Arias, Ahanonu, Daly Earn ROOT SPORTS Player of the Week Honors
OGDEN, Utah (Sept. 29, 2014 ) - The Big Sky Conference has selected the ROOT SPORTS football Players of the Week for games played on Saturday, Sept. 27. Idaho State quarterback Justin Arias is the offensive Player of the Week. Southern Utah linebacker Chinedu Ahanonu is the Defensive Player of the Week. Montana State kicker Luke Daly is the Special Teams Player of the Week.
Arias, a 6-foot, 213-pound senior from Agoura Hills, Calif., completed 30-of-42 passes for 413 yards and two touchdowns in Idaho State’s 44-24 victory over Sacramento State. Arias connected with Broc Malcom on a 19-yard score in the second quarter, and an 11-yard score to Madison Magnum in the fourth quarter to put the Bengals ahead 37-17. Arias guided an offense that rolled up 639 yards of offense. This is Arias’ first career Player of the Week honor.
Ahanonu, a 5-11, 240-pound sophomore from West Jordan, Utah, tallied 10 tackles, intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble in Southern Utah’s 31-28 victory over Weber State. Ahanonu recorded six solo tackles and was credited with two tackles for loss. He intercepted a pass in the first quarter that led to a Southern Utah touchdown, and recovered a fumble on the 2-yard line late in the fourth quarter that halted a potential go-ahead touchdown by the Wildcats. This Ahanonu’s first career Player of the Week honor.
Daly, a 6-2, 180-pound freshman from Billings, Mont., made three field goals in Montana State’s 28-19 win over North Dakota on a windy day at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman. Daly connected on kicks from 34, 38 and 32 yards. Daly also made two extra points, and four of his seven kickoffs went for touchbacks. Daly is 8-of-10 on field goals this season, and hasn’t missed from inside of 40-yards. This is Daly’s first Player of the Week honor.
ROOT SPORTS, the official television partner of the Big Sky Conference, continues its coverage this Saturday as Portland State takes on UC Davis at Providence Park in Portland, Ore. Coverage begins at 4:30 p.m. Pacific.
Others Nominated
OFFENSE
Chris Brown, QB, Cal Poly;
Vernon Adams Jr., QB, Eastern Washington
Jordan Johnson, QB, Montana
Casey Jahn, RB, Northern Arizona
R.J. McGill, WR, North Dakota
DeAndre Carter, WR, Sacramento State
Chris Robinson, WR, Southern Utah
Billy Green, QB, Weber State
DEFENSE
Nick Dzubnar, LB, Cal Poly
Samson Ebukam, DE, Eastern Washington
Mitch Beckstead, LB, Idaho State
Zack Wagenmann, DE, Montana
Alex Singleton, LB, Montana State
Will Ratelle, LB, North Dakota
Austin Hasquet, LB, Northern Arizona
Kyle Griffin, S, Northern Colorado
Steven Pitts, LB, UC Davis
Emmett Tela, LB, Weber State
SPECIAL TEAMS
Tyler McNannay, K, Eastern Washington
Addison Owen, DE, Montana
Ryan Hawkins, K, Northern Arizona
Trevor McGirr, K, Southern Utah
Josh Kealamakia, K, Weber State
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