Story courtesy of the Missouri Valley Conference
Photo courtesy of Southern Illinois Athletics
This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include WR Dorian Buford of Missouri State, LB Aaron Archie of Indiana State, S Anthony Thompson of Southern Illinois, and RS Mulku Kalokoh of Southern Illinois.
OFFENSE
WR Dorian Buford, Missouri State
6-0, 178, Jr., St. Louis (Mo.) McCluer North High
Buford had 4 receptions and secured his third 100-yard receiving effort of the season and pulled in a pivotal 46-yard completion from Kierra Harris in the fourth quarter in the Bears' 24-17 win at No. 11 Illinois State. Buford, who had 4 receptions for 100 yards, became just the 10th MSU pass receiver to secure three or more 100-yard games in a season and is just one 100-yard game away from tying the Bears' season record (4).
DEFENSE
LB Aaron Archie, Indiana State
6-0, 235, Sr., Detroit (Mich.) Cass Tech
Archie posted a team-high 11 tackles, including one for a loss with a quarterback hurry as the Sycamores broke a string of seven road losses at Western Illinois with a 23-7 victory over the Leathernecks. Aaron, who leads the MVFC in tackles per game, went into double digit tackles for the eighth time this season. Three of Archie’s tackles were solos as the Sycamore defense allowed just five first downs to Western Illinois in the contest and held Western to just 144 yards of total offense. ISU ranks No. 5 nationally in total defense, and No. 2 nationally in scoring defense. Archie, meanwhile, ranks No. 4 nationally in tackles.
NEWCOMER
S Anthony Thompson, Southern Illinois
6-1, 208, Fr., Lakeside (Quebec) Academy/UCLA
Thompson set a school record with a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown in the final minute of SIU’s win at No. 15 Youngstown State. The freshman transfer from UCLA also recovered a blocked punt near the goal line and nearly scored another touchdown. In addition, he recovered a fumble on a YSU kick return in the final minute of the first half. He had three tackles in the game.
SPECIAL TEAMS
RS Mulku Kalokoh, Southern Illinois
5-10, 193, Sr., Potomac (Va.) High School
Kalokoh returned one punt for 20 yards and returned four kickoffs for a total of 65 yards in SIU's win at No. 15 Youngstown State. However, his biggest contribution on special teams came in the second quarter when he blocked a Youngstown State punt attempt, which the Salukis recovered for a touchdown. That helped swing the momentum for the Dawgs, who scored 28 unanswered points to end the game.