ST. LOUIS – A pair of Illinois State standouts earned player of the week honors from the Missouri Valley Football Conference on Monday, as placekicker Matt Maldonado was named MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week and offensive tackle Jake Pope was named the league's Offensive Lineman of the Week following action in Week 2.
Maldonado connected on both of his field goal attempts and was a perfect 5-for-5 on extra point attempts last Saturday night in the Redbirds' 41-13 win over Morehead State. The senior transfer from Murray State connected on a 27-yard field goal late in the first quarter to cut the MSU lead at the time to 6-3, and later in the third quarter he drilled a career-best 45-yarder to put the Redbirds up by two scores at the time. In total, he scored 11 of the team's 41 points and is now a perfect 3-for-3 on the season in field goal attempts.
Pope had one of his best games as a Redbird against Morehead State. The Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, native and seventh-year standout graded out at 92 percent and was credited with 11 pancake blocks in the win for the Redbirds. The Redbird offensive line was stellar all night against MSU, allowing the Birds to rush for 223 yards on the ground while not allowing a sack to the Eagles in the victory. ISU averaged 5.9 yards per carry in the contest and had a pair of backs with over 80 rushing yards in Victor Dawson and Wenkers Wright.
Illinois State (1-1) returns to action on Saturday, when the Redbirds travel to Charleston, Illinois, to take on longtime in-state rival Eastern Illinois (1-1) in the 113th meeting of the Mid-America Classic. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. at O'Brien Field.
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