HobbsDailyReport.com
HICKORY – Lenoir-Rhyne University has won eight straight games and climbed in both the national and regional football rankings.
The Bears (8-1, 5-0 South Atlantic Conference) are up to No. 21 in the NCAA Division II rankings, and they are third in the regional rankings as they prepare to play at Carson-Newman on Saturday at 1 p.m. in a key SAC game.
JACKSON
Eric Jackson, a sophomore safety from Charleston, S.C., won the Ronnie Lott Heavy Hitter Award after a crushing hit in the third quarter of the Bears’ most recent game, a 51-3 home victory last Saturday over UNC Pembroke. He had four tackles and returned an interception 11 yards for a touchdown.
Sherrod Williams, a junior linebacker from Edison, Ga., was named Defensive Player of the Week and also earned the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) Defensive Player of the Week award.
Williams had seven tackles, added a sack, forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and returned an interception 23 yards for a TD against UNC Pembroke.
Dareke Young, a sophomore wide receiver from Raleigh, won the Offensive Player of the Week, after winning the Ronnie Lott Heavy Hitter Award last week. Young scored twice on just six carries and added two catches for 22 yards as the Bears had the first 51 points of the game.
Freshman long snapper Holden Straughan of Cherokee was named the Special Teams Player of the Week.
Simeon Armstrong, a freshman running back from Havelock, and Phil Davis, a freshman defensive lineman from Belmont, won the Defensive and Offensive Scout Team Players of the Week respectively.