Football Southern Conference

SoCon Football Players of the Week, Nov. 11, 2002

SPARTANBURG, SC - The Southern Conference today named its football players of the week for games played on Saturday, November 11. Georgia Southern quarterback Chaz Williams was named the Offensive Player of the Week, Wofford defensive tackle Anthony Jones was named the Defensive Player of the Week and Appalachian State quarterback Richie Williams earned Freshman of the Week.

Chaz Williams, a 5-10, 210-pound sophomore from Apopka, FL, directly accounted for four of Georgia Southern's six touchdowns in a 42-21 win over fourth-ranked Furman on Nov. 9. Williams rushed for a game-high 110 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries and also completed five of seven passes for 84 yards and a touchdown as the Eagles clinched a share of their sixth consecutive Southern Conference title. Williams engineered scoring drives on five of GSU's seven first half possessions as GSU built a 35-0 halftime lead. He finished the game with 194 yards of total offense.

Jones, a 5-10, 255-pound senior defensive tackle from Lexington, KY, tied Wofford's school records with five tackles for loss and three sacks in the Terriers' 39-10 win at East Tennessee State. Jones had 10 total tackles including seven solos as the Terrier defense held ETSU to just 117 yards of total offense. It was his second three-sack game of the year and he leads Wofford with 12.5 sacks on the season.

Richie Williams, a 6-2, 175-pound freshman quarterback, rushed for 137 yards on seven carries and had a pair of touchdowns in Appalachian State's 54-13 win over VMI on Saturday. The 137 rushing yards were the most by a Mountaineer quarterback since Gerard Hardy set the school record with 160 yards against Furman in 1995. Williams had touchdown runs of 28 and 58 yards against the Keydets.

Also receiving strong consideration for Offensive Player of the Week were Appalachian State quarterback Joe Burchette who threw for 224 yards and four touchdowns in a win over VMI, Chattanooga receiver Jason Jones who had five receptions for 122 yards and two touchdowns while also blocking a punt, and Wofford fullback J.R. McNair who had 143 yards rushing in Wofford's win over ETSU. Contenders for Player of the Week on the defensive side included defensive end Josh Jeffires of Appalachian State who had five tackles and an interception against VMI, and Georgia Southern tackle Freddy Pesqueira who had 10 tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks in the win over Furman. Georgia Southern fullback Jermaine Austin received consideration for Freshman of the Week after rushing for 105 yards in the Eagles' victory over Furman.
- SoCon -