BIG SKY CONFERENCE PRESS RELEASE
All three honorees for Big Sk Conference Players of the Week came away with wins this weekend. This week’s honors went to Eastern Washington junior quarterback Gage Gubrud for the Offensive Player of the Week, Idaho State senior linebacker Mario Jenkins for Defensive Player of the Week, and UC Davis junior defensive back Ryan Parenteau for the Special Teams Player of the Week.
Gubrud led Eastern Washington to its first win of the season with a 56-21 road win at Fordham. Gubrud completed 29 of 41 passes for 399 yards and registered three touchdown passes. He added 72 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the win. It was the seventh-most yards in school history. It was the first time in his career that Gubrud recorded multiple rushing touchdowns in a game, and he also had three touchdowns passing. Eastern scored 28 unanswered points to pull away from a 7-7 tie after the first quarter to secure the win.
Senior linebacker Mario Jenkins was an integral part in Idaho State’s 30-28 upset victory over Nevada. Jenkins had a career-high 17 tackles to lead the Bengals to its first win over an FBS team since 2000. The win snapped a 27-game losing streak to FBS schools. Jenkins added one sack, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble in the second quarter. Jenkins and the Bengal defense forced three Wolf Pack turnovers in the victory.
UC Davis Ryan Parenteau/ courtesy of UCD athletics
Junior defensive back Ryan Parenteau came away with a remarkable two blocked punts in UC Davis’ road win at Portland State. Both of his two blocked punts led to a UC Davis touchdown. Parenteau first career blocked punt came during the final minutes of the first quarter, and teammate Darryl Graham scooped up the ball and raced into the end zone to extend the Aggies’ lead to 10 points. Late in the third quarter, Parenteau had the magic hands again when he blocked his second punt of the day. His second blocked punt led to a Aggie touchdown and a 23-7 lead over Portland State. He also had eight tackles. Parenteau’s first blocked punt was the first by an Aggie in more than five years, and the first returned for a touchdown since 2008.
Other Nominees for ROOT SPORTS Offensive Player of the Week: Michael Dean, Idaho State; Gresch Jensen,Montana; James Felila, Southern Utah; Jake Maier, UC Davis.
Other Nominees ROOT SPORTS Defensive Player of the Week: Albert Havili, Eastern Washington; Josh Buss, Montana; Stone Kane, Northern Colorado; Mister Harriel, Sacramento State; Chinedu Ahanonu, Southern Utah; Vincent White, UC Davis.
Other Nominees for ROOT SPORTS Special Teams Player of the Week: Roldan Alcobendas, Eastern Washington; Parker Johnson, Idaho State; Brandon Purdy, Montana; Khalil Dotson, Portland State; Elijah Dotson, Sacramento State; Manny Berz, Southern Utah; Jonah Williams, Weber State.
The Big Sky will have its first ROOT SPORTS Game of the Week on Saturday, Sept. 23 when Eastern Washington visits Montana.
