Ashland's Joe Horn Named GLIAC Football "Offensive Player of the Week"

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BAY CITY, Mich. - Ashland University junior wide receiver Joe Horn (Waynesfield, Ohio/Waynesfield-Goshen) was named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) "Offensive Player of the Week" after recording 184 receiving yards and two touchdowns in Ashland’s 33-20 win over Northwood on Saturday. Hillsdale College sophomore defensive back Nick Hixson (Remus, Mich./Chippewa Hills) earned "Defensive Player of the Week" honors, while Hillsdale teammate senior place kicker Mark Petro (Rocky River, Ohio/Lutheran West) was tabbed "Special Teams Player of the Week."

GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week:
Joe Horn - Ashland
(JR, WR, 5-11, 182, Waynesfield, Ohio/Waynesfield-Goshen)

Senior wide receiver Joe Horn caught eight passes for a career-high 184 yards and two touchdowns in Ashland’s 33-20 win over Northwood. Horn’s fourth quarter touchdow reception set a new AU record. The 96-yard pass play is the longest in school history. Over the last two weeks, Horn has caught 13 passes for 311 yards (23.9 ypc.) and four touchdowns. Saturday marked the seventh 100-yard game of Horn’s career.

Offensive Honor Roll: Mike Ryan - FS, Andrew Beam - UF, Blake Smolen - GV, Troy Weatherhead - HC, Patrick Bourne - UI, Carter Kopach - NM, Anthony Brandon - NU, Xavier Walker - SV, Joique Bell - WS.

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; (9/28) V. Panizzi - HC; (10/5) J. Bell - WS; (10/12) J. Horn - AU.

GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week:
Nick Hixson - Hillsdale
(SO, DB, 6-1, 183, Remus, Mich./Chippewa Hills)

Sophomore defensive back Nick Hixson had a team-high 14 total tackles in Hillsdale’s 27-24 win over #1 Grand Valley State Saturday afternoon. He lead the Charger defense that posted two sacks against athe Lakers, despite the fact that GVSU had only allowed two sacks all season, entering the constest. Hixson currently ranks second on the HC football team with 47 tackles this season, while adding 2.5 tackles for loss.

Defensive Honor Roll: Brian Gamble - AU, Santino Favot - FS, Joe Knopick - UF, Alex Gilde - GV, Danny Goff - UI, D.J. Oke - NM, Craig Larry - NU, John Jacobs - 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; (9/28) J. Knopick - UF; (10/5) J. Bell - WS; (10/5) N. Yelk - NM; (10/12) N. Hixson - HC.

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

Senior placekicker Mark Petro went 3-for-3 on extra points and 2-for-2 on field goal attempts in the Chargers’ 27-24 homecoming win over #1 Grand Valley State. He connected on field goals of 45 and 27 yards, and the field goals turned out to be the difference in the Chargers’ 3-point upset win over the Lakers.

Special Teams Honor Roll: Gregg Berkshire - AU, Damien Miller - FS, Dustin Zielaskiewicz - UF, Ryan Forney - UI, Rockne Belmonte - NM, Pat Sijan - NU.

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; (9/28) B. Smolen - GV; (10/5) T. Cattelino - MT: (10/12) M. Petro - HC.

Ashland - The Eagles broke a two-game losing streak with last week’s 33-20 win over Northwood. Wide receiver Joe Horn (Waynesfield, OH/Waynesfield-Goshen) caught eight passes for a career-high 184 yards and two touchdowns. The TD catches covered 11 and 96 yards. The 96-yard pass play is the longest in school history. The previous record was 89 yards and came against Wayne State in 1999 when quarterback Jeff Leopold found wide receiver Jarrod Pruiett with the long ball. Over the last two weeks Horn has caught 13 passes for 311 yards (23.9 ypc.) and four touchdowns. He has seven 100-yard games in his career…quarterback Billy Cundiff completed 19-of-28 passes for 366 yards and four touchdowns in the win over Northwood. That yardage total is Cundiff’s highest of the season. Cundiff has 10 TD passes in the last three weeks and has thrown four scoring passes in each of the last two games. On the year, he has 20 TD passes and one interception. As of last week, Cundiff was fifth in the country in pass efficiency, ninth in passing yards, 12th in passing yards per game and 14th in total offense…sophomore defensive back Brian Gamble (Massillon, OH/Illinois) got his first two interceptions of the year last week. Gamble also had eight tackles (six solo) and two tackles for loss…senior wide receiver Nick Bellanco (Wooster, OH) has caught at least two passes in 21 consecutive games. Bellanco had two catches last week, including a 69-yard TD reception.

Ferris State - Homecoming turned out bittersweet for the injury-riddled Ferris State Bulldogs on Saturday (Oct. 10) afternoon as FSU dropped a 34-7 GLIAC football decision to the visiting Indianapolis Greyhounds at Top Taggart Field in Big Rapids .... The Greyhounds limited the Bulldogs to only 31 rushing yards on 25 carries and totaled 220 yards on their own on the ground in the victory. Indianapolis jumped out to a 20-0 halftime edge and led 34-0 after three quarters before a crowd of 2,676 fans ........ Ferris finally found the endzone for the first time in almost 12 quarters dating back to a 17-10 league home loss to nationally top-ranked Grand Valley State (Sept. 19) when senior quarterback Kyle Parrish hooked up with senior wide receiver Chris Wilson for a 20-yard TD pass with 12:01 left in the game... Parrish completed 15-of-30 passes for 159 yards and one score, but was intercepted twice for FSU as the Bulldogs turned the ball over three times in the game... Freshman slot Troy McClary had five carries for 23 yards in leading the Bulldogs on the ground while sophomore receiver Mike Ryan caught three passes for 65 yards... Defensively, FSU senior linebacker Matt Ryan made a game and career-high 16 tackles, which included a sack. Senior safety Santino Favot also had a good defensive game with 11 stops, a tackle for loss, forced fumble, fumble recovery and an interception.

Findlay - The Oilers improved to 6-1 on the season with a 14-5 win at Michigan Tech last Saturday…Their 6-1 record is the best since starting the 2002 campaign with an identical mark…They finished 9-2 during that year…Findlay is also tied for first place in the GLIAC with Grand Valley State and Northern Michigan…Senior running back Melvin Jackson led the offense with 73 yards on 13 carries while freshman running back Monterae Williams tallied 57 yards on 17 carries…Senior quarterback Andrew Beam threw for 71 yards and rushed for 71 yards and two scores while junior wide receiver Dustin Zielaskiewicz made two catches for 35 yards…Defensively, senior linebacker Joe Knopick had 13 tackles while freshman linebacker Brandon Butler made eight stops…Senior wide receiver Mike Chambers has 746 yard receiving on the year…The school record for receiving yards in a season at Findlay is 1,018 set by Derek Hutchinson during the 1986 campaign…Knopick leads the defense with 68 tackles while Williams has a team-high four sacks.


Grand Valley State - Senior WR Blake Smolen (Grosse Ile, Mich.) moved into second on the GVSU all-time all-purpose list with 4,824 yards. Smolen trails David Kircus by 84 career all-pupose yards (4,908). Blake set a career-high with 264 all-purpose yards vs. Hillsdale (63 rushing/125 receiving/76 KO returns), breaking his previous high mark which was 259 vs. Hillsdale in 2008...Junior RB James Berezek (Fraser, Mich./Warren De La Salle) became just the fourth running back in GVSU history to move past the 3,000-yard career rushing mark with 3,076 rushing yards. Berezek also became just sixth player in GVSU history to gain over 4,000 all-purpose yards (4,107)...Senior safety Jake McGuckin (Allen Park, Mich.) notched his 12th career-interception and is now tied for third all-time...The Grand Valley State defense has held five of seven opponents under 100 yards rushing this season.

Hillsdale - In one of the most memorable games in the 118-year history of Hillsdale College football, the Chargers defeated No. 1-ranked and previously unbeaten Grand Valley State, 27-24 Saturday… It was the Chargers’ sixth straight win on Homecoming…The win snapped Grand Valley’s 45-game GLIAC winning streak and the Lakers’ 10-game winning streak over Hillsdale…The last Charger win over the Lakers came on Oct. 15, 1994…Senior RB Vinnie Panizzi became the third player in school history to rush for more than 3,000 yards in a career with his effort Saturday…Senior PK Mark Petro is now Hillsdale’s all-time leader in extra points made with 138, surpassing the old mark held by former NFL kicker Chester Marcol…The crowd of 3,116 in attendance at Frank “Muddy” Waters Stadium was the largest home crowd at Hillsdale since Aug. 28, 2004…The Chargers have two wins over ranked teams this season, including their 38-19 win over then-No. 15-ranked Ashland on Sept. 26…The combined records of Hillsdale’s opponents between Oct. 3-24 is currently 23-5.

Indianapolis - The Greyhounds shook loose a five-game slump with a 34-7 road trouncing of Ferris State Saturday. UIndy racked-up a season-best 220 yards rushing in the win ... Patrick Bourne (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton) had career highs with 127 yards on the grounds and his first two collegiate TDs ... Josh Martin’s (Indianapolis, Ind./Bishop Chatard) interception was the first of his collegiate career ... Danny Goff (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) tallied 3.0 tackles for loss, including two sacks ... In two career games at Top Taggart, Goff has 5.0 TFL and four sacks ... ... UIndy had just two rushing scores all season heading into this game and scored three on the ground Saturday ... Ryan Forney’s (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) 48-yard return was his second longest of the season.

Michigan Tech - Michigan Tech hosted Findlay at a snow-covered Sherman Field last Saturday (Oct. 10). The last time the Huskies played a game in similar conditions was Oct. 16, 2004, when it defeated Northwood 54-7 … Michigan Tech tallied five points vs. Findlay with a field goal and a safety. It was the first time in program history (663 games) they finished a game with five points … Tailback Phil Milbrath (Norway, Mich.) returned to the starting lineup vs. Findlay for the first time since Sept. 19. He rushed six times for 67 yards including a 52-yard sprint that set up the first score of the game before leaving the game with another injury … Marvin Atkins (Chicago, Ill./Walther Lutheran) tallied 75 yards on 26 carries after replacing Milbrath. The senior tailback has racked up 371 yards over the last three weeks.

Northern Michigan - NMU’s 5-1 record after six games is the best start since beginning the 1987 season 6-0…The ‘Cats stayed perfect at home for the 2009 season with a 45-20 win over the visiting Warriors of Wayne State University…So far at home this season the ‘Cats are averaging 47.0 points a game and giving up 6.0; total offense per game at home is 431.0 yards while giving up 246.0; rushing at home the ‘Cats are averaging 319.0 yards and giving up 53.3… Zach Nichols hauled in six (season high) of Carter Kopach’s passes for 78 yards and two scores Saturday, he currently leads the team with 20 receptions for 279 yards and four TDs…All four of Nichols scores have come over the past three games…The running duo of Mark Bossuah and Antonio Wallace led the ‘Cats against the Warriors with 97 and 88 yards respectively…Wallace leads the ‘Cats on the ground with 560 yards on 69 carries while Bossuah has 500 yards on 92 carries, each back has scored 54 points…Kopach was 15-23-0 Saturday for 153 yards and two touchdowns.With two interceptions Saturday the ‘Cats now have eight on the season which ties what they did all of 2008…DJ Oke led the ‘cats with 11 total tackles against the Warriors (three solo and eight assisted)… Nathan Yelk scored the ‘Cats second defensive touchdown Saturday by returning a fumble for a 25-yard score.

Northwood - Northwood fell to 3-3 on the season after a 33-20 loss at Ashland Saturday afternoon ... NU finsihed the game with a season-high in rushing yards (202) in the loss ... the Timberwolves finished the game with more first downs (20-18) and held a big advantage in time of possession (35:38-24:22), but a pair of big plays by the Eagles proved to bee too much to overcome ... NU trailed 20-13 early in the fourth quarter only to see the Eagles score from 69 yards and 96 yards in a three minute stretch to put the game away ... Anthony Brandon (Lansing, Mich./Sexton) led the Northwood offense, finishing with 89 yards rushing and a touchdown ... Craig Larry (Grand Rapids, Mich./Creston) finished with a team-high 12 tackles ... NU returns home to face Tiffin Saturday at Noon.

Saginaw Valley State - SVSU got back on the winning track against Tiffin this weekend, 40-21. The defense was the story of the afternoon as the Cardinals forced six turnovers, racked up seven sacks and kept the Tiffin offense off balance all day. Mike LeVand (Grandville, Mich.) led the defense with 12 tackles and 2.5 sacks on the afternoon as he set the standard for getting pressure on the quarterback. John Jacobs (Prudenville, Mich. / Dow HS) racked up nine tackles and also intercepted two passes, while teammates Carlton Downs (Detroit, Mich. / Denby HS) and Ja’Vae Ingraham (Lakeland, Fla. / Lake GIbson HS) both added interceptions on the afternoon. The offense was led by Xavier Walker (Bridgewater, N.J. / Raritan HS (Moorpark College)) at running back, who scored three touchdown on 17 carries for 99 yards. Walker also caught two passes for 24 yards. Nick Galina also caught two passes on the afternoon, both touchdowns, the first was a 14-yard strike to the corner and the second a 24-yard bullet across the middle.

Tiffin - Nate Scully experienced both the good and the bad of life in the GLIAC against Saginaw Valley State. Scully connected on 24 of 34 passes for 207 yards with 3 touchdowns but was also picked off 4 times, fumbled twice after sacks, and was sacked a total of 7 times…wide receiver David Singleton had his best game of the season, hauling in 10 passes for 98 yards including a 7-yard touchdown catch…Trey Williams had 133 all-purpose yards, including 46 yards receiving and 85 yards in kick returns…Moses Kato led the Dragons with 7 tackles while Arthur Allen had a 19 yard interception return…Rahsan Wilson had 8 tackles and a forced fumble while Mike Virgin also had an interception.

Wayne State - Wayne State fell at NMU despite senior Joique Bell (Benton Harbor, Mich.) rushing for 106 yards and three touchdowns ... it was Bell’s 10th straight 100-yard game and 31st of his career ... Bell also returned a kickoff for the first time since 2007 and completed a 68-yard pass, which ties his career long ... four WSU quarterbacks (including Bell) completed a season-high 16 passes to 10 different receivers ... the 243 passing yards was the most since Oct. 23, 2004, when Nolan Martin passed for 262 yards vs. Ashland ... six different players had kickoff returns for WSU ... with his two kickoff returns, junior Stan Thornton (Cincinnati, Ohio/Withrow) moved into 10th place on the all-time WSU list with 32 ...with his 149 all-purpose yards, Bell moved into 16th place on the all-time NCAA Division II list at 7,090 and needs 33 yards to equal Germaine Race’s (Pittsburg State, 2003-06) 15th place total ... Bell is 12th all-time NCAA scoring (all divisions) with 498 points.