CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Lafayette claimed a pair of Patriot League Football weekly awards when the League office announced accolades on Monday.
Freshman wide receiver Joe Gillette brought home Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week after recording his second-consecutive 100-yard receiving game with career highs of seven catches and 105 yards. Freshman defensive lineman Damon Washington made a career-high 14 tackles against Albany to claim defensive player of the week.
Fordham sophomore linebacker Ryan Greenhagen claimed his second Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honor in as many weeks with 12 tackles and 2.0 tackles for loss (TFLs) against Stony Brook.
Holy Cross senior punter Cody Wilkinson broke a Crusaders’ single-game record with a punting average of 48.6 on eight attempts to win his first Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week.
Colgate senior running back Alex Mathews, Holy Cross junior wide receiver Tenio Ayeni and sophomore defensive lineman Dan Kuznetsov and Fordham junior placekicker/punter Andrew Mevis were selected as honorable mentions for their week three performance.
The Patriot League football players of the week are selected in a vote by League media members and each school’s sports information director, who are not eligible to vote for their student-athletes.
2019 Patriot League Football Standings (as of 9.22.19)
School League Overall
| Georgetown |
0-0 |
2-1 |
| Holy Cross |
0-0 |
1-2 |
| Fordham |
0-0 |
1-3 |
| Bucknell |
0-0 |
0-3 |
| Lehigh |
0-0 |
0-3 |
| Colgate |
0-0 |
0-4 |
| Lafayette |
0-0 |
0-4 |
Week 5 Games
Saturday, Sept. 28 Time (all times ET)
Holy Cross at Syracuse (ACC Network) Noon
Merrimack at Lehigh (PLN/SE2) 12:30 p.m.
Georgetown at Columbia (ESPN+) 1 p.m.
Richmond at Fordham (PLN) 1 p.m.
Penn at Lafayette (PLN/LSN) 3:30 p.m.
Princeton at Bucknell (Stadium/PLN) 3:30 p.m.
Colgate at Dartmouth (ESPN+) 6 p.m.
PATRIOT LEAGUE FOOTBALL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Joe Gillette, Lafayette, Fr., WR, Strongsville, Ohio/Strongsville
*Gillette posted his second-consecutive 100-yard receiving game with seven catches for 105 yards in the Leopards’ loss to Albany.
*The freshman wide receiver recorded career-highs in receptions (7) and receiving yards (105) against the Great Danes.
*Gillette is second in the Patriot League with 268 receiving yards.
PATRIOT LEAGUE FOOTBALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ryan Greenhagen, Fordham, So., LB, Sparta, N.J./Pope John XXIII
*Greenhagen led Fordham’s defense with 12 tackles (10 solo) with 2.0 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack to earn his second-consecutive defensive player of the week.
*The Sparta, N.J. native also forced a fumble in the second quarter.
*He leads the Patriot League with 1.5 TFLs per game and is second with 10.5 tackles per game.
PATRIOT LEAGUE FOOTBALL SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Cody Wilkinson, Holy Cross, Sr., P, Casper, Wyo./Natrona County
*Wilkinson averaged 48.6 yards on eight punts to break the Holy Cross single-game record for punt average.
*He had three punts of 50 yards or more, including a long of 68 yards. He also placed one punt inside the Yale 20-yard line.
*Wilkinson also averaged 56.7 yards on three kickoffs with one touchback.
PATRIOT LEAGUE FOOTBALL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Damon Washington, Lafayette, Fr., DL, Iselin, N.J./John F. Kennedy
*Washington made a career- and game-high 14 tackles, including 1.0 TFL in Lafayette’s versus Albany.
*The freshman defensive lineman, making his first career start, bested his previous career high in tackles by 10 and made his first TFL.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Alex Mathews, Colgate, Sr., RB, Mentor, Ohio/Mentor
*Mathews rushed 11 times for 52 yards and an 18-yard touchdown run in the Raiders’ loss to No. 12 Maine. He also eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for his career on the final rushing play of the game.
Tenio Ayeni, Holy Cross, Jr., WR, Allen, Texas/Allen
* Ayeni had three catches for a team-leading 48 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter of a loss to Yale.
Dan Kuznetsov, Holy Cross, So., DL, Warrington, Pa./La Salle
*Kuznetsov made six tackles, a team-best 2.0 TFLs and 1.0 sack in the Crusaders’ loss to Yale.
Andrew Mevis, Fordham, Jr., K/P, Warsaw, Ind./Warsaw Community
*Mevis connected on a 32-yard field goal and booted an extra-point while averaging 40.1 yards per punt on nine attempts for the Rams.
Offensive Player of the Week
9.2 – Tim DeMorat, Fordham, So., QB
9.9 – Gunther Johnson, Georgetown, Sr., QB
9.16 – Keegan Shoemaker, Lafayette, Fr., QB
9.22 – Joe Gillette, Lafayette, Fr., WR
Defensive Player of the Week
9.2 – Owen Kessler, Georgetown, Jr., LB
9.9 – Liam Doran, Holy Cross, So., LB
9.16 – Ryan Greenhagen, Fordham, So., LB
9.22 – Ryan Greenhagen, Fordham, So., LB
Special Teams Player of the Week
9.2 – Sam McCloskey, Lehigh, Gr., DB
9.9 – Derek Ng, Holy Cross, So., K/P
9.16 – Andrew Mevis, Fordham, Jr., K/P
9.22 – Cody Wilkinson, Holy Cross,
Rookie of the Week
9.2 – Jacob Dobbs, Holy Cross, Fr., LB
9.9 – Keegan Shoemaker, Lafayette, Fr., QB
9.16 – Keegan Shoemaker, Lafayette, Fr., QB
9.22 – Damon Washington, Lafayette, Fr., DL
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its third decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.