Hildebrand, Smith, Montgomery Named Football Players of the Week
Southland Conference
FRISCO, Texas – Central Arkansas seniors Hayden Hildebrand and Tremon Smith, and UIW junior Darrius Montgomery were voted Southland Conference Football Players of the Week, the league announced Monday. Southland Players of the Week are presented by
UniversalCoin.com.
Hildebrand and Smith were named Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, after leading the Bears to a pivotal 41-30 upset over No. 3 Sam Houston State last Saturday. Before the loss to UCA, the Bearkats held a 12-game winning streak in Southland games. Montgomery was named Special Teams Player of the Week for UIW.
Central Arkansas (3-1, 2-0 SLC) now holds sole possession of first place in the Southland standings and next heads to Houston Baptist (1-3, 0-2 SLC) on Saturday at 6 p.m. CT. The game will broadcast on Fox Sports Southwest Plus and Fox College Sports. UIW (0-4, 0-2 SLC) is also on the road in week six, facing Southeastern Louisiana (2-3, 2-1 SLC) in Hammond on Saturday at 4 p.m. CT
Offensive Player of the Week: Hayden Hildebrand, Central Arkansas – Sr. – Quarterback – Bossier City, La.
HIldebrand outdueled the Walter Payton Award winner Jeremiah Briscoe, throwing for 294 yards and four touchdowns in UCA’s 41-30 upset of No. 3 Sam Houston State. He sealed the win with a 17-yard TD pass to Brandon Cox with 8:34 left after the Bearkats had cut the lead to 34-30. The senior had touchdown passes of 46, 25, 74 and 17 yards, leading an offense which averaged 7.2 yards per play.
Honorable Mention: Dallas Sealey, Abilene Christian; Lorenzo Nunez, Southeastern Louisiana; David Hamm, McNeese; Kyran Irvin, Nicholls.
Defensive Player of the Week: Tremon Smith, Central Arkansas – Sr. – Defensive Back – Anniston, Ala.
Smith set the tone on the first possession of the game with a 42-yard interception return for a touchdown just one minute and 21 seconds into the game. He had another interception on the Bearkats’ first possession of the second half and returned it 17 yards. UCA’s defense limited Jeremiah Briscoe to a 44 percent completion rate (22 of 50) and helped the Bears break Sam Houston State’s 12-game conference winning streak.
Honorable Mention: Cody Roscoe, McNeese; Allen Pittman, Nicholls; Max Lyons, Southeastern Louisiana.
Special Teams Player of the Week: Darrius Montgomery, UIW – Jr. – Defensive Lineman – Baytown, Texas
Montgomery became just the second player in school history to record two punt blocks in a game. Both punt blocks resulted in UIW touchdowns. In addition to his special teams exploits, the junior defensive end added two quarterback hurries, two tackles and a sack for a 10-yard loss.
Honorable Mention: Aaron Craig, Southeastern Louisiana; Cedric Battle, Central Arkansas; Tyler Slaydon, Lamar.
Southland weekly award winners are nominated and voted upon by each school’s sports information director. Voting for one’s own athlete is not permitted. To earn honorable mention, a student-athlete must appear on 25 percent of ballots.