MTU's Ark, FSU's Murphy and DU's Gielow named GLIAC Football Players of the Week

Posted: Oct 10, 2022

GLIAC -- The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) has announced its weekly awards following Week 6 of the 2022 football season. Michigan Tech senior quarterback Will Ark earned GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week, Ferris State junior defensive end Caleb Murphy received GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week recognition and Davenport junior placekicker Brandon Gielow was named GLIAC Special Teams Player of the Week.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Will Ark, Michigan Tech

Senior quarterback Will Ark (Green Bay, Wisconsin) threw for 340 yards and three touchdowns to help Michigan Tech defeat Wayne State on homecoming 35-34. Ark assembled a 10-play, 64-yard final offensive drive and rushed into the endzone from the one-yard line. He totaled 30 yards on the ground on four attempts. Ark's longest touchdown pass of the afternoon went for 79 yards to sophomore Darius Willis in the fourth quarter. Ark currently ranks second in the GLIAC with eight touchdown passes and is third in passing yards per game with 168.0. Ark stepped into the starting quarterback role for Tech in 2018. He has 42 career touchdown passes and 495 completions as a Husky.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Caleb Murphy, Ferris State

Ferris State University junior defensive end Caleb Murphy had another huge day in helping the top-ranked Bulldogs rally for a dramatic 33-28 road win over Saginaw Valley State in FSU's league opener on Saturday. Murphy netted three sacks for a loss of 23 yards and a game-high five tackles for loss resulting in minus 25 yards for the game. He also added six total tackles, including four solo hits, while helping the Bulldog defense limit SVSU to 247 yards of total offense and only 52 yards rushing on 41 tries. The Bulldogs held the Cardinals off the scoreboard for nearly the final 27 minutes in the comeback win. Murphy currently leads the country in sacks and ranks among the national leaders in tackles for loss this year.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Brandon Gielow, Davenport

Junior placekicker Brandon Gielow's left foot kept the Panthers undefeated at 5-0 after a 27-24 overtime win at Northern Michigan. Trailing 24-21 with 45 seconds left, the Panthers got within field goal range and Gielow booted a 36-yard field goal as time expired in regulation to send the game into overtime. DU had the ball first and Gielow connected again from 27 yards to give DU the 27-24 lead. The defense finished it with an interception to preserve the victory on the road. Gielow also connected on his three extra-point attempts and finished with nine points. He is one of two kickers to be perfect this season in field goals (5-for-5) in the conference and his 37 points is third among kickers in the league.

HONORABLE MENTION

OFFENSE: Sy Barnett (DU), Andrew Brito (SVSU), Evan Cummins (FSU), Myren Harris (WSU), Tyshon King (NMU), Cody Tierney (GVSU)

DEFENSE: Malik Barrow (DU), Braxton Blackwell (MTU), Antonio Howard (NMU), Trevor Nowaske (SVSU), Abe Swanson (GVSU)

SPECIAL TEAMS: David Kreske (GVSU), Connor Luksic (SVSU), Griffin Milovanski (WSU), Daniel Riser (NMU), Deion Small (FSU), Drew Wyble (MTU)

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