NORFOLK, Va. – Bethune-Cookman quarterback Larry Brihm, Jr. was selected as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Offensive Player of the Week, the conference announced today. North Carolina Central’s Davanta Reynolds was named the Defensive Player of the Week while North Carolina A&T State’s Brandon Parker received Offensive Lineman of the Week honors. Howard’s Caylin Newton was tabbed MEAC and STATS FCS National Rookie of the Week while Savannah State kick returner JaMichael Baldwin is the Specialist of the Week.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
LARRY BRIHM, Jr.
BETHUNE-COOKMAN
QB
5-11, 209, R-Sr.
DELRAY BEACH, Fla.
Brihm threw for a season- and career-high matching 354 yards and a career-high five touchdowns as Bethune-Cookman defeated Morgan State 41-28 on Saturday. He found eight different receivers on 23-of-30 passing and tied a school record for touchdown passes in a single game with five.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
DAVANTA REYNOLDS
NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL
DB
5-10, 200, R-Jr.
TUCKER, GA.
Reynolds came through in the clutch for the NCCU defense with two, fourth quarter interceptions in the 14-6 win over Hampton as his second interception preserved the victory with 37 seconds remaining. He also recorded one sack with four tackles.
OFFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE WEEK
BRANDON PARKER
NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE
OL 6-7, 309, R-Sr.
KANNAPOLIS, N.C.
Parker graded out at 89 percent and recorded six pancake blocks as North Carolina A&T State finished with 497 yards of total offense in the win at Norfolk State. Parker did not allow a sack or penalty while producing 61 positive plays.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
CAYLIN NEWTON
HOWARD
QB
5-11, 195, Fr.
ATLANTA, GA.
Newton piled up 435 yards of total offense and combined for four touchdowns in Howard’s win over Florida A&M this past weekend. The Atlanta, Ga. native rushed for 141 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries while also passing for 294 yards and three touchdowns.
SPECIALIST OF THE WEEK
JAMICHAEL BALDWIN
SAVANNAH STATE
KR 5-9, 165, Fr.
CONYERS, GA.
Baldwin totaled 235 return yards in Savannah State’s win over Delaware State on Saturday. He finished with a kickoff return for a touchdown and totaled 169 yards on kick returns while averaging 22 yards per punt return with a long of 40 yards.
NOTABLE PERFORMERS
Devin Adams (LB/Delaware State) Adams set a career-high in tackles with 14 (10 solo); including 3.5 tackles for a loss and a pair of forced fumbles against Savannah State.
Stefan Banks (DE/Savannah State) Banks finished with seven tackles (five solo); including four sacks and a fumble recovery in the victory over Delaware State.
Job Buissereth (OL/Bethune-Cookman) Buissereth helped anchor an offensive line which produced 471 yards of total offense for the Wildcats in a 41-28 victory over Morgan State. He also totaled two pancake blocks.
Todney Evans (DL/Bethune-Cookman) Evans recorded nine tackles and collected a game-high 3.5 tackles for loss versus Morgan State. He also chipped in with an assisted sack.
Jequez Ezzard (WR/Howard) Ezzard recorded 205 all-purpose yards; including 52 return yards in the win over Florida A&M.
Chris Faddoul (P/Florida A&M) Faddoul averaged 44.8 yards on four punts with a long of 52 yards and one placed inside the Howard 20-yard line.
Javaunie Francis (P/Bethune-Cookman) Francis averaged 46 yards per punt with a career-high 74-yard punt in the first half. He also kicked off one for 57 yards in the contest. In all, he had eight punts for 368 yards, placing one inside the 20.
D’Vonn Gibbons (QB/Savannah State) Gibbons finished with 288 yards of total offense as he threw for 162 yards with 13 completions and one touchdown. He also had 21 carries for 126 yards; including two touchdowns in the win over Delaware State.
Eric Harrell (RB/Morgan State) Harrell rushed for 218 yards and scored two touchdowns on 19 carries versus Bethune-Cookman. He recorded an 87-yard touchdown run as he averaged 11 yards per carry.
Jibreel Hazley (LB/Florida A&M) Hazley recorded 11 tackles (4 solo); including 1.5 tackles for a loss in the contest versus Howard.
Ricky Henrilus (RB/Florida A&M) Henrilus led all rushers with 153 yards on 20 carries versus Howard on Saturday. He scored one rushing touchdown and also had two receptions for 15 yards.
James Holman (OL/Howard) Holman guided the Bison offense to 565 yards of total offense in the comeback win over Florida A&M.
Devin James (LB/Bethune-Cookman) James recorded nine tackles; including four primary stops and chipped in with five assisted stops for the Wildcats in a 41-28 win over Morgan State.
Leland Lassiter (DB/Howard) Lassiter led the Bison defense with a team-high nine tackles in the road win at Florida A&M.
Fidel Romo-Martinez (P/ Delaware State) Romo-Martinez averaged 33.2 yards on seven punts with a long of 51 yards as he placed two punts inside Savannah State’s 20.
Jacen Murphy (WR/ North Carolina Central) Murphy finished with 147 receiving yards on seven receptions; including a 27-yard touchdown grab in double-coverage in the win over Hampton.
Lamar Raynard (QB/North Carolina A&T State) Raynard completed 22-of-31 passes for 277 yards; while rushing for 13 yards on six carries for a pair of touchdowns. He broke the Aggies’ single-season passing record on Saturday in the win over Norfolk State. Ryan Stanley (QB/FAMU) Stanley passed for 217 yards on 20-of-29 passing. He combined for two touchdowns with one passing and one rushing.
Jeremy Taylor (S/North Carolina A&T State) Taylor returned an interception 47 yards in the second quarter to give the Aggies a two-touchdown lead at Norfolk State on Saturday. He also recorded three solo tackles; including a tackle for a loss.
Nathaniel Tilque (P/NCCU) Tilque averaged 43.6 yards per punt with a long of 59 yards. He totaled 349 yards on eight punts to become NCCU’s career leader with 9,570 punting yards, breaking the record of 9,449 yards held by Eric Hines (1975-78). Tilque also completed a 27-yard pass on a fake punt to convert a first down. It was the first pass of his college career.
J.T. Wahee (DB/ Norfolk State) Wahee recorded nine tackles to set a new career high in tackles as he also had his first career two-interception game.
Courtesy: MEAC
