NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- AJ Harris and Juan Nieves of North Park and North Central's Tanner Rains were selected as the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Football Student-Athletes of the Week on Monday.

Harris, a sophomore running back from Chicago, spearheaded the North Park passing attack with team-highs of seven catches for 147 yards and two touchdowns. Harris did all the work to set up North Park's scoring drive to open the second half, starting with an 87-yard kickoff return to set the Vikings up at the Carthage 13-yard line. Three plays later, Harris gave the Vikings an eight-point lead with a 15-yard touchdown reception. Harris would bookend the quarter with a 25-yard touchdown reception in the final minute of the third quarter to help lead the Vikings to a 33-30 victory over the Firebirds and give North Park its first road win over Carthage since 1992.

Nieves, a freshman defensive back from Carrollton, Georgia, did a little bit of everything for the Viking defense in a 33-30 win at Carthage. Nieves tallied eight solo tackles including two tackles for a loss and a sack. After the Vikings too the lead in the fourth quarter, Nieves helped seal the victory by forcing turnovers on two Carthage possessions. Nieves first forced a fumble at midfield and then put an end to a promising Carthage drive with an interception in the red zone with less than two minutes remaining.

Rains, a freshman kicker from Plainfield, Illinois, tied a North Central school-record by converting on 11 extra-point attempts in the top-ranked Cardinals' 77-7 victory over Elmhurst. Rains also averaged 46.8 yards on five punt attempts including a long of 57 yards. Three of Rains' five punts pinned the Bluejays inside their own 20-yard line. On 12 kickoffs, he averaged 56.3 yards, including one touchback.


2021 CCIW Football Student-Athletes of the Week

Offense
AJ Harris - North Park (10/18/21)
Luke Lehnen - North Central (10/11/21)
Bryce Lowe - Carthage (10/4/21)
Bryce Lowe - Carthage (9/27/21)
Austin Eichstaedt - Carroll (9/20/21)
Ethan Greenfield - North Central (9/13/21)

Defense
Juan Nieves - North Park (10/18/21)
Bryce Gable - Elmhurst (10/11/21)
Jake Holaday - Wheaton (10/4/21)
Quinton Miller - Millikin (9/27/21)
Jake Beesley - North Central (9/20/21)
Ryan Schwartz - Wheaton (9/13/21)

Special Teams
Tanner Rains - North Central (10/18/21)
Ryan Brenner - Elmhurst (10/11/21)
Andrew Stange - Illinois Wesleyan (10/4/21)
Chris Vartanian - WashU (9/27/21)
Chris Vartanian - WashU (9/20/21)
John Bickle - Wheaton (9/13/21)
   
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).