LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference announced its Football Athletes of the Week for Week 5 of the 2024 season. In the Western Division, both Slippery Rock's Brayden Long and California's Davis Black were named Co-Offensive Athletes of the Week while Gannon's Trey Baker was selected as Defensive Athlete of the Week and California's Clayton Rosensteel earned Special Teams Athlete of the Week. In the Eastern Division, Lock Haven's Jackson Ostrowsky (Offensive), West Chester's Connor Noble (Defensive), and East Stroudsburg's Justin Cook (Special Teams) collected the honors.
PSAC Western Division Co-Offensive Athlete of the Week
Brayden Long
Slippery Rock
Quarterback
Senior
Hanover, Pa. / New Oxford
Long led Slippery Rock on two fourth-quarter drives of 75+ yards to complete an epic 33-32 win on the road at No. 21 IUP in the only game between undefeated ranked teams in Division II last week. He threw a fourth-down TD pass with 5:00 left to cap an 83-yard drive and then after IUP responded, he led SRU on a 75-yard drive in less than 90 seconds, throwing a TD pass with just 12.9 seconds left for the win. Long completed 22-of-31 passes for 205 yards with three passing TDs while also rushing for one TD to account for four total touchdowns in the win. He was also not sacked a single time in the game.
PSAC Western Division Co-Offensive Athlete of the Week
Davis Black
California
Quarterback
Senior
Byesville, Ohio / Meadowbrook
Black set a career high with 422 passing yards last Saturday afternoon as the Vulcans earned a 31-27 last-minute comeback victory at Clarion. He completed 31-of-46 attempts with three touchdowns and no interceptions in the win. Black finished with the sixth-most passing yards in single-game school history, and the most since 2017. In the fourth quarter, the Ohio native completed 12-of-18 attempts for 143 yards with two touchdowns – both in the final four-plus minutes. The Vulcans trailed 27-24 with 2:20 left to play before Black went 5-for-5 for 69 yards, in addition to a 17-yard rush, and capped the drive with a 35-yard touchdown pass with just 56 seconds left to give California its only lead of the game.
PSAC Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Trey Baker
Gannon
Linebacker
Redshirt Senior
Kettring, Ohio / Kettering Fairmont
Baker paced Gannon to a 23-17 win over Seton Hill last Saturday, finishing with six tackles (three solo), but more importantly coming up with an interception and fumble recovery. The interception was Gannon's first caused turnover of the season late in the first half. He picked off a Seton Hill pass at the GU 29 and returned it 68 yards to the GU 3 to set up a Gannon touchdown with 18 seconds left in the half. It was his first career interception. He later recovered a fumble at the GU 36 with just under a minute to play after Seton Hill had driven to the GU 21. He is just outside Gannon's career top 20 list in tackles with 209 total.
PSAC Western Division Special Teams Athlete of the Week
Clayton Rosensteel
California
Punter
Junior
Donora, Pa. / Ringgold
Rosensteel averaged 45.3 yards per punt on Saturday afternoon, as the Vulcans posted a 31-27 last-minute comeback victory at Clarion. He set a career long with a punt of 57 yards from the California 13-yard line early in the second quarter. Rosensteel later placed a punt at the Clarion 20-yard line midway in the third quarter and forced a fair catch on a 42-yard punt early in the fourth quarter at the Clarion 13-yard line to help secure field position and, eventually, the victory.
PSAC Eastern Division Offensive Athlete of the Week
Jackson Ostrowsky
Lock Haven
Quarterback
Graduate Student
Mount Pleasant, Mich. / Rhode Island
Ostrowsky turned in a historic effort and led the Bald Eagles' remarkable comeback attempt at perennial PSAC East power Shepherd last Saturday. Lock Haven surged in the second half to the tune of 35 points, with Ostrowsky finishing with 470 yards (31-for-50) and four touchdowns. Despite the sensational individual effort, the Rams held on for a 45-38 win. The 470 passing yards were the fourth-most in Lock Haven's all-time single-game history and are the most in a game since a 457-yard effort in 2016. It's also the best individual single-game mark of any PSAC quarterback since the 2022 season. Lock Haven trailed 31-3 at halftime, but the Bald Eagles rallied in a big way with 35 total second-half points, outscoring Shepherd 35-14 over the final 30 minutes of play. Lock Haven scored 14 points in the third quarter and 21 in the fourth quarter, all of which came in the game's final seven minutes.
PSAC Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Connor Noble
West Chester
Linebacker
Redshirt Junior
Chester Springs, Pa. / Downingtown East
Noble registered a season-high 17 tackles, tying a personal career high, while also posting one sack and one interception. His INT came just after Shippensburg had scored to draw within one score, and it led directly to a West Chester touchdown that put the game out of reach. That INT turned the momentum in the game, which was eventually won by the Golden Rams, 28-10.
PSAC Eastern Division Special Teams Athlete of the Week
Justin Cook
East Stroudsburg
Kick Returner/Wide Receiver
Junior
Harrisburg, Pa. / Harrisburg
In last Saturday's 57-17 win over Millersville, Cook registered a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and became ESU's all-time kickoff return touchdown leader with his third in three seasons. He holds the two longest kickoff return touchdowns in program history (with also a 100-yarder to his name) and ranks fourth all-time with 1,435 kickoff return yards. He trails all-time leader Chris Gerhard (2,008 yards, 1983-86) by 573 yards, less than halfway through his junior season. As a receiver, he notched 111 yards on seven catches and two additional touchdowns.