Sept. 10, 2007

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The first 2007 NAIA weekly football awards were handed out and these student-athletes were honored: Matt Eberspacher of Nebraska Wesleyan was named NAIA Special Teams Player of the Week , Craig Hector of Northwestern (Iowa) was named NAIA Offensive Player of the Week and Marc Samson of Montana State-Northern was named NAIA Defensive Player of the Week, for the week ending on Sunday, Sept. 9.

Eberspacher, a 5-11, 170 lb. freshman kicker from Waverly, Neb., played a big part in Nebraska Wesleyan's upset of then-No. 11 Morningside (Iowa), 23-14. He connected on all three of his field goal attempts including a 40-yarder with 9:33 left. That boot put NWU up by nine points and forced Morningside into a two-score situation late in the game. Eberspacher also hit from 35 yards and 47 yards in the first quarter and helped stake NWU to a 13-0 early cushion.

Hector, a 6-1, 212 lb. senior quarterback from Le Mars, Iowa, posted 401 yards of total offense and scored six touchdowns as No. 7 Northwestern won 44-30 last Saturday. He tied a school record with five touchdown tosses and his 377 passing yards ranks No. 8 on the school all-time charts. Overall, Hector was 25-of-36 passing in addition to a rushing score from 27 yards out. He finished with 24 rushing yards on seven carries.

Samson, a 5-8, 174 lb. senior defensive back from Helena, Mont., returned an interception 102 yards for a touchdown in helping lead No. 12 Montana State-Northern to a 20-0 shut-out of No. 24 Montana Tech. The return length was a school-record and was one of three picks on the day. It was the third time in his career that he returned an interception for a score. Samson added 8.5 total tackles.

Offensive Nominees:
Tyler Schneider, Southern Nazarene (Okla.); Clinton Blossomgame, Walsh (Ohio); Joey Waters, Union
(Ky.); Benny Palmer, William Jewell (Mo.); Ben Marron, Quincy (Ill.); Kevin Mikeska, Ottawa (Kan.); Tanner
Kelting, Jamestown (N.D.); Travis Browne, Carroll (Mon.); Brian Lee-Lauduski, Southern Oregon

Defensive Nominees:
Matt Hickman, Cumberland (Tenn.); Frits Remedor, Southern Nazarene (Okla.); Ahmad Haucly, Langston
(Okla.); Joe Miller, St. Xavier (Ill.); Antonio Greer, McKendree (Ill.); Michael Batts, Friends (Kan.); Brandon
Gould, Lindenwood (Mo.); Wacey Coleman, Black Hills State (S.D.); Paul Seger, Nebraska Wesleyan;
Austin Stack, Southern Oregon

Special Teams Nominees:
Peter Orth, Southern Nazarene (Okla.); Shane Longest, St. Xavier (Ill.); Halley Ferrell, Lindenwood (Mo.);
Kevin Kinsall, McKendree (Ill.); Antonio Dishman, Union (Ky.); Andrew Baeza, Bethel (Kan.); Don Saisbury,
Montana State-Northern; Corey O'Neill, Southern Oregon

2007 Composite Award Winners:
WEEK 1:
Offense: Craig Hector (Northwestern (Iowa))
Defense: Marc Samson (Montana State-Northern)
Special Teams: Matt Eberspacher (Nebraska Wesleyan)