Rayner and Foley secure MAC weekly honors
Left: Sophomore linebacker Daveren Rayner assumes his defensive position pre-play during NIU’s road game against the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Sept. 10 at H.A. Chapman Stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Right: Redshirt sophomore punter Tom Foley punting during the second quarter of NIU’s season-opening game versus the Eastern Illinois University Panthers on Sept. 1 at Huskie Stadium.
DeKALB – Two Huskies were included on the list of the Mid-American Conference’s Week Four Football Players of the Week that was announced Monday.
Sophomore linebacker Daveren Rayner had a great performance against the University of Kentucky Saturday, the No. 8 ranked team in the nation at the time. Rayner had ten tackles with six of them being solo. Rayner also had one of the five sacks the Huskies had as a team. Rayner leads the Huskies so far this season in tackles with 42 and this ranks second in the conference.
The other MAC player of the week for the Huskies was redshirt sophomore punter Tom Foley, who also had a day of his own in the loss against Kentucky. Foley had five punts for an average of 47.2 yards per punt. Three of these punts pinned Kentucky inside its own 20-yard line. He also had a season-long punt of 61 yards that bounced out at Kentucky’s two yard line to give Kentucky poor field position. With an average of 46.3 yards per punt, Foley would lead the MAC with enough punts to qualify. The Huskies had some standout performances despite the loss to one of the best teams in the nation. Foley and Rayner have been two of the best at their position in the MAC.
The Huskies continue their season against Ball State University at 1 p.m. Saturday at Scheumann Stadium in Muncie, Indiana. This game can be watched on ESPN+. Live stats will be available on SIDEARM Sports.
