FOOTBALL: Middle Tennessee’s Stockstill, Tennessee’s Taylor earn TSWA weekly awards
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee’s Brent Stockstill and Tennessee’s Darrell Taylor were named the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association for their efforts in contests from November 5-11.
Stockstill completed 31-of-40 passes for 352 yards and four touchdowns in a 48-32 victory at UTEP. The Murfreesboro, Tenn., native tossed TD throws of 13, 25, 18 and 60 yards, the last one early in the fourth quarter to Gatlin Casey, staking the Blue Raiders to a 42-18 lead.
It marked the 17th career 300-yard passing game for Stockstill, who moved into fifth place on the all-time passing yards list in Conference USA, and pushed his career TD pass total to 98, which ranks fourth all-time in C-USA history. He has completed 220-of-320 passes this year for 2,298 yards with 21 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Taylor posted seven tackles with 4.0 sacks while forcing and recovering a fumble in Tennessee’s 24-7 victory over Kentucky. The Waverly, Va., native collected a pair of sacks in the second quarter and his sack of UK’s Terry Wilson early in the fourth period included forcing and recovering a fumble.
The redshirt junior added his fourth sack later in the final quarter, becoming just the third player in UT history to record four sacks in a game, joining Reggie White (1983 vs. The Citadel) and Corey Miller (2013 at Kentucky). Tennessee held the Wildcats to just 77 rushing yards and 262 yards of total offense in the contest.
Taylor has 28 tackles with 8.0 tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks along with two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries this season.
2018 TSWA FOOTBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
September 5 – Brady White, Memphis (Offense); Aaron White, Cumberland University (Defense)
September 11 – Dresser Winn, UT Martin (Offense); Temoris Coats, Carson-Newman (Defense)
September 19 – Jordan Shippy, Tusculum University (Offense); Alonzo Houston, Carson-Newman (Defense)
September 25 – Darrell Henderson, Memphis (Offense); Temoris Coats, Carson-Newman (Defense)
October 2 – Bailey Fisher, Tennessee Tech (Offense); Temoris Coats, Carson-Newman (Defense)
October 10 – Brent Stockstill, Middle Tennessee (Offense); Jovante Moffatt, Middle Tennessee (Defense)
October 16 – Jarrett Guarantano, Tennessee (Offense); Jordan Griffin, Vanderbilt (Defense)
October 24 – Dezmon Huntley, Cumberland University (Offense); Desmond Fairell, Carson-Newman (Defense)
October 30 – Lor’renzo Pratt, Tusculum College (Offense); Reed Blankenship, Middle Tennessee (Defense)
MEN’S BASKETBALL: Union’s Boykin named TSWA award winner
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Union University’s Tyree Boykin earned Tennessee Sports Writers Association Men’s Basketball Player of the Week accolades, averaging 36.0 points and connecting on 13 3-pointers in wins against Spring Hill and LeMoyne-Owen.
The Clarksville, Tenn., native netted 43 points against Spring Hill, hitting 16-of-25 field goals overall and 8-for-12 from 3-point range. He added two rebounds and four steals in the regular season opening win for the Bulldogs.
The sophomore guard collected 29 points in a victory over LeMoyne-Owen, making 11-of-17 shots overall and 5-for-8 from behind the arc. He recorded four rebounds and two assists as well for Union.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Carson-Newman’s Wester garners TSWA weekly honor
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman’s Mika Wester posted Tennessee Sports Writers Association Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honors, registering 21.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in a pair of victories for the Eagles.
The Newport, Tenn., native made 11-of-14 shots with a pair of 3-pointers, finishing with 26 points against USC Aiken in the regular season opener for Carson-Newman. She added five rebounds and a pair of assists.
The senior followed that with 17 points and seven boards versus Lander University, connecting on 7-of-13 field goals.