PSAC Football Athletes of the Week – 9
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. --- The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference announced this week’s football athletes of the week for week nine. Over in the PSAC East, Tyson Bagent of Shepherd University was picked on offense, Antaun Lloyd of Kutztown University was selected on defense, and Josh Gontarek of Shepherd earned the special teams nod. In the PSAC West, Noah Grover of Slippery Rock University was selected for offense, Jermal Martin Jr. of California University of Pennsylvania was picked on defense, and Deandre Dowdell of Edinboro University earned the special teams honor.
EAST
Offensive Athlete of the Week
Shepherd
Tyson Bagent
Junior
Quarterback
Martinsburg, W.Va. / Martinsburg
Bagent completed 31-of-37 passes for 364 yards and five touchdowns in Shepherd's win over Bloomsburg. He now has the Shepherd record for most career pass attempts with 1,206 to surpass the old mark of 1,172 set by Jeff Ziemba. His 364 passing yards today give him 10,484 career passing yards to eclipse the old SU mark of 10,422 set by Ziemba. Bagent (101) now has over 100 touchdown passes in his career.
Defensive Athlete of the Week
Kutztown
Antaun Lloyd
Junior
Cornerback
Ambler, Pa. / Wissahickon
Kutztown cornerback Antaun Lloyd registered a pair of interceptions, including a fourth-quarter pick six, as the 21st-ranked Golden Bears clinched a spot in the PSAC Championship Game for the second straight season with a 30-7 win over Millersville Saturday. With Millersville closing in on the red zone in the third quarter, Lloyd picked off Marauder quarterback Jack Stagaard at the KU 20 to end the threat. On the opening play of the fourth quarter, Lloyd got Stagaard again, taking his second interception back 35 yards for the score --Kutztown's first pick six since 2018. Lloyd also had one tackle in the game. He doubled his season interception total to four.
Special Teams Athlete of the Week
Shepherd
Josh Gontarek
Graduate Student
Wide Receiver
New Market, Md. / Linganore
Gontarek had a 78-yard punt return for a touchdown in Shepherd's win over Bloomsburg. He also added four receptions for 24 yards and a pair of touchdowns totaling three touchdowns in the Rams victory.
WEST
Offensive Athlete of the Week
Slippery Rock
Noah Grover
Junior
Quarterback
Phoenix, Ariz. / Mountain Pointe
Grover made his first career start at SRU on Saturday and put together one of the best QB performances in the country to lead No. 15 Slippery Rock to a dominant 63-21 win at Gannon. He completed 32-of-40 passes for 439 yards with an SRU single-game record eight touchdown passes to go along with no interceptions and no sacks. Grover was pulled from the game less than a minute into the fourth quarter. He also rushed for 16 yards to finish with 455 yards of total offense.
Defensive Athlete of the Week
Cal U
Jermal Martin Jr.
Junior
Defensive Back
South Philadelphia, Pa. / Academy Park
Martin posted seven tackles and an interception return for a touchdown on Saturday, as Cal U remained in first place in the PSAC West standings with a 42-14 victory over Seton Hill. The Vulcans were leading 14-0 before Martin recorded a 27-yard interception return for touchdown with 7:26 left in the first quarter, his second interception return for a score this year. He has now tallied an interception in three-straight games. Martin helped the defensive unit limit Seton Hill to under 150 passing yards in the victory.
Special Teams Athlete of the Week
Edinboro
Deandre Dowdell
Senior
Safety
Liverpool, N. Y. / Christian Brothers Academy
Dowdell blocked two punts on Saturday in the Fighting Scots 21-17 upset of IUP. Dowdell blocked a punt on the Crimson Hawks' first drive that the Scots returned for the opening score of the game.
ABOUT THE PSAC
Headquartered in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference comprised of 18 institutions in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The member institutions are Bloomsburg University, California University of Pennsylvania, Clarion University, East Stroudsburg University, Edinboro University, Gannon University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown University, Lock Haven University, Mansfield University, Mercyhurst University, Millersville University, The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Seton Hill University, Shepherd University, Shippensburg University, Slippery Rock University and West Chester University.