yard grab that cut Beloit’s second-quarter lead to 14-9. The second (27 yards) and third (21) came during a 22-point third quarter that put the Foresters ahead 44-17. Carter led the MWC in touchdown receptions (11) a year ago and has caught five touchdowns in 2007.
October 8
Cody Craig - Quarterback - St. Norbert College
Senior - Neillsville, Wis./Neillsville
Craig passed for a career-high 349 yards and accounted for three scores on Saturday, as St. Norbert took over sole possession of first place in MWC with a 42-28 win at Monmouth. The senior quarterback, who was not intercepted in the game, also recorded career highs in completions (24) and passing attempts (40) against the Scots. Craig threw a pair of 33-yard TD passes in the game, before tallying the Green Knights final score on a one-yard run in the fourth quarter. Craig currently leads the MWC and is ranked nationally in passing yards (1,643) and passing touchdowns (19).
October 15
Eric Aspenson - Quarterback - Lawrence University
Senior - Rockford, Ill./Lutheran
Aspenson tossed a school-record five touchdown passes to lead Lawrence to a 50-21 MWC win over Knox. The senior quarterback completed 14 of 21 passes for 308 yards and ran nine times for 47 yards. Aspenson, who averaged 22 yards per completion, completed touchdown passes of 73, 71, 42, 23 and 10 yards to break the record of four touchdown passes in a game he shared with five other players. He also became the first Lawrence quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards in a game since Chris McGinley did it against Ripon on November 9, 2002.
October 22 - (Co-players)
Cody Craig - Quarterback - St. Norbert College
Senior - Neillsville, Wis./Neillsville
Craig led St. Norbert to a 52-27 home win over Ripon on Saturday that clinched the MWC title and automatic NCAA playoff berth for the Green Knights. The senior quarterback completed 19-of-27 passes for 309 yards and four touchdown passes (34, 8, 18, 21) in just three quarters of work. Craig tied the St. Norbert season record with 26 touchdown passes and went over 300 yards throwing for the third time this season. He has thrown for 2,131 yards this season and is 312 yards shy of cracking the MWC’s top 10 list for single-season passing yards.
Joe Reed - Quarterback - Illinois College
Senior - Camp Point, Ill./Carthage
With Illinois College’s top two quarterbacks out with injuries, the school’s all-time leading receiver filled in under center in Saturday’s 49-21 win over Grinnell. Reed, who had attempted nine collegiate passes prior to Saturday, made his start memorable by throwing for 282 yards and four touchdowns (39, 58, 11, 2) on 19-of-31 passing. The senior also scored on an 18-yard run as time expired in the first half.
October 29
John McGuire - Running Back - Ripon College
Senior - Algoma, Wis./Algoma
McGuire led the way for a Ripon rushing attack that ran for 460 yards, the fourth-best single-game total in school history, during a 47-21 win at Grinnell on Saturday. The senior running back, who carried 12 times for 127 yards against the Pioneers, reached the endzone three times on runs of 13, 11 and 18 yards. One of his two receptions in the game also went for a score, as McGuire caught a 25-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.
November 5
Alex Tanney - Quarterback - Monmouth College
Freshman - Lexington, Ill./Lexington
Tanney led the Fighting Scots to a 42-14 season-ending road win over rival Knox on Saturday. The freshman quarterback completed 24-of-29 passes for 309 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. Tanney completed passes to 10 different receivers on the afternoon, with no one player making more than five catches. His pass efficiency rating for the day was 229.16, while his five touchdown passes ranks second on Monmouth’s all-time single-game list.
November 13
Craig Ebert - Running Back - Lawrence University
Junior - New London, Wis./New London
Ebert recorded team season-highs for carries and yards in Lawrence’s 37-30 loss at Macalester on Saturday. The junior running back carried 26 times for 150 yards, a 5.8-yard per carry average, and scored a touchdown on a five-yard run. He also caught two passes for seven yards. Ebert’s day is the biggest for a Lawrence running back since the final game of the 2004 season, when Adrell Bullock ran 19 times for 173 yards in a win against Macalester.