Amous, Hill, Davis Named Football Players of the Week
Southland Conference
FRISCO, Texas – Stephen F. Austin’s Kijana Amous, McNeese’s Dominique Hill and Davion Davis of Sam Houston State were named the Southland Conference Football Players of the Week, the league announced Monday. Southland Players of the Week are presented by
UniversalCoin.com.
Amous earned offensive distinction while Hill was named Defensive Player of the Week. Davis earned his second consecutive weekly award after earning Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 16.
Week nine action takes place Saturday with five conference matchups to close out October. Stephen F. Austin hits the road to take on Lamar while McNeese heads to Conway for a top-25 matchup with Central Arkansas. Both games are slated for 6 p.m. kickoffs. Sam Houston State faces Southeastern Louisiana on the road at 7 p.m. All three contests will broadcast on ESPN3.
Offensive Player of the Week: Kijana Amous, Stephen F. Austin – Sr. – Running Back – Mansfield, Texas
Amous accounted for 38 percent of SFA’s total offense with 185 of the Lumberjacks’ 483 total yards. He grabbed a career-high seven receptions for 102 yards and added a game-high 83 rushing yards on 16 carries. The 102 receiving yards are the most by any SFA player in a game this season. Scoring two of the Lumberjacks’ three touchdowns, Amous had a 54-yard catch and run in the first quarter that set up a field goal. His two touchdown runs were from three and six yards out and he also had a 25-yard rush in the opening quarter. Both of Amous’ touchdowns were pivotal in the game as his first with 6:08 remaining in the third made it a two-possession game at 20-7. His second sealed the win for SFA, scoring to make it 27-10 with 9:32 to go.
Honorable Mention: Roman Gordon, Central Arkansas; Lorenzo Nunez, Nathan Stewart, Sam Houston State.
Defensive Player of the Week: Dominique Hill, McNeese – Sr. – Defensive Back – Mansfield, La.
Hill was a vital part of a secondary which tied an NCAA all-division record with four pass interceptions returned for touchdowns and picked off five total passes with five different defensive backs in a 55-7 win over UIW. The Cowboys defense returned interceptions for touchdowns at distances of 42, 51, 38 and 29. Hill registered the 38-yard return to push the lead to 45-7 in the third quarter. He also chipped in five tackles, including 1.5 for losses. It also set a new school record and tied a Southland Conference mark… it’s the first time since 2007 it’s been done in any NCAA division. Other teams to achieve the mark include Houston (1987), Millikin (NCAA D3, 1999), Northwestern State (2003), and Nicholls (2007).
Honorable Mention: George Odum, Central Arkansas; Nate Jones, Lamar.
Special Teams Player of the Week: Davion Davis, Sam Houston State – Jr. – Wide Receiver – Hutto, Texas
Davis finished with 185 all-purpose yards and 61 yards in the receiving game, but made the game’s biggest impact on punt return with two big plays late in the first half. After Lamar had closed the gap to 33-20, Davis weaved through the Cardinal punt coverage off a bouncing punt for a 46-yard touchdown with just 1:43 left in the half to put the Bearkats up 40-20. It was the first punt return for a score for Sam Houston since 2015. After a SHSU defensive stop, the Cardinals punted it away again and he took it 54-yards right up the gut to the 20-yard line, setting up the score that took his team into halftime up 47-20.
Honorable Mention: Gunnar Raborn, McNeese; Hayden Bourgeois, Northwestern State; Patrick Ponder, Central Arkansas.
Southland weekly award winners are nominated and voted upon by each school’s sports information director. Voting for one’s own athlete is not permitted. To earn honorable mention, a student-athlete must appear on 25 percent of ballots.