Football | 10/15/2018 3:52:45 PM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The MIAA announced its weekly Football Athletes of the Week awards. Emporia State’s Parker Bass was named Defensive Player of the Week for the conference. ESU’s Braxton Marstall and Fort Hays State’s Jacob Mezera were Co-Offensive Players of the Week. D’Harius Brown of Lindenwood was named the league’s Special Teams Player of the Week.

Bass tied his career-high with five tackles, four of them unassisted, and had a 74-yard fumble return for a touchdown in Emporia State’s 41-23 victory at Central Missouri. He anchored a defense that held the Mules to their lowest scoring total at home since the opening game of the 2015 season and snapped an 11-game home winning streak.

Marstall had 341 yards of total offense and was responsible for four touchdowns in Emporia State’s 41-23 win at Central Missouri. He threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns then added 63 yards and two more touchdowns on the ground. Marstall moved up to eighth place in career total offense in MIAA history.

Mezera was efficient on his nine pass completions in a 50-21 win against No. 18 Pittsburg State. He threw for 231 yards and three touchdowns. Mezera averaged 25.7 yards per pass with two of his three touchdown passes coming from 59 yards or more. Mezera broke FHSU career records for passing yards and passing touchdowns in the game, now with 7,083 yards and 56 touchdowns in his career.

Brown took the opening kick of the second half back 83 yards for a touchdown. The return gave Lindenwood a 21-0 lead as the Lions defeated Northeastern State 38-14. For the game, Brown had just one kickoff return for 83 yards.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES - DEFENSE

Jose Delgado - Fort Hays State
Delgado finished with a team-high 12 tackles in the 50-21 win for Fort Hays State over 18th-ranked Pittsburg State. He added a sack and a 34-yard fumble return to the PSU 2-yard line.

Trent Nally - Northwest Missouri
Nally cemented a 27-13 win over Nebraska Kearney with two interceptions in the final 6:26 of the fourth quarter. He is the first Bearcat to intercept two passes in a game this season.

Dwane Simmons - Washburn
Simmons had an 18-yard interception return for a touchdown in a 63-7 Ichabod win over Missouri Southern. WU held MSSU to just 182 yards of total offense.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES - OFFENSE

Braden Wright - Northwest Missouri
Wright accounted for 232 yards of total offense and led Northwest Missouri to a 27-13 victory over Nebraska Kearney. He was 13-for-26 for 177 yards and a passing touchdown. Wright rushed for 55 yards and added another touchdown on the ground for the Bearcats.

Mitch Schurig - Washburn
Schurig was 15-of-19 passing for 224 yards and one score in a 63-7 win over Missouri Southern. He helped the Ichabods to 570 yards of total offense in the win.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES - SPECIAL TEAMS

Dante Brown - Fort Hays State
Brown went 2-of-3 on field goal attempts and averaged 41 yards per punt in a 50-21 win for Fort Hays State over No. 18 ranked Pittsburg State. He knocked through field goals from 24 and 27 yards, with his lone miss from 55 yards.  He booted through six PATs on the afternoon, finishing the game with 12 points. Three of his four punts resulted in drives starting inside the 20-yard line and his longest punt of the day was 52 yards.

Parker Sampson - Northwest Missouri
Sampson connected on a pair of fourth-quarter field goals to ensure a 27-13 Northwest Missouri win over Nebraska Kearney. He also contributed by making all three extra points in the first quarter as the Bearcats built a 21-0 lead. Sampson added one touchback on a kickoff.

Perry Schmiedeler - Washburn
Schmiedeler added nine points hitting all nine-point after attempts. He now has 254 career points, moving him into second all-time on the Ichabod scoring chart. Schmiedeler had six touchbacks on 10 kickoffs.

Defensive Player of the Week Nominations: John Embrey - Central Missouri, Parker Bass - Emporia State, Conners Arsante - Lindenwood, Trent Nally - Northwest Missouri, Dwane Simmons - Washburn

Offensive Player of the Week Nominations: Jalen Marsalis - Central Missouri, Braxton Marstall - Emporia State, Jacob Mezera - Fort Hays State, Cameron Sanders - Lindenwood, Braden Wright - Northwest Missouri, Mitch Schurig - Washburn

Special Teams Player of the Week Nominations: Zach Davidson - Central Missouri, Dante Brown - Fort Hays State, D’Harius Brown - Lindenwood, Parker Sampson - Northwest Missouri, Perry Schmiedeler - Washburn