ST. LOUIS - Eyad Salem tied a school record with 14 catches, including three on Illinois State's final scoring drive, and Kevin Mazur averaged nearly 42 yards per punt as the Redbirds outlasted North Dakota State, 27-24, to win their first Missouri Valley Conference game in the Fargodome Saturday. For their performances, Salem and Mazur were named the the Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive and Special Teams Players of the Week, respectively, by the league office Sunday.
The award for Salem, a 2008 All-Valley Football First-Team selection and 2009 Preseason All-Valley pick, was the first of his career at Illinois State. The honor was the second for Mazur, who won the league's special team honor for the weekend of Sept. 9, 2006, when he was the ISU placekicker.
The Elgin, Ill., native tied the school record for receptions in a game held by Laurént Robinson and Dwayne Smith and tied him with four other players for the third-best performance by a player in MVFC history. Salem was one of eight Redbirds to catch a pass from redshirt freshman quarterback Matt Brown and led all receivers with 172 yards and a touchdown in the road victory.
With his 14 catches, Salem moved in to 4th place on the school's all-time receptions list with 132 and his 17-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter was the 15th in his career, which places him fifth on the school's receiving touchdowns list.
Mazur kept the Bison deep in their own territory all afternoon, averaging 41.8 yards per punt in the victory. The senior from Mt. Prospect, Ill., punted four times, with two of those punts pinning NDSU inside its own 20-yard line. He had a long punt of 49 yards and his 37-yard coffin kick late in the first quarter trapped the Bison on their own three yard line.
In his first full season as the Redbirds' punter, Mazur has punted 23 times and is averaging 37.5 yards per kick. He has pinned opponents inside the 20 yard line six times and has induced nine fair catch calls.
Salem, Mazur and the rest of the Redbirds return to action Saturday against nationally ranked Southern Illinois in Carbondale, Ill. Start time is set for 2 p.m. at McAndrew Stadium on Homecoming for the Salukis.
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