Wayne State's Joique Bell Named GLIAC Football "Offensive Player of the Week"

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BAY CITY, Mich. - Wayne State University senior running back Joique Bell (Benton Harbor, Mich.) was named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) "Offensive Player of the Week" after leading the Warriors to a 35-21 win over the University of Findlay.  WSU teammate, sophomore safety Kenny Loney (Novi, Mich./Walled Lake Western), garnered "Defensive Player of the Week" honors for his efforts in the win over Findlay.  Hillsdale College senior place kicker Mark Petro (Rocky River, Ohio/Lutheran West) earned "Special Teams Player of the Week" accolades for leading the Chargers past the University of Indianapolis.

GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week:
Joique Bell - Wayne State
(SR, RB, 6-1, 223, Benton Harbor, Mich.)

Senior running back Joique Bell rushed for 284 yards on 33 carries with three touchdowns in Wayne State’s 35-21 win over Findlay. He posted five runs of 20 or more yards while thirteen of his rushing attempts went for first downs. Bell’s first score put WSU ahead 7-3, his second touchdown put WSU ahead 28-18 and his third score completed the scoring at 35-21. He finished the contest with 291 all-purpose yards.

Offensive Honor Roll: D’Marris McCoy - AU, David Freeman - FS, Mike Chambers - UF, Vinnie Panizzi - HC, Antonio Wallace - NM, Micheal Gillmore - NU, Xavier Walker - SV.

2009 Off. Players of the Week: (8/31) C. Dowdell - SV; (9/7) T. Weatherhead - HC; (9/14) B. Iciek - GV; (9/21) J. Bell - WS.

GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week:
Kenny Loney - Wayne State
(SO, S, 5-11, 189, Novi, Mich./Walled Lake Western)

Sophomore safety Kenny Loney posted a game-high 10 tackles (7 solo), 1.5 tackles-for-loss, two interceptions, and a fumble recovery in the end zone in WSU’s 35-21 win over Findlay. His first two picks came with WSU trailing 3-0. With WSU leading 7-3 and Findlay completing a pass inside the WSU five yard-line, WSU’s Kenny Watson stripped the UF receiver, with Loney falling on the ball in the end zone for a touchback.

Defensive Honor Roll: Dustin Basch - AU, Jacob Moreno - FS, Anthony Fields - UF, Anthony Victor - GV, Drew Berube - HC, Craig Ray - UI, Zach Gauthier - NM, Carl Randolph - NU, Mike LeVand - SV.

2009 Def. Players of the Week: (8/31) K.Fitzpatrick - FS; (9/7) J. Jacobs - SV; (9/14) Q. Scott - AU; (9/21) K. Loney - WS.

GLIAC Special Teams Player of the Week:
Mark Petro - Hillsdale
(SR, PK, 5-9, 186, Rocky River, Ohio/Lutheran West)

Senior Mark Petro was 3-for-3 in field goal attempts in the Chargers’ 23-0 win over Indianapolis Saturday night. He also made both of his extra-point attempts to score a team-high 11 points in the victory. He is averaging 10.5 points per game, best among all kickers in the GLIAC, and is 10-for-11 on field goals and 12-for-13 on extra-point attempts this season.

Special Teams Honor Roll: Gregg Berkshire - AU, Shawn Snoor - FS, Cameron Stevens - UF, Justin Trumble - GV, Rockne Belmonte - NM, Tony Hite - NU, Ryan Tisdall - SV, Boris Bede - TU.

2009 S.T. Players of the Week: (8/31) S. Thornton - WS; (9/7) P. Sijan - NU; (9/14) J. Renel - WS: (9/21) M. Petro - HC.

Ashland - The Eagles are 3-1 for the first time since 2007. AU was ranked 18th in last week’s AFCA poll. Ashland has appeared in the Top 25 every week this season…sophomore tailback D.J. McCoy (Cleveland, OH/Collinwood) rushed for a career-high 179 yards on 15 carries last week at Tiffin. That was the second 100-yard game of the season for McCoy and the second of his career. McCoy is averaging 7.5 ypc.…senior wide receiver Christian Livingston (Newark, OH), in his first year as a starter, caught seven passes for a career-high 112 yards last week. Livingston leads the Eagles in receptions (24) and TD receptions (3)…sophomore linebacker Julian Goodwine (Dayton, OH/Thurgood Marshall) is developing a reputation as a playmaker. Two weeks ago against Michigan Tech, he had a sack late in the game. At Tiffin, Goodwine had a sack, a fumble recovery and an interception…the Eagles continue to feature a defense that’s more aggressive and opportunistic than the units of the past two seasons. Through four games, AU has forced seven turnovers and has 15 sacks. As of last week, Ashland was 20th in the nation in sacks and 21st in tackles for loss…senior quarterback Billy Cundiff (Uniontown, OH/Connecticut) fired four touchdown passes last week and has 65 for his career. He is AU’s career leader in that department.

Ferris State - FSU gave nationally number-one ranked archrival Grand Valley State all it could handle in the Anchor-Bone Classic on Saturday (Sept. 19) night at Top Taggart Field, but in the end the Lakers pulled out a hard-fought 17-10 triumph to remain unbeaten... Ferris scored its first points of the game on a career-long 45-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Shawn Snoor (Diamondale/Holt) with 5:15 to play in the first half. From that point on, the game remained scoreless until Tyler Thomas’ (Jackson) two-yard run tied the game up in the fourth period for FSU... Ferris ran for 108 yards on 36 carries and connected on four-of-10 passes for 102 yards in the game for 210 yards of total offense... Sophomore back David Freeman (Westland/Wayne Memorial) paced the Bulldogs on the ground with 70 yards on 11 carries and Thomas added 45 yards on 10 attempts. Parrish threw for all 102 yards on four-of-nine passing as the Bulldogs utilized a variety of formations offensively with Parrish, Freeman and sophomore quarterback Tom Schneider (Jerome/Addison) all taking direct snaps from center. Olman hauled in two catches for 86 yards to lead the receiving game... Defensively, the Bulldogs were led by Butler and junior defensive tackle Jacob Moreno (Holt), who both had nine stops apiece. Moreno had a stop for loss along with a quarterback hurry and a pass breakup. Butler also had a tackle for loss in addition to his fumble recovery.

Findlay - The Oilers suffered their first defeat of the season on Saturday as they fell 35-21 to Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan…The Oilers, who were only giving up 40.7 yards per game on the ground heading into the contest, allowed Wayne State to rush for 383 including 289 from Joique Bell…The Warriors also shut down Findlay’s rushing attack, limiting the Oilers to only 96 yards on the ground. Findlay came into the contest averaging 260.0 yards per game rushing…Senior quarterback Andrew Beam completed 18-of-36 passes for 252 yards and a score but also threw two picks…His completions, attempts and yardage all set new career high’s…Senior wide receiver Mike Chambers had another great day catching the football, accumulating 185 yards on ten receptions while freshman running back Monterae Williams gained 92 yards on 31 carries…Sophomore defensive back Donte Johnson and senior linebacker Joe Knopick made seven stops apiece to lead the defense while senior defensive back Anthony Fields picked off two passes…Williams has now rushed for 464 yards on the year while Chambers has 583 yards receiving.

Grand Valley State - GVSU senior QB Brad Iciek (Grandville, Mich.) has thrown a TD pass in 29 consecutive games...Senior WR Blake Smolen (Grosse Ile, Mich.) moved closer to becoming just the fourth player in DII football history to surpass 1,000 yards rushing, 1,000 yards receiving and 1,000 in kickoff returns. Smolen enters the Michigan Tech contest with 1,759 rushing yards, 1,548 receiving yards and 974 yards in kickoff return yards...James Berezik (Fraser, Mich./Warren De La Salle) moved into sixth in career rushing yards with 2,872 yards. Berezik is 12 yards behind Darnell Jamison’s fifth-place total of 2,884... Grand Valley State has won 46 consecutive regular season games and 43 straight GLIAC games...Grand Valley State is 112-7 in its last 119 games.

Hillsdale - The Chargers saw their four-game streak of scoring 37 points per game end, but did record their first shutout in nearly two years in a 23-0 win over the University of Indianapolis Saturday night…The Chargers’ last shutout win came in a 37-0 triumph over Michigan Tech on Sept. 29, 2007…The team’s last shutout before than came back in 1996…The game was the first night start at home for Hillsdale since Sept. 23, 2006…The win over Indianapolis represents the Chargers’ first back-to-back wins over the Greyhounds since 1995-1996…Senior RB Vinnie Panizzi ran for a career-high 188 yards in the win, and moved into third place on the Chargers’ career rushing list…He now has 2,662 career rushing yards and is the fourth player in school history to run for at least 2,500 yards… Freshman Nick Galvan had his first career interception in the game … The Charger defense didn’t allow Indy to run an offensive play inside the red zone in the entire game.

Indianapolis - The Greyhounds fell to host Hillsdale 23-0 Saturday night. UIndy could only manage one first down in the opening half and could not recover in the second stanza … sophomore QB Paul Corsaro (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli/Youngstown State) got his first extended play behind center, calling the signals in the second half and leading the Hounds on a pair of longer drives, but threw two picks … The Hounds were held to 114 yards of total offense in the contest … Junior defensive back Craig Ray (Plainfield, Ind.) was the highlight player for UIndy, amassing 13 total tackles to go along with a INT, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a sack … Ray has led the team in tackles in all four games this far this season … His 42 tackles rank third-best in the conference.

Michigan Tech - A near-record crowd of 4,027 watched the battle for the Miner’s Cup at Sherman Field last Saturday (Sept. 19). The only other crowd above 4,000 in Sherman Field history is the 2004 Michigan Tech-Northern Michigan matchup which drew 4,332 … Michigan Tech lost its first home opener since 2006 with last Saturday’s 48-16 setback to Northern Michigan. Incidentally, the Huskies started the year 0-4 before reeling off six straight wins to finish the year 6-4 … Junior Brent Heim (Green Bay, Wis./Preble) saw his first real action as a collegiate quarterback vs. Northern Michigan after starter Steve Short (Iron Mountain, Mich./Kingsford) was injured. Heim completed 7-of-13 passes for 107 yards and his first collegiate touchdown. The receiver on the play, sophomore transfer Pat Carroll (Ann Arbor, Mich./Orchard Lake), also recorded his first collegiate touchdown … Freshman tight end Bryan LaChappelle (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park) hauled in his second touchdown pass in as many weeks with a 20-yard grab in the second quarter … Running back Phil Milbrath (Norway, Mich.) had his seven-game streak of scoring at least one touchdown snapped last Saturday. The junior gained 36 yards on seven carries before suffering a game-ending injury in the first quarter.

Northern Michigan - NMU, with its 48-16 win over Michigan Tech, brings the Miner’s Cup back to Marquette…NMU has captured the Miner’s Cup three times since 2002 and the first time in Houghton… Antonio Wallace had a career day against the Huskies with 158 yards on 14 carries, he also had a 65-yard touchdown run for the longest run of his career…Wallace also returned a kick for 23 yards… Wallace currently leads the team with 310 yards on 28 carries (11.1 avg)…Dustin Brancheau hauled in five of Carter Kopach’s passes Saturday for 121 yards, he currently has eight on the season for 140 yards… Kopach has thrown only one interception so far this season as he is 28-44-1 for 474 yards with four touchdowns, Saturday he was 11-14-0 for 220 yards and two scores…Zach Gauthier returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown against MTU, it was the first time since 2005 that a NMU player returned an interception for a touchdown, Matt Shem returned a 55-yard interception at Ashland during the 2005 season.

Northwood - Northwood dropped its first game of the season Saturday, losing a 32-27 contest at rival Saginaw Valley State … NU is now 2-1 overall and in the GLIAC … Micheal Gillmore (Tucson, Ariz./Flowing Wells) had his second straight career-day for the Timberwolves, finishing with 127 yards and a pair of touchdowns … his second TD of the game came on the last play of the first half on a jump ball play … Spencer Klukowski (Rockford, Mich.) threw for 233 yards and a pair of touchdowns, completing 15 of 21 attempts … Carl Randolph (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lake Brantley) led the defensive effort, recording 10 tackles … all three of the Timberwolves’ games this season have come down to the final drive of the contest … NU will travel to Findlay Saturday.

Saginaw Valley State - The Saginaw Valley State University football team won its second consecutive “Axe Bowl” game with a 32-27 victory over Northwood. For the first time all season the Cardinals failed to scored a touchdown passing, as they scored five touchdowns on the ground. Xavier Walker (3 TDs) and Brandon Hayes (2TDs) led the way for Saginaw Valley on the ground. John Jacobs led the Cardinals with 15 tackles and Mike LeVand added 13 tackles and two sacks. Freshman Grant Caserta recorded his first career interception and fumble recovery along with seven tackles on the afternoon. The Cardinals are now 3-1 on the season and will travel to Indianapolis on Sept. 26.

Tiffin - Nate Scully had his best day this season in his second career start at quarterback, completing 16 of 32 passes for 262 yards and only one interception with a 65 yard touchdown pass…Greg Raspberry was the prime beneficiary at wideout, hauling in 7 passes for 106 yards and a 65 yard touchdown…Trey Williams had 87 receiving yards on 6 catches while also totaling 41 yards in kick returns for 129 all purpose yards…Alvin McKnight had 124 all purpose yards, with 95 yards in kick returns and 29 yards rushing…Chris Ivory had 53 yards rushing on 8 carries (6.6 per rush) before suffering a devastating knee injury midway through the game…David Pickeral led the team with 8 tackles (6 solo) while Jackson Davis had 7 solo stops and a tackle for loss…DeJuan Graham, Moses Kato, and Leebo Pomele all were in on sacks while Tyrone Richardson had 4.5 tackles with an 8 yard interception return.

Wayne State - Wayne State rushed for 378 yards against a Findlay rush defense that was ranked fourth in the nation (40.67 yards per game) ... WSU is 3-1 for the third time in the last four seasons and for the fourth time in the last 26 years ... the Warrior rush defense which entered last Saturday’s game 58th (121.67 yards per game), held the Oilers to 96 rushing yards ... UF was ninth nationally at 260 rushing yards per contest ... senior Joique Bell (Benton Harbor, Mich.), who became the GLIACs all-time leading rusher late in the second quarter, had his second best game rushing accumulating 284 yards and three touchdowns ... he had five carries for at least 20 yards including touchdown runs of 26 and 55 ... it was his 28th career 100-yard game and seventh career 200-yard game ... sophomore safety Kenny Loney (Novi, Mich./Walled Lake Western) had two interceptions in the first half and finished with a game-high 10 tackles along with a fumble recovery ... Bell is 19th in NCAA Division II history in rushing yards (5,359), tied-for-14th in scoring (432 points), and 28th in all-purpose yards (6,449) .