Oct. 15, 2006
ST. LOUIS -
For the second time this season and the fourth time in his career, Illinois State linebacker Kye Stewart was named the Gateway Football Conference's Defensive Player of the Week by the league office on Sunday, after Stewart's 17 tackle performance in the No. 5 Redbirds' 37-10 victory over No. 7 Southern Illinois.
Collectively, the Redbird defense limited the nation's No. 2 scoring offense to a season-low 10 points, but individually it was the play of Stewart that drew attention. Stewart paced the Redbirds with 17 tackles, including seven solo stops, and he also added a quarterback sack. During the third quarter, in which the Redbird defense held SIU to 63 total yards of offense, Stewart collected seven of his tackles to help secure the ISU victory.
Stewart now ranks No. 2 nationally among I-AA defenders with 13 tackles per game. This was the seventh player of the week honor presented to a Redbird this season.
The Redbirds return to action on Saturday, when ISU travels to Macomb, Ill., to face Western Illinois. Kick-off is at 1:05 p.m.
