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The Big Sky Conference has selected its football players of the week for games played on Saturday, Sept. 18. Eastern Washington running back Taiwan Jones is the offensive player of the Week. Eagle strong safety Matt Johnson is the defensive player of the week. Idaho State’s Tavoy Moore is the special teams player of the week.
Jones, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound junior from Antioch, Calif., rushed for a career-high 221 yards on 27 carries, and amassed 305 all-purpose yards in No. 18 Eastern Washington’s 36-27 upset of No. 6 Montana. Jones tied the game at 14-14 when a 72-yard touchdown run in the second quarter in the inaugural game on the new red sprinturf at Roos Field in Cheney. Jones set up EWU’s first touchdown with a 45-yard reception. Jones caught three passes for 60 yards, returned one punt for 10 yards and returned one kickoff for 10 yards. The Walter Payton Award candidate leads the nation in all-purpose yards with an average of 287.3 per game. The victory ended Montana’s 15-game conference winning streak. This is Jones’ third career player of the week honor.
Johnson, a 6-2, 220-pound junior from Tumwater, Wash., intercepted two passes, forced a fumble and registered eight total tackles in the Eagles’ victory over Montana. Johnson’s second interception came with 7:31 remaining and the Eagles holding a 27-24 lead. Johnson thwarted UM’s scoring chance with an interception at the 3-yard line. He returned it 31 yards. Johnson’s first interception came in the first quarter at the 50-yard line. Johnson now has 12 career interceptions. This is his second career player of the week honor.
Moore, a 5-7, 195-pound junior from Long Beach, Calif., returned a kick 91 yards for a touchdown and scored on an 81-yard punt return in Idaho State’s 35-21 conference loss to Northern Colorado. Moore set an ISU record with 318 all-purpose yards, eclipsing the previous record of 310 set by Alfredo Anderson in 1994. Moore took the game’s opening kickoff 91 yards to put the Bengals up 7-0. His 81-yard punt return with 9:34 remaining in the fourth quarter cut Northern Colorado’s lead to 28-21. He became the first Big Sky player to return a punt and a kick for a touchdown in the same game since 2002. Moore finished with 128 yards on kick returns, 109 on punt returns, 57 receiving yards and 24 rushing yards. His average of 54.5 yards on punt returns tied the Big Sky single-game record. Moore also had another punt return for a touchdown called back on a penalty. This is Moore’s first player of the week award.
Others Nominated for Weekly Honor
OFFENSE
Jahmel Rover, RB, Idaho State
Chase Reynolds, RB, Montana
Orenzo Davis, RB, Montana State
Dylan Orms, QB, Northern Colorado
Bryan Hilliard, RB, Sacramento State
Joe Collins, WR, Weber State
DEFENSE
Sean Rutten, DE, Idaho State
Aleksei Grosulak, LB, Montana State
Matt King, LB, Northern Colorado
Ryan Rau, LB, Portland State
Peter Buck, LB, Sacramento State
Nick Webb, LB, Weber State
SPECIAL TEAMS
Mike Jarrett, K, Eastern Washington
Brody McKnight, K, Montana
Jason Cunningham, K, Montana State
Patrick Walker, Ret., Northern Colorado
Chris Diniz, K, Sacramento State
Josh Kealamakia, P, Weber State