LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference announced its Football Athletes of the Week for Week 7 of the 2025 season. In the Western Division, California's Phaeton Hill is the Offensive Athlete of the Week while Slippery Rock's Kanye Thompson (Defensive Athlete of the Week) and Cal's Sedrick Vessah (Special Teams Athlete of the Week) were also selected. In the Eastern Division, Lock Haven's Justin Popovich is the Offensive Athlete of the Week and is joined by Shepherd's Klayton Batten (Defensive) and East Stroudsburg's Adam Noll (Special Teams.)
PSAC Western Division Offensive Athlete of the Week
Phaeton Hill
California
Quarterback
Sophomore
Steubenville, Ohio / Steubenville
Hill finished with 364 passing yards and two passing touchdowns, including the game-winning touchdown with two seconds left to play on Saturday afternoon, as the Vulcans claimed a 31-28 win against Clarion on Homecoming. He completed passes to eight different players and finished with a 65.1 completion percentage (28-of-43) while making his first career start. Hill added 48 rushing yards on 12 attempts in the victory. With Cal trailing 28-24 and 24 seconds left with zero timeouts, Hill posted a pair of scrambles out of bounds for 19 yards before completing the game-winning 56-yard touchdown pass with two seconds remaining.
PSAC Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Kanye Thompson
Slippery Rock
Defensive Back
Junior
McKeesport, Pa. / McKeesport
Thompson led a stellar effort from the SRU secondary against the nation's top passing attack as The Rock held IUP without a passing touchdown and limited the highest-rated passer in the country to under 50 percent completions with no TDs and one INT. He finished the game with five tackles, including four solo, to go along with one sack, one forced fumble and two pass breakups. As a team, The Rock finished the game with 10 pass breakups, four sacks and one interception.
PSAC Western Division Special Teams Athlete of the Week
Sedrick Vessah
California
Linebacker
Sophomore
Chambersburg, Pa. / Chambersburg
Vessah blocked a pivotal field goal in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, as California rallied for a 31-28 Homecoming victory over Clarion on Saturday. The Golden Eagles held a 28-24 lead with 31 seconds left before Vessah blocked a 42-yard attempt. The Vulcans gained possession at their 25-yard line following the block and scored the game-winning touchdown with two seconds left to play. Vessah also registered 1.0 sack and one pass-break-up while starting at linebacker on Saturday.
PSAC Eastern Division Offensive Athlete of the Week
Justin Popovich
Lock Haven
Wide Receiver
Junior
Louisville, Ky. / Bethlehem
Popovich was dynamic in the receiving game in Lock Haven's 28-21 win over West Chester. Popovich had a game-high 9 catches for 136 yards. His biggest catch came late in the 4th quarter, with a 43-yard reception, going down at the 2-yard line, setting up the game-tying touchdown. On the next drive, Popovich had a 21-yard reception, right before Lock Haven scored the game-winning touchdown, beating West Chester for the first time since 1991.
PSAC Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Klayton Batten
Shepherd
Defensive Back
Graduate Student
Waldorf, Md. / St. Charles
Batten recorded five tackles (four solo) with a tackle-for-loss (-5 yards) in Shepherd's 37-13 win over Bloomsburg. He added an interception, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery that he returned 20 yards for a touchdown.
PSAC Eastern Division Special Teams Athlete of the Week
Adam Noll
East Stroudsburg
Punter
Redshirt Sophomore
Robesonia, Pa. / Conrad Weiser
Called on three times in East Stroudsburg's 24-7 win over Shippensburg, Noll delivered in each situation. The redshirt sophomore put together an average of 43 yards per punt, putting all inside the 20-yard line and pinning Shippensburg on its seven-, 12-, and 13-yard line. Noll also booted a 58-yard punt from his own 30-yard line to flip the field and allow the Warriors' defense to continue its dominance against the Raiders.