Monday, October 1, 2007

RUSSELL, THOMPSON NAMED SAC FOOTBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Corey Russell	Jeremy Thompson

ROCK HILL, S.C. --- Tusculum College's Corey Russell and Jeremy Thompson have been named the South Atlantic Conference Football Players of the Week announced league officials Monday. Russell was named the Offensive Player of the Week, while Thompson earned Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Russell, a 6-4, 190-pound junior quarterback from Speedwell, Tenn., earns this honor for a second time in his career. Russell passed for a school single-game record 438 yards in Tusculum's 31-28 win over No. 18 Wingate University. Russell went 26-for-40, including four touchdowns. Russell's 438 passing yards are also the eighth most in SAC history.

Trailing 14-7 heading into the final moments of the second quarter, Russell threw a pair of touchdowns in the last 88 seconds of the first half to give TC a 21-14 heading into the locker room. Russell completed a 29-yard scoring strike to Ryan Tallent with 1:28 left before halftime and a 57-yard bomb to Calvin Britt with 13 seconds on the clock.

The Cumberland Gap High School product has passed for 1,193 yards this season and leads the conference in total offense averaging 267.2 yards per game.

Thompson, a 6-0, 200-pound junior defensive back from Rome, Ga., picked off two passes to stop a pair Wingate drives, including one in the end zone in the fourth quarter. It was the first of two picks in the end zone on the day for the Tusculum secondary.

Thompson's first interception came in the second quarter as Wingate had a 14-7 lead and was driving for another, but the Rome High School graduate posted the interception, setting up Russell's pass to Tallent for the tying score. His second interception came in the end zone in the fourth quarter with Tusculum holding onto a three-point advantage. Thompson finished with six tackles on the day.

Tusculum (2-3, 1-0 SAC) returns to action this Saturday when the Pioneers host Lenoir-Rhyne College for homecoming. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. at Pioneer Field.

The South Atlantic Conference Football Players of the Week are selected by a vote of the league's sports information directors.

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