SPARTANBURG, SC -- The Southern Conference today announced its football Players of the Week for the week of September 2. Chattanooga’s Eldra Buckley was named the Offensive Player of the Week honor while Elon’s Chad Nkang earned Defensive Player of the Week honors. Furman’s Jordan Sorrells was named the Freshman of the Week.

 

Buckley, a senior running back from Charleston, Miss., produced the highest rushing total in the nation last week, rushing for 204 yards on 18 carries in a 31-7 over Tennessee Tech on Saturday. He scored three touchdowns in three quarters and was only 31 yards from tying the single-game rushing record for UTC. Buckley included touchdown runs of 63 yards, 11 yards and 76 yards, which was a career-best, and was six yards shy of his career high of 210. It was the 10th time in UTC history where a back surpassed 200 yards in a game. Buckley also led the Mocs in receiving with three catches for 16 yards. He is also third in the nation in scoring.

 

Other top offensive performers include Appalachian State’s Devon Moore, The Citadel’s Duran Lawson, Western Carolina’s Darius Fudge and Wofford’s Kevious Johnson.

 

Nkang, a senior linebacker from Hyattsville, Md., racked up a game-high 13 tackles in a 23-20 win over #25 Coastal Carolina. He

Elon's Chad Nkang

tallied 2.5 tackles for a loss of seven yards, anchoring the Phoenix defense. Nkang led the nation in 2005 in tackles .

 

Other top defensive performers include Appalachian State’s Jeremy Wiggins, The Citadel’s Andrew Rowell, Furman’s Austin Holmes, Western Carolina’s Shelton Gaffney and Wofford’s Kevin Adleman

 

Sorrells, a redshirt freshman from Greenville, S.C., made his collegiate debut against Jacksonville State. The quarterback came off the bench in the third quarter for ailing starting quarterback Renaldo Gray and directed Furman to a pair of second half scores, including the game winning 19-yard touchdown pass to fullback Brantley Kendall with 28 second remaining.  The decisive strike, which was tabbed The Sports Network’s Play-of-the-Week, capped a 6-play, 50 yard drive for the Paladins, who won their eighth straight home contest.  For the game Sorrells completed 2-of-4 passes for 34 yards. He was responsible for 10 of the Paladins’ 17 points.

 

Other top freshman performances include Appalachian State’s Devon Moore, Elon’s Karlos Sullivan and Western Carolina’s Kadeem Morgan.

Furman's Jordan Sorrells