Big Sky Conference

Sanders, Dixon, Kealamakia earn Players of the Week honors

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BIG SKY CONFERENCE PRESS RELEASE

A four-touchdown performance, an interception return for a touchdown and a game-winning field goal in overtime highlighted the accomplishments for this week’s Big Sky Conference Players of the Week.

Idaho State quarterback Michael Sanders is this week’s Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week, Weber State safety Cordero Dixon is this week’s Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week and Weber State kicker Josh Kealamakia is this week’s Big Sky Special Teams Player of the Week.

Sanders completed a season-high 32-of-49 attempts for 427 yards and four touchdowns. The 427 yards ranks as the 13th best passing performance in ISU history. Sanders threw two touchdowns to KW Williams, one a 25-yard strike and the other 47-yarder.

He tossed a 34-yard score to Madison Mangum, and he threw the game-winning touchdown to Jakori Ford, a 27-yard pass with 6:15 left in the game. The win was ISU’s first over a ranked team on the road since winning at No. 20 Cal Poly in 2003.

Cordero Dixon

Dixon had a 30-yard interception returned for a touchdown in Weber State’s win at No. 12 Montana Saturday. Dixon intercepted a Montana pass late in the second quarter and returned the ball 30 yards for a TD that gave WSU a 21-14 lead at halftime. It was Dixon’s second career interception and his first INT returned for a TD. He also recorded nine tackles in the win with five solo tackles and four assisted tackles.

Joel

This is Kealamakia’s second Special Teams Player of the Week award this season. He made a 27-yard field game-winning field goal in overtime that gave Weber State a 24-21 win at No. 12 Montana Saturday. He also had six punts for an average of 44.5 yards per punt and had a long punt of 55 yards, his second longest of the year. He also had four kickoffs for an average of 64 yards per kick. Kealamakia ranks fourth in the Big Sky in punting.

Nominees for Offensive Player of the Week include: Ben Scott, UC Davis; John Santiago, North Dakota; Kendrick Bourne, Eastern Washington; Alex Kuresa, Portland State; Chris Brown, Cal Poly; Dakota Prukop, Montana State; and Eric Wilkes, Weber State.

Nominees for Defensive Player of the Week include: Will Ratelle, North Dakota; Todd Raynes, Eastern Washington; Beau Duronslet, Portland State; Kyle DeVaughan, UC Davis; Zach Hutchins, Montana State; and Tyler Kuder, Idaho State.

Nominees for Special Teams Player of the Week include: Jordan Dascalo, Eastern Washington; Zach Berg, Portland State; Trevor Bolton, Montana State; and Nikko Hayes, Idaho State.

Wildcat headshots courtesy of Weber State athletics. All Rights Reserved.

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

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