College Sports Journal FCS National Players of the Week Nov. 12

Five players including Patrick Tyler from Southern Utah, Anthony Lawrence from San Diego, Dom Bragalone from Lehigh, and Lee Bennett and Chandler Curtis both from Mercer have been selected as the College Sports Journal All-Stars for the week ending Nov. 12th, 2017 from the NCAA Division I FCS schools.

The honorees are listed here with their achievements and their school, position, class, and hometown.

Patrick Tyler, Southern Utah, QB, Sr., Compton, Calif.

Tyler led Southern Utah to its sixth consecutive win with a 47-27 road win at UC Davis. He threw for 370 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday for the Thunderbirds. He completed 26 passes to nine different receivers on the evening. He’s tallied 2,434 yards this season and 20 touchdowns with 204 completions, as he has the Thunderbirds in the hunt for a Big Sky championship.

Anthony Lawrence, San Diego, QB, R-Jr., La Mesa, Calif.

Lawrence paced San Diego to a school-record 706 offensive yards in a 63-7 PFL title-clinching win at Davidson, Saturday. He completed 24-of-28 passes for 403 yards and three touchdowns in less than three full quarters as he left after USD took a 49-7 lead in the third. Lawrence averaged 16.8 yards per completion, including a touchdown tosses of 15, 8 and 25 yards to three different receivers. Two of his receivers – Priest and Bandy – finished with 100-yard receiving outings while Ross Dwelley finished with 99 yards receiving after catching a 58-yard pass in the game. It is Lawrence’s first 400-yard passing performance this season and ranks as the fourth-best in the PFL this season by passing yardage.

 

Dom Bragalone, Lehigh, Jr., RB, South Williamsport, Pa.
Bragalone rushed for 201 yards and four touchdowns on 30 carries for his second career 200-yard rushing game – both in the last three weeks – to help Lehigh earn a 34-21 victory over Holy Cross on Saturday. His four touchdown runs were the most for a Lehigh player since 2005. He also became the first player in Lehigh history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in three seasons.

Lee Bennett, Mercer, Sr., LB, Leesburg, Fla.
Mercer linebacker Lee Bennett recorded 16 tackles, recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass Saturday to help the Bears to a 35-33 win over Western Carolina. The senior had at least 16 tackles for the third time in his last five games, counted 1.5 tackles for loss for 6 yards among his stops against the Catamounts. With WCU leading 7-0 in the first quarter, Bennett recorded his first interception of the season and fourth of his career, deep in Western Carolina territory to set up a three-play, 13-yard scoring drive that pulled Mercer even. In the third quarter, with the Bears nursing a 28-23 lead and the Catamounts inside the red zone and threatening to pull ahead, Bennett recovered a fumble, his league-best third of the season, at the Mercer 15-yard line to stop the Western Carolina drive.

Chandler Curtis, Mercer, Sr., WR/RS, Calhoun, Ga.
Mercer wide receiver/return specialist Chandler Curtis accounted for a game-high 184 all-purpose yards in Saturday’s win over Western Carolina, racking up 128 yards on kick returns and 46 on punt returns in addition to 10 receiving yards. The senior from Calhoun, Georgia, returned a first-quarter punt 39 yards to the Western Carolina 36-yard line, setting up the Bears’ second score of the day. Midway through the fourth quarter, Curtis returned a kickoff 77 yards to the WCU 17, setting up what would prove to be the decisive touchdown in the Bears’ two-point win. The 77-yard kick return was the third-longest in program history and quickly helped Mercer regain momentum after the Catamounts had pulled to within two points on a field goal.