McDonald Named OVC Defensive Player of Week

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Eastern Illinois linebacker Seth McDonald was named the Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after helping the Panthers to a near upset over No. 5 Illinois State in the 104th playing of the Mid-America Classic. EIU has a bye week on Sept. 26 before opening OVC play on Oct. 3 at Austin Peay.

McDonald had 12 tackles in the loss as he reached double figures tackles for the third straight game. The junior helped EIU take some momentum into the locker room at halftime as he picked off a pass with less than two minutes remaining and raced 20 yards for a score. The defensive touchdown cut the ISU lead to three points at the half. McDonald currently ranks fourth in the nation in tackles per game.

Krys Cates of Tennessee Tech was named the OVC Offensive Player of the Week. Landon Stratton of Murray State was the Special Teams Player of the Week and Dante Vandeven of Southeast Missouri was the Newcomer of the Week.