2007 NAIA Football Players of the Week Announced - #10

Nov. 12, 2007

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The 10th and final 2007 NAIA weekly football awards were handed out and these student-athletes were honored: Derek Doerfler of Baker (Kan.) was named NAIA Special Teams Player of the Week, Patrick O'Neal of Union (Ky.) was named NAIA Defensive Player of the Week and Joey Waters of Union (Ky.) was named NAIA Offensive Player of the Week, for the week ending on Sunday, Nov. 11. This is the final player of the week awards period for 2007.

Doerfler, a 5-11, 213 lbs., junior placekicker from Lee's Summit, Mo., tied the NAIA record for field goals made in a season in the 58-23 win at Avila (Mo.). The three-time player of the week recipient broke the 24-year record with his 23 field goals in a season snapping the 1984 mark set by Herve Roussel of Wayne State (Neb.). He currently is tied with St. Xavier (Ill.) kicker Shane Longest - Longest will have a chance to extend the record as SXU heads into the playoffs this Saturday. Doerfler nailed 3-of-4 field goals, including a 53-yarder, and was a perfect 7-of-7 on PAT attempts. His only miss came from 60 yards out. Derek is second in the NAIA in field goals made per game (2.0). Baker ended its year at 6-5 for its first winning season since 2000.

O'Neal, a 6-1, 215 lbs., senior linebacker from Lula, Ga., tied a school record in the 28-21 road win at then-No. 17 Georgetown (Ky.). The team's leading tackler posted 20 total tackles to tie the school best. He added 2.0 sacks and 2.5 tackles-for-loss. On the season, O'Neal stands with 143 stops, the most in Union history. In his four-year career, O'Neal finishes as the second all-time tackler with 390 tackles. The loss for Georgetown pushed the Tigers out of the playoff scene for the first time in 10 seasons. Among all NAIA tacklers, O'Neal is third with 13.0 per game.

Waters, a 5-11, 207 lbs., senior quarterback from McDonough, Ga., helped Union snap a 23-game losing streak to Georgetown and win in the series for the first time since 1938. He accounted for all four touchdowns, passing for three of them. He went for 301 yards on 22-of-38 passing, which was his fifth 300-yard game in-a-row. He wraps up his season with a school-record 3,216 passing yards and 27 aerial strikes. In his career, he is the school record-holder in passing yards (7,880) and passing touchdowns (66). In the NAIA, Joey is second in passing yards (321.6 pypg) and third in all-purpose yardage (314.8 apypg).

For a complete list of all the national statistical leaders, click here.

Offensive Nominees:
Matt Schneider, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.); Matthew Ladd, St. Francis (Ill.); Thez Robinson,
Northwestern Oklahoma State; Brett Clow, Bethel (Kan.); Anthony Walkine, Valley City State (N.D.); Kirk
Hannah, Urbana (Ohio); Keith Jones, Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.); Henry Keomalu, Montana-Western

Defensive Nominees:
Joe Copeland, Walsh (Ohio); Gannon Novak, St. Francis (Ill.); Jordan Highley, Friends (Kan.); B.J.
Hodshire, Northwestern Oklahoma State; Billy Anderson, Valley City State (N.D.); Marcus Miller , Carroll
(Mont.); Marquette Floyd, Missouri Valley; Caleb Blauwet, Northwestern (Iowa)

Special Teams Nominees:
Brandon Hawley, Bacone (Okla.); Michael Montez, Bethel (Kan.); Lukas Gonzales, Shorter (Ga.); Jacob
Harfman, Urbana (Ohio); Zach Thiry, Carroll (Mont.); Erik Cimpl, Sioux Falls (S.D.)

2007 Composite Award Winners:
WEEK 1:
Offense: Craig Hector (Northwestern (Iowa)) - SR, QB
Defense: Marc Samson (Montana State-Northern) - SR, DB
Special Teams: Matt Eberspacher (Nebraska Wesleyan) - FR, PK

WEEK 2:
Offense: Craigh Cornelius (Montana-Western) - SO, WR
Defense: Lane O'Connor (Bethany (Kan.)) - FR, DB
Special Teams: Jared Stevens (Evangel (Mo.)) - SR, KR

WEEK 3:
Offense: Jerome Messam (Graceland (Iowa)) - JR, RB
Defense: Joe Slabaugh (Ohio Dominican) - JR, DB
Special Teams: Nolan Williams (Texas College) - SR, WR/KR

WEEK 4:
Offense: Cris Reisert (Ohio Dominican) - JR, QB
Defense: Brandon Kaufman (Bethel (Kan.)) - SR, DB
Special Teams: Shane Longest (St. Xavier (Ill.)) - SR, PK/P

WEEK 5:
Offense: Jared Stace (Ohio Dominican) - SR, WR
Defense: Kyle Lockett (Urbana (Ohio)) - SR, DT
Special Teams: Derek Doerfler (Baker (Kan.)) - JR, PK

WEEK 6:
Offense: Bernard Payton (Malone (Ohio)) - SR, RB
Defense: Grant Mosier (Northwestern (Iowa)) - SO, DB
Special Teams: Derek Doerfler (Baker (Kan.)) - JR, PK

WEEK 7:
Offense: Thez Robinson (Northwestern Oklahoma State) - SR, RB
Defense: Brandon Minch (Nebraska Wesleyan) - SR, DL
Special Teams: Austin Brown (McPherson (Kan.)) - FR, CB

WEEK 8:
Offense: Cris Reisert (Ohio Dominican) - JR, QB
Defense: Tony Dill (Black Hills State (S.D.)) - JR, DB
Special Teams: Rory Fry (Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)) - JR, RB

WEEK 9:
Offense: Cris Reisert (Ohio Dominican) - JR, QB
Defense: Jordan Highley (Friends (Kan.)) - JR, DE
Special Teams: Trevor Gies (Evangel (Mo.)) - SO, K/P

WEEK 10:
Offense: Joey Waters (Union (Ky.)) - SR, QB
Defense: Patrick O'Neal (Union (Ky.)) - SR, LB
Special Teams: Derek Doerfler (Baker (Kan.)) - JR, PK