SPARTANBURG, SC -- The Southern Conference today announced its football Players of the Week for the week of September 19. Appalachian State’s Kevin Richardson was tabbed the Offensive Player of the Week, Wofford’s Katon Bethay earned Defensive Player of the Week honors and Elon’s Zach McAlister was named the Freshman of the Week.
A 5-9, 190-lb sophomore from Elizabethtown, NC, Richardson turned in a career performance in Appalachian State’s 30-3 win over No. 17 Coastal Carolina on Saturday. He ran for a career-high 178 yards on 18 carries and added three touchdowns for the Mountaineers. Richardson had topped his previous career high of 67 yards by the end of the first quarter, which included a 59-yard touchdown run seven minutes into the game. He became the first Mountaineer to rush for three touchdowns since Trey Elder on October 2, 2004 against Texas State. His 178 yards helped ASU to 353 yards on the ground, the most since amassing the same mark against William & Mary in the first round of the 2001 NCAA playoffs.
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| Appalachian State's Kevin Richardson ran for 178 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday. |
Other top offensive performances from September 17 include Chattanooga’s Eldra Buckley (143 yards, 20 carries, two TD’s), Elon’s Kye Hamilton (16-of-27 for 208 yards, one TD), Furman’s Daric Carter (132 yards on nine rushes; 3 receptions for 32 yards, two TDs) and Wofford’s Michael Hobbs (114 yards on 26 carries, two TDs).
Bethay, a 6-2, 285-lb. senior from Milton, WI, recorded a career-high 11 tackles, six solo stops, in Wofford’s 21-17 win over No. 14 Georgia Southern. He also forced a fumble with 23 seconds left in the first quarter on a Georgia Southern first-and-goal, knocking the ball from Jermaine Austin and recovering it on the seven yard line. Bethay’s previous career-best was nine tackles against GSU in 2002 as a freshman.
Other top defensive performances include Appalachian State’s Corey Lynch (two interceptions, five tackles), Elon’s Chad Nkang (12 tackles, a sack), Furman’s Andrew Jones (13 tackles, two sacks), Georgia Southern’s John Mohring (12 tackles) and Western Carolina’s Lamar Barnes (10 tackles).
A free safety from Anderson, SC, McAlister had five tackles, one interception and one pass break-up in
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| Elon freshman Zach McAlister has been named Freshman of the Week twice this season |
Elon’s 34-19 win over Presbyterian on Saturday. He is among the top 10 tacklers in the conference and the top freshman, averaging eight tackles per game.
Other top freshmen from last week include Georgia Southern Southern’s Jerry Barker, who made his first career start with two solo stops, one a sack.