Back-to-back: USF backup QB MSFA Player of the Week
University of Saint Francis backup quarterback David Yoder now has a ‘back-to-back’ to add to his resume after being named Mid-States Football Association Mideast League Offense Player of the Week for the second consecutive week.
Yoder (Goshen, IN / Concord H.S.) piled up impressive numbers playing only about 20 minutes to rally the Cougars out of a 7-3 deficit late in the first half to a 45-20 win over then No. 10 St. Xavier University on Saturday night. Yoder earned his third overall POTW award by throwing for two touchdowns, rushing for the go-ahead TD and passing for 262 yards.
Yoder came on in relief of starter Josh Miller for the second consecutive week and directed USF back into the lead after SXU had gone ahead 7-3 with just 4:02 left to play in the second quarter. Yoder guided USF on a 10-play, 72-yard drive in just 2:42 and back into the lead with 1:09 to play in the first half. He connected on 5-of-7 pass attempts including a 30-yard connection with Cam Smith to the SXU 1-yard line on a third-and-two from the SXU 41-yard line.
In the third quarter, the 6-foot-3 senior connected for TD passes of 23 and 75 yds and completed 9-of-15 passes for 120 yards to help USF open up a 31-13 lead.
Yoder finished 15-for-23 passing, a 65 percent completion percentage. In his last two games coming off the bench, Yoder has completed 44-of-65 passes for 512 yards and five TDs.
Yoder, who was named POTW once in 2012, gave USF its sixth POTW in its first five games. He becomes the first USF team member to earn back-to-back POTW honors since Austin Coleman did it on special teams in 2011. He is the first USF quarterback to win back-to-back POTW honors since Antoine Taylor did it in 2002.
USF, which held on to its No. 4 ranking in the NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 on Monday, hits the road for the fourth time in its first six games for a first-time football meeting at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Ill., on Sat., Oct. 19 at 5 p.m. FW time. Coverage will be on WLYV 1450 AM radio and begins at 4:45 p.m. The Fighting Saints are No. 20 in this week’s NAIA Top 25. This will be the first time in 16 seasons USF has started the season playing six consecutive NAIA Top 25 teams to open the season. USF (IL) will be the Cougars’ eighth consecutive ranked opponent including their two NAIA Football Championship Series games in 2012.
The University of Saint Francis, founded in 1890 as a comprehensive university in the Catholic Franciscan tradition, offers more than 60 undergraduate and 14 graduate programs in five schools: The School of Health Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Keith Busse School of Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership, School of Professional Studies and School of Creative Arts. More than 2,400 students from a broad geographic region attend USF for its academic excellence. The university has a regional campus in Crown Point, Ind.
