NAPERVILLE, Ill. – North Central’s Austin Breunig, North Park’s David Simmons Jr. and Wheaton’s Stefan Knoerr were selected as the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Football Players of the Week on Monday.
 
Breunig, a senior running back from Sandwich, Illinois and Sandwich High School (Athletic Training major), rushed for 264 yards on 26 carries and three rushing touchdowns in a 43-20 win over Carthage on Saturday. He also caught three passes for 88 yards and two receiving touchdowns in the win. Breunig established school records for rushing yards, all-purpose yards (350) and total touchdowns as North Central put up a season-high 581 yards against a Carthage team which had allowed only 231 yards per game this season.
 
Simmons, a junior defensive back from Indianapolis, Indiana and Southport High School, helped lead the Vikings to a 37-6 win over Carroll on Saturday as he finished with eight tackles (five solo), two interceptions, two pass breakups and one tackle-for-loss. His second quarter 76-yard interception return for a touchdown put North Park up 23-0 as the Vikings scored the game’s first 30 points. Simmons also finished with a blocked kick in the contest.
 
Knoerr, a senior kicker from Arvada, Colorado (Engineering major), finished 2-for-2 on field goals and 5-for-6 on PATs during Wheaton’s 53-10 victory over Augustana on Saturday. He kicked a 22-yard field goal in the second quarter that gave the Thunder a 16-3 lead and followed with a career-best 46-yard field goals as time expired to end the first half and extend his team’s lead to 26-3.
 
2017 CCIW Football Players of the Week
 
Offense
Austin Breunig – North Central (11/6/17)
Kyle Friberg – Carthage (10/30/17)
Austin Breunig – North Central (10/23/17)
Curtis McWilliams – Wheaton (10/17/17)
Nicco Stepina – Millikin (10/9/17)
Broc Rutter – North Central (10/2/17)
Jamel Davis – Carthage (9/25/17)
Spencer Peterson – Wheaton (9/18/17)
Gerald Perry – Millikin (9/11/17)
Austin Breunig – North Central (9/5/17)
 
Defense
David Simmons Jr. – North Park (11/6/17)
Eric Dubose – Illinois Wesleyan (10/30/17)
Trevor Staley – Illinois Wesleyan (10/23/17)
Pete Laughlin – Carthage (10/17/17)
Jordan Hassan – Illinois Wesleyan (10/9/17)
Jordan Hassan – Illinois Wesleyan (10/2/17)
Pat Cravens – North Central (9/25/17)
Tommy Sora – North Central (9/18/17)
Shawntrel Garner – Carthage (9/11/17)
Trevor Staley – Illinois Wesleyan (9/5/17)
 
Special Teams
Stefan Knoerr – Wheaton (11/6/17)
Anthony Sciarini – Illinois Wesleyan (10/30/17)
Ben Spelman – Millikin (10/23/17)
Liam Keffer – Illinois Wesleyan (10/17/17)
Matt Sutherland – North Central (10/9/17)
Tommy Bazarek – Carthage (10/2/17)
Stefan Knoerr – Wheaton (9/25/17)
Jacob Stytz – Augustana (9/18/17)
Wyatt Fox – Millikin (9/11/17)
Stefan Knoerr – Wheaton (9/5/17)
 
Twitter & Instagram: CCIW_Athletics
 
The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carroll University (Waukesha, WI), Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, IL), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL), Millikin University (Decatur, IL), North Central College (Naperville, IL), North Park University (Chicago, IL) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL). During the 2016-17 academic year, the CCIW honored over 1,900 academic all-conference recipients, 10 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 33 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, one CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year and over 100 all-Americans.