AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Games: September 3, 2022
 
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kyle King, QB, Sr., Mary Hardin-Baylor
Mary Hardin-Baylor senior quarterback Kyle King (Milano, Texas) led the No. 1 Cru to a 62-13 win over No. 11 Muhlenberg in an opening weekend tilt between a pair of Top 25 ranked teams. King threw 19 completions for 379 yards and six touchdowns, tying the program record for TD passes in a game. He added three rushes and helped the Cru offense to 674 total yards of offense on 73 plays. This was King’s fourth Player of the Week award in his career.
 
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Tommy Bowden, DB, Sr., Mary Hardin-Baylor
Mary Hardin-Baylor senior defensive back Tommy Bowden (Brownwood, Texas) anchored a UMHB defense that held No. 11 Muhlenberg scoreless in the second half. He recorded four solo tackles and two assisted tackles, adding one tackle for loss. Bowden was a key player in UMHB's secondary and also served as the holder for kicks.
 
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Brock Bujnoch, CB, So., Hardin-Simmons
Hardin-Simmons sophomore cornerback Brock Bujnoch (Hutto, Texas) was one of many standouts that led the No. 6 Cowboys’ defensive unit in a dominate 79-14 win over Wayland Baptist. Bujnoch registered seven tackles and had an interception and a tackle for loss. His interception setup an early second quarter touchdown that made the score 35-0. This is his second career Player of the Week honor.  
 
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Otis Lanier, WR/KR, Sr., Howard Payne
Howard Payne senior kick returner Otis Lanier (Houston, Texas) had four catches for 32 yards and a TD. Lanier’s game highlight came when he returned a punt 77 yards for a TD in the first quarter. He would also return two kickoffs for 44 yards, as the Yellow Jackets grabbed a 59-45 victory in their conference opener.
 
OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES
Offensive
Hardin-Simmons freshman running back Noah Garcia (Abilene, Texas) had six carries for 122 yards and two touchdowns to go with two receptions for 32 yards and another touchdown in his debut.
 
Howard Payne sophomore quarterback Landon McKinney (Liberty City, Texas) threw for 496 yards and four touchdowns in a 59-45 conference opener victory over Texas Lutheran University.
 
Texas Lutheran junior running back Jacob Forton (Spring Branch, Texas) made an impact in all three facets of the game keeping TLU in a high scoring game. Forton accumulated 161 all-purpose yards, 88 rush yards on 22 carries (3 TDs), three receptions for 15 yards, and 58 kick return yards on two returns.

Defensive
Howard Payne sophomore defensive end Jaden Elie (Edgewood, Texas) anchored an HPU defense in a conference victory over Texas Lutheran, 59-45, finishing with seven tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss.
 
McMurry senior defensive lineman Devin Nixon (Vidor, Texas) made himself a permanent fixture on the heels of No. 25 Birmingham Southern College with nine tackles including one for a loss of two yards. 

Special Teams
Hardin-Simmons freshman kicker Grayson Bearden (Abilene, Texas) had a solid debut as the Cowboys placekicker. He went 10-for-10 on Pats and had a 25-yard field goal to end the first half.
 
Southwestern sophomore kicker Charlie Fournier (Austin, Texas) connected on a 34-yard field goal attempt with a second on the clock to knot the game at 24 and force overtime, which was an eventual Pirates victory over Cal Lutheran, 32-31.