Football Players of the Week were announced by the Great Plains Athletic Conference on Monday.
Offense – Ryan Kasdorf, Quarterback (Morningside College)
Mustang quarterback Ryan Kasdorf is the GPAC/Hauff Mid-America Sports Offensive Player-of-the-Week. Kasdorf, a senior from Newhall, California, tied a Morningside single-game record with seven touchdown passes in a 76-20 victory against No. 17 Dakota Wesleyan. He had TD passes of 61 and 70 yards to Connor Niles along with scoring strikes of six and 16 yards to Jason Vander Kooi, 28 yards to Tanner Ver Steeg, eight yards to Michael Whitehead, and five yards to Trey Russell. Aside from his 365 yards passing, Kasdorf also rushed for 22 yards to finish with 387 yards total offense. Kasdorf, the NAIA national leader in pass efficiency for the third year in a row, has passed for 8881 yards and a school-record 98 touchdowns during his Morningside career. With 1076 yards rushing, Kasdorf is the only quarterback in Morningside history to rush for 1000 yards during a career. Third-ranked Morningside hosts Briar Cliff on Saturday with kickoff at 1 pm.
Defense – Trey Barnes, Defensive End (Concordia University)
Concordia defensive lineman Trey Barnes is this week’s GPAC/Hauff Mid-America Sports Defensive Player-of-the-Week. Barnes, a junior, from Seward, Nebraska, recorded a pair of sacks and nine total tackles as Concordia improved to 5-1. The Seward native has a team high five sacks this season for a Bulldog defense that ranks No. 3 in the NAIA in total yards allowed per game (247.7). Concordia, receiving votes in the last poll, will host sixth-ranked Doane.
Special Teams – Kramer Rath, Kicker (Nebraska Wesleyan University)
Nebraska Wesleyan kicker Kramer Rath is this week’s GPAC/Hauff Mid-America Sports Special Teams Player-of-the-Week. Rath, a sophomore, from Lincoln, Nebraska, was a perfect 2-of-2 on field goals and 3-of-3 on PAT attempts to help NWU to a 27-14 victory over Dordt. Rath provided the Prairie Wolves their only points of the 1st half with a 29-yard field goal. He then helped seal the win with a 23-yard field goal in the 4th quarter. Rath had three touchbacks on kickoff attempts. This season he is 6-8 on field goal attempts.
