NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- Wheaton's Phillip Nichols, Augustana's Xavier Holley and Illinois Wesleyan's Dean Zigulich were selected as the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Football Players of the Week on Monday.

Nichols, a senior wide receiver from Knoxville, Tennessee and Christian Academy of Knoxville, scored three second half touchdowns in the Thunder's 35-21 win over fifth-ranked North Central at home on Saturday. He caught 10 passes for 207 yards as four of his 10 receptions went for over 20 yards. Nichols' first touchdown was a 47-yard catch midway through the third quarter that tied the game at 14-14. He came back to tie the game again at 21-21 late in the third quarter on a five-yard catch in the corner of the end zone. Nichols' final touchdown catch was for 58 yards early in the fourth quarter that gave Wheaton its first lead at 28-21.

Holley, a senior defensive lineman from Davenport, Iowa and Bettendorf High School, recorded 7.5 tackles-for-loss (43 yards) and five sacks for 37 yards in a 40-14 Homecoming win over Millikin on Saturday. He led the Augustana defense with 10 tackles (eight solo) as the Vikings held the Big Blue to just 60 yards rushing on the day.

Zigulich, a senior wide receiver/kick returner from Riverside, Illinois and Riverside-Brookfield High School, returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown during the Titans' 42-14 Homecoming win over Carroll on Saturday. It was the first kickoff returned for a touchdown by an Illinois Wesleyan player since September 24, 2016 when Maurice Shoemaker-Gilmore went 88 yards against North Park. The 96-yard touchdown was the third-longest kickoff return in Illinois Wesleyan football history. Zigulich also added three catches for 73 yards and returned two punts for 79 yards against the Pioneers. 

2019 CCIW Football Players of the Week

Offense
Phillip Nichols - Wheaton (10/6/19)
Broc Rutter - North Central (9/30/19)
Andrew Kamienski - North Central (9/23/19)
Hamid Bullie - Illinois Wesleyan (9/16/19)
Jordan Smith - Millikin (9/9/19)

Defense
Xavier Holley - Augustana (10/6/19)
Spencer Rowland - Wheaton (9/30/19)
Ryan Schwartz - Wheaton (9/23/19)
Trevor Koepke - Illinois Wesleyan (9/16/19)
Luke Sawicki - Augustana (9/9/19)

Special Teams
Dean Zigulich - Illinois Wesleyan (10/6/19)
Robert Neidballa - Illinois Wesleyan (9/30/19)
David Collins - Carthage (9/23/19)
Matt Burns - Elmhurst (9/16/19)
John Bickle - Wheaton (9/9/19)
   
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 2018-19 academic year, the CCIW honored over 2,200 academic all-conference recipients, 18 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 43 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, and over 100 all-Americans.