This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include QB Taryn Christion of South Dakota State; LB Brett Taylor of Western Illinois; WR Samuel St. Surin of Youngstown State; WR/KR Cade Johnson of South Dakota State; and OT Justin Spencer of Youngstown State.

Offense
QB Taryn Christion, South Dakota State
6-2, 220, Jr., Sioux Falls (S.D.) Roosevelt High School
Christion completed 23-of-36 passes for 299 yards and three touchdowns to help lead South Dakota State to a 31-28 victory at in-state rival South Dakota on Nov. 18. He three touchdowns of 11 and 69 yards to Jake Wieneke in the second quarter, then found Cade Johnson from 17 yards out with 4:52 remaining in the game to give the Jackrabbits a two-score lead. Christion also ran 13 yards for a first down on a fourth-down play in the third quarter that extended a drive during which the Jackrabbits took the lead for good. Also in the game, Christion tied the SDSU record for career touchdown passes with 65, equaling the mark previously set by Austin Sumner from 2011-14.

Defense
LB Brett Taylor, Western Illinois
6-2, 230, Sr., Macomb (Ill.) High
Taylor finished with a game-high 16 tackles, one for a loss, in Western Illinois' 28-14 win over Southern Illinois. He's led the Leathernecks in stops in 15 of his last 16 games, including all but one this season. During Western Illinois' win against the Salukis, Taylor helped hold Southern Illinois to just 62 passing yards, the Leathernecks' second straight contest of yielding no more than 100 passing yards. Prior to this two-game run, Western Illinois hadn't accomplished even one such game since 2013. In addition, until Southern Illinois scored a touchdown with 6:06 left in the contest, the Leathernecks had gone more than 150 minutes without allowing a point.

Special Teams
WR Samuel St. Surin, Youngstown State
5-11, 190, R-Fr., Delray Beach (Fla.) Atlantic
St. Surin recovered a botched snap in the end zone for a touchdown in the Penguins' 38-10 win over Missouri State. In a 3-0 contest, a high snap landed in the MSU end zone and St. Surin hustled to recover it for a touchdown. He also caught a pass for a six-yard game. He plays on YSU's punt return, punt coverage and kickoff coverage teams.

Newcomer
WR/KR Cade Johnson, South Dakota State
5-10, 175, R-Fr., Papillion (Neb.) Bellevue High
Johnson racked up 124 all-purpose yards with a touchdown in South Dakota State’s 31-28 road victory at in-state rival South Dakota on Nov. 18. He returned four kickoffs for 85 yards (21.3 average with long of 34 yards) and caught three passes for 39 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that proved to be the decisive score.

Offensive Lineman
OT Justin Spencer, Youngstown State
6-5, Sr., 300, Indiana (Pa.) Indiana Area High
Spencer started his 50th consecutive game for the Penguins in their 38-10 season-ending win over Missouri State. In the final game of his YSU career, Spencer graded out with a season-best performance while playing every snap of a game that featured rain from start to finish. The Penguins rushed for 284 yards on just 36 carries, an impressive average of 7.9 per rush. Three different players had rushing touchdowns for the Guins led by Tevin  cCaster who had two scores and 181 yards on 27 carries. The unit did not allow a sack for the first time all season.


OTHERS NOMINATED
Offensive
RB Michael Fredrick, South Dakota -- Fredrick ran for a season-high 123 yards on 15 carries (8.2 ypc), and scored two touchdowns in a span of three minutes in the first half. His 49-yard touchdown run was USD’s first score of the game. He also scored from 17 yards out. In the passing game, Fredrick caught three passes for 25 yards.

RB Tevin McCaster, Youngstown State -- McCaster rushed for 181 yards on 27 carries and scored two touchdowns in the Penguins 38-10 win over Missouri State on a rainy afternoon at Stambaugh Stadium. McCaster had scores of 28 and six yards in the contest and had his fourth 100-yard rushing contest of the season. He also went over for 1,000 yards on the campaign.

RB Marcus Weymiller, UNI -- Weymiller paced the Panther offense against Indiana State as the running back gained 105 yards on the ground, while finding the end zone twice to give UNI the 41-3 win. Despite only playing six games in the Panther backfield this season, Weymiller has surpassed the century mark for rushing four times. Over the past six games, Weymiller has rushed for 676 yards on 170 carries and eight touchdowns. 

WR Daurice Fountain, UNI -- Fountain struck for two touchdowns on Saturday, to lead the Panthers to a 41-3 win over Indiana State on Senior Day. Overall, the senior finished with five catches for 80 yards. This season, Fountain has found the end zone nine times to become the first Panther wide receiver in over a decade to achieve the feat. The multi-touchdown game for Fountain was his third of the season.

RB Bruce Anderson, North Dakota State -- With both offenses slowed by gusting winds and driving rain and snow, Anderson rushed 22 times for 95 yards and a touchdown in North Dakota State’s 20-7 win at Illinois State.  He averaged 4.3 yards per carry with a long of 25.  Anderson also made a key fumble recovery on the 1-yard line to set up an NDSU touchdown late in the fourth quarter to help solidify the win.

WR Jaelon Acklin, Western Illinois -- Acklin made six catches for 93 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown, and ran three times for 19 yards, including an 8-yard score, to help Western Illinois beat Southern Illinois 28-14. The senior wideout reached 1,253 yards on the year, a Western Illinois single-season record. His 74 receptions are also the fourth-most in a single-season in school history, with his 10 receiving touchdowns placing him in a tie for fifth. Acklin ranks fourth in the nation in receiving yards (1,253), sixth in both receiving yards per game (113.9) and total touchdowns (14), 11th in receptions per game (6.7), 12th in all-purpose yards per game (134.64) and 13th in receiving touchdowns (10).


Defense
LB Chris Board, North Dakota State -- Board moved from sam to will linebacker and made a team-high seven tackles in North Dakota State’s 20-7 win at Illinois State.  He had one pass breakup, two third-down stops to force punts, and five of his seven tackles held ball carriers to four yards or less including one tackle for loss.

SS Nikholi Jaghai, UNI -- Starting in place of an injured AJ Allen at strong safety, sophomore Nikholi Jaghai performed admirably to aid in the Panther win over Indiana State. Jaghai finished the game with six total tackles, with four being solos and two assists as the sophomore helped the Panthers hold the Sycamores to just three points. Jaghai also earned one of UNI’s three interceptions on the day, while also returning a blocked kick 58 yards to set up a Panther field goal.  

FS Jayln Powell, Youngstown State -- Powell finished with nine tackles, including eight solo stops in the Penguins' 38-10 win over Missouri State. Powell had 1.5 TFLs, a pass breakup and a QB hurry in the contest. 

CB Isaac Armstead, South Dakota
Armstead recorded a career-high nine tackles (eight solo), got his second interception of the season, and sacked SDSU field goal kicker Chase Vinatieri on a fake field goal attempt. Armstead had two tackles-for-loss and also had a pass breakup.

LB Christian Rozeboom, South Dakota State
Rozeboom registered a game-high 10 tackles and recovered a second-half fumble for a South Dakota State squad that defeated South Dakota, 31-28, Nov. 18. Two of Rozeboom’s tackles were for loss and he also broke up a pass. Saturday’s game marked the seventh time this season Rozeboom recorded at least 10 tackles in a game and upped his season total to a team-best 103 stops.


Special Teams
P Brady Hale, South Dakota State -- Hale punted six times for an average of 42.2 yards with a long of 47 in SDSU’s 31-28 road win at in-state rival South Dakota. The Coyotes managed a total of only eight return yards on Hale’s six punts for a net average of 40.8 yards.

P Jackson Koonce, North Dakota State -- Koonce had a season-high eight punts and averaged 35.6 yards in North Dakota State’s 20-7 win at Illinois State.  He had a season-long of 52 yards and put four inside the 20-yard line to give NDSU a boost in the field position game.  Illinois State started three drives inside the 10 and only crossed midfield twice.

KOS Nathan Erickson, Western Illinois -- Erickson boomed four touchbacks in difficult weather conditions in Western Illinois' 28-14 win over Southern Illinois. He is now tied for the FCS-lead with 40 touchbacks this season.


Newcomer
P Adam Fellner, Western Illinois -- Fellner punted six times for a 33.7 average in Western Illinois' 28-14 victory over Southern Illinois. He smashed a career-high 62-yard punt and also pinned the Salukis inside the 20 twice.

LB Jabril Cox, North Dakota State -- Cox returned his first collegiate interception 32 yards to set up a four-play scoring drive and propel North Dakota State to a 20-7 win at Illinois State.  Cox had two pass breakups, four total tackles, and was in on a 15-yard tackle for loss.

CB Bryce Gibson, Youngstown State -- Gibson had four tackles in the Penguins' 38-10 win over Missouri State. He had three solos in the contest as well as a pass breakup.

QB Peyton Huslig, Missouri State -- Huslig capped his debut season in Maroon and White with his third 100-yard rushing performance of the fall, racking up 124 yards on 24 carries. The Andover, Kan., product recorded 169 yards of total offense against Youngstown State Saturday to complete the season with 2,602 yards, which ranks as the fifth-best total offense figure in program history. Additionally, Huslig’s three 100-yard games ranks second all-time for a Missouri State quarterback, trailing only DeAndre Smith's four such outings in 1989.

Offensive Linemaen
C Jacob Judd, Western Illinois -- Judd graded out to 92 percent and registered eight pancakes without allowing a sack in Western Illinois' 28-14 victory over Southern Illinois. The Clinton, Iowa native helped Western Illinois rack up 169 rushing yards, with Sean McGuire completing 16-of-27 passes (59.3 percent) for 158 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

C Lee Carhart, UNI -- Carhart led a banged-up Panther offensive line to another 100-yard rushing performance as UNI defeated Indiana State 41-3. The Panthers gained 170 yards rushing against the Sycamores, while adding 216 through the air. The UNI O-line kept quarterback Colton Howell upright as the Panthers did not allow a sack against the Sycamores.