BAY CITY, Mich. -- The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) has announced its weekly awards following Week 5 of the 2017 football season. Ferris State University sophomore quarterback Travis Russell earned GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors, while Grand Valley State senior linebacker Garrett Pougnet captured GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week honors along with Ferris State defensive back DeShaun Thrower who claimed GLIAC Special Teams Player of the Week accolades.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Travis Russell, Ferris State
In only his second collegiate start, Ferris State University sophomore quarterback Travis Russell had an impressive day in leading the 15th-ranked Bulldogs to a dominating 59-17 homecoming triumph over Wayne State before a crowd of 6,500 fans on Saturday at Top Taggart Field. Russell directed a Bulldog attack that rolled up nearly 500 yards and tallied a season-high 59 points only a week after being limited to only three points by Ashland. He ran for a team-high 56 yards on 10 carries (5.6 avg.) and scored twice on the ground while also completing 12 of 18 throws for 199 yards and another score. Russell accounted for three TD's and led the Bulldogs on seven scoring drives in the win. His play helped FSU built a 17-0 lead after the opening quarter and a 38-10 halftime edge in the victory. The Bulldog offense accumulated 26 first downs and was a combined 9 of 16 on third and fourth down.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Garrett Pougnet, Grand Valley State
Grand Valley State senior linebacker Garrett Pougnet was a key contributor in the #8 Lakers? 34-6 victory over Saginaw Valley State in the Battle of the Valleys Saturday night before the sixth largest crowd in Lubbers Stadium history (15,985). Pougnet tallied six tackles (4 solo/2 assisted), one QB sack (-8), one tackle for loss (-8), returned an interception 29 yards and returned a fumble 37 yards for a touchdown. The GVSU defense is limiting opponents to 7.4 point per game and have yielded two TDs in the last 16 quarter.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK - DeShaun Thrower, Ferris State
Ferris State defensive back DeShaun Thrower had a huge day on special teams as the 15th-ranked Bulldogs rolled to a dominating 59-17 homecoming triumph over Wayne State before a crowd of 6,500 fans on Saturday at Top Taggart Field. Thrower blocked two punts in the game, including WSU's opening punt that was recovered in the endzone by FSU's Danny Collins for an early score. That play helped set the tone and gave FSU a huge lift coming off a setback at Ashland a week ago. He added another key block later in the game and netted two tackles. He was credited with a 19-yard punt return for his game-opening block on special teams.
HONORABLE MENTION
OFFENSE: JaQuan Hardy (TU), Michael King (Saginaw Valley), Bryce Young-Walls (GVSU), Jake Mayon (NMU), Andrew Vaughn (AU), Jake Brown (MTU), Alex Spicuzzi (NU)
DEFENSE: Carrington Contee (TU), Toney Peters (AU), Ryan Verhelst (SVSU), Cayman Berg-Morales (MTU), Pat Ryan (NMU), Nick Huckabay (FSU), Travis Wiltjer (NU)
SPECIAL TEAMS: Harry McCollum (TU), Austin Utter (AU), Tyler Marcus (SVSU), Jailyn Harden (GVSU), James Henderson (MTU), John Kwiecinski (NMU), Scott McCormick (NU)
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