Urbana University redshirt sophomore punter Brandon Purk has earned the Mountain East Conference Special Teams Player of the Week award, announced by the league’s headquarters on Monday afternoon.
Purk, who is a native of Mechanicsburg, built a solid start to the season through three games. Most recently, the 6-foot-1, 185-pounder helped UU outlast Concord in the Blue Knights’ 21-15 win last Saturday, averaging 43 yards on six punts. He played a key role on UU’s special teams and defensive effort that held Concord scoreless in the second half of UU’s first victory.
More impressively, Purk pinned the Mountain Lions twice inside the 20 and recorded a game-high 57-yard boot. He now has four kicks that have gone more than 50 yards this season.
UU returns home for a conference showdown against West Liberty this Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. inside UU Stadium.
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Michael Anderson of West Virginia Wesleyan and Nick Lopez of Glenville State also earned Mountain East Conference Player of the Week honors for their play in the third week of the season.
Anderson, a senior from Elkridge, Md., is the Offensive Player of the Week after scoring four touchdowns and helping the Bobcats to their first win of the season on Saturday over West Virginia State. Anderson toted the ball 29 times for 155 yards and three scores, and added three catches for 41 yards and another score.
Lopez, a sophomore from Martinsburg, W.Va., is the MEC Defensive Player of the Week after tying an MEC record with three interceptions against Charleston. Lopez also had three tackles in the game for the Pioneers. He picked off two passes in the second quarter alone returning them 26 yards, and then his third of the day in the fourth quarter to help the Pioneers hold off Charleston, 35-28, and move to 3-0 on the year.
