Miami's Brandon Stephens Honored by MAC
11/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 22, 2010
OXFORD, Ohio -- Senior cornerback BRANDON STEPHENS (Strongsville) has been named Mid-American Conference East Division Defensive Player of the Week, the MAC announced today.
Stephens recorded a season-high nine tackles in last week's victory at Akron, including a career-best nine solo stops.
He will play in his final game at Yager Stadium Tuesday night against the Temple Owls.
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MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES WEEK TWELVE FOOTBALL OFFENSIVE, DEFENSIVE AND SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK For Immediate Release--Monday, Nov. 22, 2010
East Division Offensive Player of the Week: Ohio RB Vince Davidson Senior running back Vince Davidson (Dayton, N.J.) had an extremely impressive game against Temple's stingy defensive front in Ohio's 31-23 win in Philadelphia. The Dayton, N.J. native piled up 100 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries (6.2 per carry). Davidson's 41-yard dash up the middle gave the Bobcats a commanding 21-point lead with just 4:28 left in the contest.
Defensive Player of the Week: Miami DB Brandon Stephens Senior defensive back Brandon Stephens (Strongsville, Ohio) registered a season-high nine tackles in the RedHawks 19-14 win at Akron on Nov. 17. Stephens nine tackles were all solo and marked the first time this season he led the club in tackles.
Special Teams Player of the Week: Bowling Green PR Eugene Cooper Junior punt returner Eugene Cooper (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) had two punt returns for 72 yards, including a 71-yard touchdown in a 33-14 loss at Toledo on Nov. 17. It was Cooper's second punt return for a score this season, something only five people in the country have done in 2010. West Division Offensive Player of the Week: Eastern Michigan RB Dwayne Priest Senior running back Dwayne Priest (Roanoke, Va.) scored all three Eastern Michigan touchdowns and rushed for a career-high 192 yards on 35 carries in a 21-17 win at Buffalo. Priest also hauled in two passes for 13 yards and had a long run of 38 yards in that game.
Defensive Player of the Week: Western Michigan DB Jamail Berry Senior defensive back Jamail Berry (New Castle, Del.) played in his third different position on an injury depleted defense and racked up a career high 17 tackles in Western Michigan's 38-3 win over Kent State. Berry and the Bronco defense came up with a stop on fourth-and-goal from Western Michigan one-yard line and also stopped Kent State's fake field attempt in the second quarter. Berry also added 1.5 tackles for loss and a pass break up. Berry has now led the team in tackles five times this season and this was his fourth double-digit tackle performance of the year.
Special Teams Player of the Week: Northern Illinois LB Jordan Delegal Junior linebacker Jordan Delegal (Miami, Fla.) blocked two punts in a 59-21 win at Ball State and the Huskies set a school record with three blocked punts in the game. Delegal's first block came in the first quarter. With the ball snapped from the 25-yard line, Delegal got all of the ball off the foot of punter Scott Kovanda at the Ball State 15. Northern Illinois Jimmie Ward scooped up the football and returned it for the Huskies' second touchdown of the day and a 14-0 early lead. Delegal's second punt block occurred in the third quarter and set up a Huskie field goal. He smothered the ball off of Kovanda's foot at the Ball State 28. Delegal now has three career blocked punts. In addition, at linebacker, Delegal made five tackles and recovered a fumble.
