FRISCO, Texas – UIW's Brandon Porter and Tre Richardson and Southeastern's Austin Dunlap are the winners of the Southland Conference’s football weekly awards for the third week of the season, as announced by the conference office Monday.
Offensive Player of the Week: Brandon Porter – WR – Gr. – Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (Oak Hills HS)
Wide receiver Brandon Porter set a new career-high with a monster 10-catch, 201-yard night including a touchdown catch in the 27-20 win at Abilene Christian. Porter made a multitude of big plays all game long. Down 10-7 before the break, Porter hauled in a 49-yard catch with three seconds remaining, leading to a field goal before the half. Porter hauled in a 23-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to give UIW the lead and he finished the game off with a 29-yard reception to ice the game and give the Cardinals the win.
Defensive Player of the Week: Tre Richardson, UIW – DB – Gr. – Houston, Texas (Jersey Village HS)
Defensive back Tre Richardson put together a great night for UIW as he had eight tackles and an interception in the Cardinals' 27-20 road win over Abilene Christian. Early in the second quarter with ACU driving, Richardson high-pointed the football and came down with the interception to give UIW the takeaway. Richardson's eight tackles tied for the team lead as he added seven solo stops on the night. It was his second straight contest with an interception.
Honorable Mention: Herman Christophe?, Southeastern
Special Teams Player of the Week: Austin Dunlap, Southeastern – P – Sr. – Slidell, La. (Northshore HS)
Punter Austin Dunlap averaged 48.0 yards per punt on Saturday at Eastern Washington. The senior's day was highlighted by a season-long 63-yard per punt that completely flipped the field. Shortly after that punt in the third quarter, the Lions came away with an interception and turned that into points to take the lead back at the time.
Honorable Mention: Mason Lawler, UIW
2023 Southland Football Players of the Week
| Date |
Offensive |
Defensive |
Special Teams |
| Sept. 4 |
Champ Dozier, HCU |
Ian Goodly, Southeastern |
Cam Thomas, McNeese |
| Sept. 11 |
Zach Calzada, UIW |
Steven Parker, UIW |
Gavin Lasseigne, Nicholls |
| Sept. 18 |
Brandon Porter, UIW |
Tre Richardson, UIW |
Austin Dunlap, Southeastern |
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.