KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association has announced new Football Athletes of the Week, presented by Mammoth. Three student-athletes earned weekly honors in Week Three of the 2024 season.   
 
OFFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Gunnar Gundy, Emporia State
Gunnar Gundy set an MIAA record for completions in a game as he led the No. 13-ranked Hornets to a come-from-behind 30-27 overtime win over Missouri Western. Gundy finished the game 49-of-74 for 454 yards with three touchdowns while adding 39 rushing yards on 13 carries. With Missouri Western 27-20 leading with 2:25 to play, the junior quarterback went 3-for-3 for 48 yards with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Kahmann, tying the game at 27 with 1:42 left. Gundy’s final completion of the game came in overtime and set the Hornets up for what proved to be the game-winning 36-yard field goal. Gundy broke Braden Gleason's Emporia State records of 48 completions in 67 attempts set at Central Missouri on October 9, 2021, while his 87 total offensive attempts broke Braxton Marstall's Emporia State school record of 78 set against Lindenwood on September 22, 2018. The 49 completions are tied for 11th in NCAA Division II history while his 74 attempts are tied for 13th all-time in Division II. Gundy's 454 passing yards rank eighth all-time in a single game at Emporia State and his 493 yards of total offense rank sixth all-time in a single game at Emporia State.
 
DEFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Noah Blair, Central Missouri    
Noah Blair had the game-deciding interception with less than a minute to go in the fourth quarter in No. 11-ranked Central Missouri’s 32-31 win at Davenport. The redshirt senior defensive back intercepted Davenport’s quarterback Mike O'Horo's pass with just 42 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and returned it nine yards, sealing the Mules’ comeback, one-point win. Blair also totaled three tackles in the victory. 
 
SPECIAL TEAMS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Carson Arndt, Fort Hays State    
Carson Arndt was a perfect 3-of-3 on field goal attempts and made all four of his PAT attempts in Fort Hays State’s 37-0 shutout of Northeastern State. The senior kicker connected on field goals from 32, 35, and 22 yards and has now converted 8-of-9 attempts for the season.
 
 NOTABLE PERFORMANCES 
OFFENSE
Chris Ruhnke, Northwest Missouri
Chris Ruhnke passed for 331 yards and completed 78.8 percent of his passes (26-of-33) with three touchdown tosses in the Bearcats 59-0 road win over Missouri Southern. Ruhnke began the game by hitting Eric Richardson for a 68-yard touchdown pass on Northwest's third play from scrimmage. He added an eight-yard scoring strike to John Giagiari with 5:56 left in the first quarter for a 14-0 lead. Ruhnke connected with tight end Zach Atkins for a 5-yard touchdown pass with 9:35 left in the third quarter to up the lead to 45-0. Ruhnke completed passes to 11 different receivers at Missouri Southern. The junior quarterback now ranks No. 3 in the nation in completion percentage (72.8 percent), No. 5 in passing yards (1,183), No. 6 in completions per game (27.5), No. 8 in points responsible for (66) and No. 10 in passing touchdowns (10).

William Mason, Central Oklahoma
William Mason led surging Central Oklahoma to a 32-17 win at Nebraska Kearney in Week Three. The sophomore running back totaled more yards by himself than UNK had allowed all season. Mason scampered for 133 yards rushing on 27 carries for an average of 4.9 yards per rush. The sophomore running back found the endzone once on a two-yard rush to tie the game 14-14 in the second quarter while his efforts in the fourth quarter helped UCO pull away and close out the win. Mason ran the ball 12 times for 84 yards in the final frame as the Bronchos outscored the Lopers 16-0 in the fourth quarter to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2014.
 
LaAngelo Bell, Central Missouri
LaAngelo Bell helped No. 11-ranked Central Missouri to a 32-31 victory at Davenport, posting three rushing touchdowns, including what proved to be the game-winning, 13-yard rushing touchdown with just over a minute to go in the fourth quarter. The freshman running back also had rushing scores of one yard (second quarter) and 19 yards (third quarter). For the game, Bell totaled just 47 yards rushing on 11 carries.

DEFENSE
Shane Fredrickson, Northwest Missouri
Shane Fredrickson returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown and blocked a field goal in helping the Bearcats post a 59-0 shutout at Missouri Southern. Fredrickson helped lead the Bearcat defense that allowed only six first downs and limited the Lions to 131 yards of offense. Southern ended the game with just 27 rushing yards and had 104 yards through the air.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
Jaquez White, Washburn              
With the Ichabods trailing 26-14, Jaquez White recovered a Chad Dodson pooch punt for a 92-yard punt return, trimming Washburn’s deficit to 26-21 with 6:20 left in the opening half. The return was a school record for the Ichabods, surpassing the previous long of 90 set by Clarence Taylor against Emporia State in 1975 and Troy Slusser against Missouri Western in 1985. White also added two tackles in the game.
 
Rylan Miller, Emporia State
Rylan Miller blocked an extra point attempt that eventually let the game go to overtime for the Hornets to defeat Missouri Western 30-27 in overtime.
 
 ALSO NOMINATED 
OFFENSE: Brandon Hall (Missouri Western), DJ Bell (Washburn), Shane Watts (Fort Hays State)
DEFENSE: Jaaron Joseph (Emporia State), Grant Finley (Missouri Western), Johnny Wilson (Central Oklahoma), Mason Perez (Fort Hays State), LJ Minner Jr. (Washburn)
SPECIAL TEAMS: Grayson Miller (Central Oklahoma), Dominic Myers (Northwest Missouri), Cory Mitchell (Missouri Southern)
 
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 2024 MIAA FOOTBALL ATHLETES OF THE WEEK 
WEEK ZERO:
Offensive – Gunner Gundy, Emporia State
Co-Defensive – Benyon Williams, Fort Hays State
Co-Defensive – Thomas Cook, Pittsburg State
Special Teams – Austin Schmitt, Pittsburg State
 
WEEK ONE:
Offensive – Zach Zebrowski, Central Missouri
Defensive – Sage Sieperda, Emporia State
Special Teams – Kobey Stephens, Central Oklahoma
 
WEEK TWO:
Offensive – Jett Huff, Central Oklahoma
Defensive – Kobe Holley, Emporia State
Special Teams – Caden Dodson, Emporia State
 
WEEK THREE:
Offensive – Gunnar Gundy, Emporia State
Defensive – Noah Blair, Central Missouri
Special Teams – Carson Arndt, Fort Hays State