BAY CITY, Mich. -- The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) has announced its weekly awards following Week 6 of the 2017 football season. Grand Valley State junior running back Marty Carter earned GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors, while Saginaw Valley redshirt freshman defensive back Donnell Alexander captured GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week honors along with Ferris State University senior kicker Wyatt Ford who claimed GLIAC Special Teams Player of the Week accolades.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Marty Carter, Grand Valley State
Grand Valley State junior running back Marty Carter led the way for a Laker offense that ran just 41 offensive plays in its 45-27 GLIAC road win over Wayne State. Carter, who rushed for 218 yards and three TDs on just 11 carries, while catching two passes for 22 yards in the Lakers' 45-27 victory at Wayne State. Carter, who did not touch the ball in the fourth quarter, scored on runs of 97, 68 and 5 yards as he tallied 240 all-purpose yards. He averaged 19.8 yards per rush and his 97-yard TD run was the longest TD run in Laker football history and tied the GLIAC record for longest touchdown run in league history. Carter tied the GVSU record for career 100-yard rushing games (16) and hit the 200-yard mark for the sixth time in his career. In addition, Carter is now tied for second on the all-time rushing list with Michael Tennessee (3,515) yards.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Donnell Alexander, Saginaw Valley
Saginaw Valley redshirt freshman defensive back Donnell Alexander returned an interception for a touchdown in SVSU's 33-0 home shutout over Davenport University on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals allowed just 44 yards of total offense in the victory, which was their second shutout of the season. Alexander added a pair of tackles in the contest as well for the Cardinals.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Wyatt Ford, Ferris State
Ferris State University senior kicker Wyatt Ford converted a pair of field goals and totaled seven points while helping the Bulldogs to a 13-3 win over the Tiffin Dragons on Saturday afternoon at FSU's Top Taggart Field. Ford's points were critical in the defensive battle as neither team found the endzone in the opening half and only one touchdown was scored in the contest. He knotted the game up with a short field goal late in the first half and then sealed the win with another late third quarter field goal to put FSU in front by two scores.
HONORABLE MENTION
OFFENSE: Travis Tarnowski (AU), Tony Shead Jr. (TU), Malik Taylor (FSU), Ravon Johnson (NMU), James Henderson (MTU), Marcus Edmondson (SVSU), Corey Burgdick (NU)
DEFENSE: Austin Utter (AU), Daijohn Isbell (TU), Nick Huckabay (FSU), Graham Hubbell (MTU), Corey Brooks (NMU), Kye Black (DU), Collin Schlosser (GVSU), Charles Williams (NU)
SPECIAL TEAMS: Aidan Simenc (AU), Harry McCollum (TU), Evan Gornick (MTU), John Kwiecinski (NMU), Brandon Bean (GVSU), Tyler Marcus (SVSU), Vashon Nutt (NU)
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