Southland Conference Announces Football Players of the Week
Southland Conference
FRISCO, Texas – Stephen F. Austin senior quarterback Zach Conque, Sam Houston State junior defensive end P.J. Hall and Houston Baptist sophomore linebacker Kyle Bowling earned Southland Conference Football Player of the Week honors presented by UniversalCoin.com, the league office announced Monday. Conque took offensive honors while Hall was named defensive player of the week and Bowling was tabbed the top special teams player.
Offensive Player of the Week: Zach Conque, Stephen F. Austin
Conque accounted for 325 yards and three touchdowns in Stephen F. Austin’s 31-28 road win over No. 13 McNeese. The senior from Little Rock, Ark. (Catholic H.S.), threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns on 14 completions, while rushing the ball seven times for 63 yards and a score. His touchdown passes went for 30 and 58 yards while his rushing touchdown was a 36-yard scramble. The win snapped McNeese’s nine-game conference winning streak.
Honorable Mention: Corey Avery, Sam Houston State; Tony Dawson, Houston Baptist; C.J. Okpalobi, Nicholls.
Defensive Player of the Week: P.J. Hall, Sam Houston State
Hall recorded nine total tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss in Sam Houston State’s 44-31 conference-opening win against Lamar. The junior from Seguin, Texas (Seguin H.S.), also provided the pressure on Lamar quarterback Andrew Allen that resulted in an intentional grounding in the end zone for a safety. He powered the Bearkat defense that limited the Cardinals’ Kade Harrington to just 1.6 yards per carry in the first half and 76 rushing yards on 29 carries. Hall also provided two pass breakups in the game.
Honorable Mention: Sully Laiche, Nicholls; Garrett Dolan, Houston Baptist; George Stone, Stephen F. Austin.
Special Teams Player of the Week: Kyle Bowling, Houston Baptist
Bowling, a sophomore linebacker from Katy, Texas (Katy H.S.), blocked a 37-yard field goal attempt with 58 seconds remaining to preserve a 21-21 tie and send the game into overtime against Abilene Christian. ACU kicker Nik Grau had been a perfect 3-for-3 on field goal attempts in the game up to that point. Bowling also contributed to HBU’s defense attack with a career-high six tackles in the Huskies’ 27-24 overtime win.
Honorable Mention: Joseph Figenshaw, Sam Houston State; Patrick Ponder, Central Arkansas; Storm Ruiz, Stephen F. Austin.
Each school’s sports information director nominates and votes for the players of the week, though is not permitted to vote for his own player. To receive honorable mention, a player must receive votes from 25 percent of the Southland sports information directors.