Football Players of the Week: (for the week ending September 20, 2009)

Division I - Bowl Subdivision

Offensive Player of the Week

Mike Williams - Syracuse University
Senior, Wide Receiver, Buffalo, N.Y.

Williams had 11 receptions for 209 yards and two touchdowns - all career highs - in Syracuse's 37-34 win against Northwestern.  Williams' 13-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter tied the game after he had a career-long 66-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter. He now has at least one touchdown reception in 11 of his last 12 games.

Defensive Player of the Week

Dan Mason - University of Pittsburgh
Freshman, Linebacker, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Mason stepped into Pittsburgh's starting lineup in place of the injured Adam Gunn and responded with team highs of 11 tackles and two sacks in the Panthers' 27-14 win against Navy.  The true freshman helped the Panthers hold the Midshipmen's triple-option offense to just 126 rushing yards - its lowest total in four years and 109 yards below its average. 

Division I - Championship Subdivision

Co-Offensive Players of the Week

Mike Brown - Liberty University
Sophomore, Quarterback, Charlottesville, Va.

In his first start at quarterback, Brown completed 29-of-36 passes for 256 yards and a touchdown, and carried the ball 20 times for 88 yards and a score to lead Liberty past Lafayette, 19-13.  He scored the game's first touchdown on a one yard run, then tossed a touchdown pass to put the Flames ahead, 14-0.  Brown finished with 344 yards of total offense, and his 80.6 percent completion percentage is the sixth-highest single-game percentage in Big South history based on a minimum of 15 completions.

Jordan McCord - Colgate University
Sophomore, Running Back, Chicago, Ill.

Making just his second career start, McCord had one of the best days in Colgate history with 44 carries for 212 yards and two touchdowns to lift the Raiders over Dartmouth, 34-15, on Saturday.  It was the first 100-yard rushing game of his career, and 12^th 200-yard rushing day in Colgate history.  McCord tallied career highs in carries, yards, touchdowns, longest run (33), and longest catch (15).  The 44 carries were just two off the Patriot League record.  He also played linebacker for a Colgate defense that held Dartmouth to just 26 rushing yards in the game.  McCord is second in the Patriot League with 80.0 rushing yards per game this season.

Defensive Player of the Week

Chris Simpson - University at Albany
Senior, Linebacker, Victor, N.Y.

Simpson provided the game-changing play in Albany's come-from-behind victory over nationally-ranked Maine.  Totaling 11 tackles, 2.0 TFL, one sack, one pass break-up, and one forced fumble against the Black Bears, Simpson's all-around performance will be remembered for his fourth-quarter heroics.  With the Danes trailing by 13 points, the veteran linebacker forced Maine to punt on its first possession of the final quarter by holding the Black Bears' ball carrier to one yard and no gain on consecutive stops.  Then, after Albany narrowed the deficit to three, Simpson struck again on a third-and-short situation.  The 230-pound senior denied Maine a first down by forcing a fumble at the Bears' 24-yard line with 2:45 left in the game. 

Division III - Northeast Region

Co-Offensive Players of the Week

J.J. Brooks - Plymouth State University
Junior, Quarterback, Seabrook, N.H.

Brooks accounted for all four Panther touchdowns, including two in the fourth quarter as Plymouth State pulled out a 28-17 victory over Coast Guard.  Brooks rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns while completing 5-of-10 passes for 77 yards and two scores.  He led PSU to a come-from-behind victory with a nine-yard TD pass with 8:49 left in the fourth quarter and added an insurance score with a three-yard TD plunge with 4:33 remaining.

Jamie Spanopoulos - SUNY Maritime
Sophomore, Fullback, Franklin Square, N.Y.

Spanopoulos set new career highs and led all players with 182 rushing yards and three touchdowns, including the eventual game winner in the first overtime of Maritime's dramatic 28-21 victory over Kings Point.  The 5-foot-9, 228-pound fullback averaged 5.7 yards per carry on 32 carries.

Defensive Player of the Week

Keith Barnes - SUNY Maritime
Sophomore, Linebacker, Westbury, N.Y.

Barnes played an integral role for the Privateers defense in the exciting 28-21 victory over Kings Point in overtime.  The first-year sophomore led all players with 12 tackles, nine solo and six assisted, while recording one forced fumble and one sack. 

Division III - Northwest

Offensive Player of the Week

Brian Grastorf - Ithaca College
Senior, Quarterback, Niskayuna, N.Y.

Grastorf completed 26 of 37 passes for 268 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-17 Ithaca win over Widener.  He set career-highs in touchdown passes and completions with his fourth 200-yard game and third game of at least three scoring passes in five career starts. Grastorf raised his career totals to 1,725 yards (eighth all-time at Ithaca), 19 touchdown passes (seventh), 147.7 rating (second), and .567 completion percentage (fourth).

Co-Defensive Players of the Week

Alex Currier - Alfred University
Sophomore, Strong Safety, Peru, N.Y.

Currier intercepted three passes and made five tackles as Alfred defeated St. Lawrence, 36-18.

Colin King - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Senior, Linebacker, Ravena, N.Y.

In a 17-14 win over Utica, King led all tacklers with 12 stops, including five unassisted and a three-yard sack.  He also broke up a pass as the Engineers held the Pioneers to zero points and 25 rushing yards in the second half.

Division III - Southeast

Offensive Player of the Week

Jake Graci - SUNY Brockport
Senior, Quarterback, Farnham, N.Y.

After throwing for a school-record five touchdowns in the Golden Eagles' 37-32 non-conference win over Frostburg State.  On the day, he completed 26-of-37 passes for 344 yards including scoring strikes of 31, 23, 6, 19, and 3 yards apiece.  Trailing with just 1:43 remaining, he engineered the game-winning drive, completing all four pass attempts for 45 yards and rushing for a key first down to keep the drive alive.

Defensive Player of the Week

Chris Merkle - Montclair State University
Senior, Defensive Lineman, Nutley, N.J.

Merkle helped the Red Hawks secure a 52-0 shutout of Morrisville State in their home opener.  In the victory, he recorded eight tackles, including five solo stops.  He also notched four sacks for a loss of 33 yards, and a fumble recovery during the contest in which Montclair held Morrisville to just 156 total yards of offense.

Division III - Southwest

Offensive Player of the Week

Andrew Kase - Johns Hopkins University
Senior, Running Back, Wyomissing, Pa.

Kase carried 29 times for 183 yards and three touchdowns in the Blue Jay's 41-23 victory over Gettysburg.  His three rushing scores give him a Hopkins career record of 27.

Defensive Player of the Week

Randy Santina - Grove City College
Senior, Cornerback, Elizabeth, Pa.

Santina had a team-high seven tackles to go along with two fourth-quarter interceptions for the Wolverines, who posted a 35-14 win at Bethany in the conference opener for both teams. His first interception came at the goal line to snuff out a possible Bison scoring drive.