SPARTANBURG, SC -- The Southern Conference today announced its football Players of the Week for the week of October 24. Appalachian State’s Richie Williams was tabbed the Offensive Player of the Week while Western Carolina’s Carlton Bailey earned Defensive Player of the Week honors. Georgia Southern’s Larry Beard was named the Freshman of the Week.
Williams, a 6-3, 190 quarterback from Camden, SC, led the Mountaineers to a 49-17 win over Wofford on Saturday. The senior amassed 322 yards of offense in just three quarters of play against the Terriers. Williams was 19-of-26 for 249 passing yards and picked up 73 yards on the ground. He accounted for two touchdowns, one a 25-yard strike to Daniel Bettis and the other a 10-yard rushing score. Williams’ 322 yards of total offense marked the 11th time in his career that he has topped 300 yards in a contest. His 7,702 career yards of total offense is just one yard shy of second on the SoCon all-time list.
Other top offensive performances from October 22 include Chattanooga’s Michael Gilmore (120 yards, 7 catches, 1 TD), The Citadel’s Nuru Goodrum (123 yards, 18 carries, 1 TD), Furman’s Ingle Martin (12-of-19, 220 yards, 1 TD), Georgia Southern’s Jayson Foster (6-of-7, 123 yards, 76 rushing yards), Western Carolina’s Lamont Reid (171 yards, 108 rushing) and Wofford’s Adrian Young (13 carries, 56 yards).
Bailey, a 5-10, 175-lb. cornerback from Jonesboro, GA, led the Catamount defense in a 38-20 win over Chattanooga on Saturday. He tallied a career and game-high 10 tackles, including eight solo stops and returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown, his first pick of his career. His interception in second quarter gave WCU a 10-7 lead.
Other top defensive performances include Appalachian State’s Cam Speer (12 tackles, 1 INT), Furman’s William Freeman (9 tackles, 2 TFL) and Georgia Southern’s Jason Earwood (4 tackles, 1 INT).
Beard, 6-3, 258-lb. defensive end from Fairburn, GA, registered six tackles, four solo stops, in the Eagles’ 49-14 win over The Citadel. He had 1.5 tackles for a loss totaling eight yards. One of his tackles was a sack and he added one quarterback hurry.
Other top freshmen from last week include Appalachian State’s Trey Hennessee (11 carries, 48 yards), Chattanooga’s Jeffrey Harrison (five tackles), Furman’s Brandon Williams (five tackles), Western Carolina’s Jonathan Parsons (1 FG, 5-of-5 PAT) and Wofford’s Filmon Dawkins (1 tackle, 1 INT).