Oct. 30, 2005
DAVIS, Calif. - Two players from UC Davis and one from Cal Poly have earned Great West Football Conference player of the week honors for their performances in games on Saturday, Oct. 29.
UC Davis wide receiver Tony Kays was named offensive player of the week while Cal Poly free safety Kenny Chicoine earned defensive player of the week honors. UC Davis placekicker
Emmanuel Benjamin was named special teams player of the week.
In Great West Football Conference games Saturday, UC Davis defeated Cal Poly 20-13 in Davis, CA, while North Dakota State was a 37-21 winner over Southern Utah in Cedar City, UT. Northern Colorado defeated Fort Lewis 45-14 in Greeley, CO, while South Dakota State fell to Georgia Southern 55-42 in Brookings, S.D., in non-conference contests.
This Saturday¹s schedule includes another pair of Great West Football Conference games -- Southern Utah (1-6, 1-2) at South Dakota State (4-4, 1-1) and Northern Colorado (3-4, 0-2) at North Dakota State (5-3, 1-2). In non-conference games, Cal Poly (5-3, 3-0) hosts Eastern Washington while UC Davis (5-3, 3-1) plays at Stephen F. Austin.
Kays (6-1, 188, Jr., Elk Grove, CA) caught 13 passes for a career-high 212 yards as UC Davis beat No.10 Cal Poly. Included in his grabs was a 58-yard reception that put the Aggies at the Mustangs' 3 with approximately 5 minutes to play, leading to the eventual game-winning touchdown. Kays had eight receptions for 107 yards in the first half. It was his fifth game of at least 10 catches and 115 receiving yards and gave him 71 catches for the year; third on the program's single-season list. The 212 yards are third-most for a game in school history.
Chicoine (6-1, 205, Jr., Huntington Beach, CA) picked off a UC Davis pass and returned it 59 yards for a touchdown, tying the game at 13-13 with 14:05 to go. It was the first interception of the season for Chicoine, who was among the nation's leaders in thefts a year ago with seven. Chicoine also had six tackles (two solo).
Benjamin (5-10, 195, So., Modesto, CA) connected on a pair of field goals and two extra-point kick s during the Aggies' win against Cal Poly. His first field goal was a 33-yarder and came early in the first quarter, giving UC Davis a 3-0 lead. His second was a 35-yarder in the third which put the Aggies up, 13-6. Benjamin has made eight of nine attempts over the past three games.
Other nominees:
Offense -- Northern Colorado quarterback Nick Hager, North Dakota State halfback Kyle Steffes and South Dakota State wide receiver Josh Davis.
Defense -- Northern Colorado free safety Reed Doughty, Southern Utah strong safety Josh Raban, North Dakota State defensive tackle Justin Frick and UC Davis defensive tackle John Faletoese.
Special Teams -- Northern Colorado return Specialist Aaron Henderson and North Dakota State punter Mike Dragosavich.
