AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Games: September 8-14, 2025
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Wes Douglas, SB, Sr., Hardin-Simmons
Hardin-Simmons senior slot back Wes Douglas (Plano, Texas) had six catches for 152 yards and a touchdown in the win over McMurry. He had a 62-yard touchdown in the first quarter to give the Cowboys the lead they would not relenquish.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Dominick Williams, DE, Sr., East Texas Baptist
East Texas Baptist senior defensive end Dominick Williams (Houston, Texas) had a career day vs. OPSU, with a career-high four sacks, four TFLs for 27 yards, two forced fumbles, and recoveries as ETBU recorded its first shutout at home since 2010. He is only the fourth player in program history to have four sacks in a game. He tied his career-high of 10 tackles with six solo tackles. His first sack came in the first quarter at the ETBU 21-yard line on a 1st-and-10 for a loss of six yards. Two plays later, he earned his second sack, on the same series, at the 23-yard line on OPSU's opening drive. The sack resulted in a fumble, which he recovered and ended the scoring threat. His third sack came in the 3rd quarter when OPSU threatened to score on the ETBU 33-yard line as he had is second forced fumble and recovery. His final sack came at the five-minute mark in the third quarter at the OPSU five-yard line on a 3rd-and-21 for a loss of 10 yards.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Elijah Cobos, K/P, Fr., Howard Payne
Howard Payne freshman kicker/punter Elijah Cobos (Big Spring, Texas) played a pivotal role in the success of HPU's special teams on Saturday vs. TLU. As a freshman playing in his 2nd college football game, he consistently flipped the field on punt while placing the football perfectly for the coverage team to make plays. In addition to punt, he kicked 2 touchbacks and forced a fair catch in kickoff. He was also the holder on PATs where HPU finished 4 for 4.
OTHER OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES
Offensive
East Texas Baptist freshman quarterback Shai Markajani (San Antonio, Texas) led ETBU to 21 first-quarter points on three consecutive drives in six minutes as ETBU won 28-0 over Oklahoma Panhandle State. Two of the scores came from great field position from OPSU turnovers. The first score came on a 27-yard pass to Chase Walker at 6:08. Keegan Davis ran in the second touchdown at 3:38, and then Markajani had his second touchdown pass in the quarter from 20 yards out to Kobe Chambers with 53 seconds left in the quarter. His final touchdown pass came in the second quarter at 5:11 to Cullen Crain from four yards out.
Howard Payne junior running back Blessing (Bill) Ngene (Katy, Texas) in a rush-heavy offense, Blessing consistently was the best offensive player on the field against a former playoff team. He would have had 3 touchdowns if a holding penalty did not bring the offense back.
Defensive
Howard Payne senior safety Justin Kay (La Porte, Texas) was a contributing factor to the reason why HPU held a former playoff team to 3.7 yards/carry. As the middle safety in a 3 safety defense. He provided run support in the alley while holding TLU's offense to a 36% completion rate (16 for 45).
Hardin-Simmons senior defensive end Mark Champion (Edinburg, Texas) recorded eight tackles and had 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack as the Cowboys beat McMurry.
Special Teams
East Texas Baptist junior punter Aidan Hernandez (Linden, Texas) helped on special teams with four punts that averaged 40.8 yards per punt putting two within the 20-yard line. His punts helped ETBU's defense hold OPSU to a shutout pinning the Aggies deep in their own territory each time.
Hardin-Simmons kicker Pedro Altamiran (Clyde, Texas) hit a 19-yard field goal and recorded touchbacks on four of his five kickoffs.