Sept. 19, 2011

Center Valley, Pa. - Lehigh quarterback Chris Lum continued his roll of Patriot League Football Offensive Player of the Week awards to start the 2011 season, as the senior collected his third honor in as many weeks from the League on Monday.

After beating Penn 37-12 on Saturday, Lafayette had three student-athletes honored with senior defensive back Kyle Simmons named Defensive Player of the Week, freshman placekicker Austin O'Brien taking home the Special Teams Player of the Week award and freshman running back Ross Scheuerman named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week.

Lum completed 28-of-38 passes for 384 yards and four touchdowns without an interception to lead the No. 16/19 Mountain Hawks past Princeton, 34-22. In Lafayette's victory, Simmons had 15 tackles and two interceptions, one of which he returned 31 yards for a touchdown. O'Brien made a 48-yard field goal right before the half and connected on 4-of-5 extra point attempts, while Scheuerman had 147 all-purpose yards including a 44-yard touchdown reception.

Patriot League Football Weekly Awards (Sept. 17)

Offensive Player of the Week
Chris Lum, QB, Lehigh Sr., 6-2, 205 (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion)
Lum becomes the first Patriot Leaguer since 2008 to win three consecutive Offensive Player of the Week awards after yet another outstanding outing in a 34-22 win at Princeton on Saturday. The senior signal-caller completed 28-of-38 passes for 384 yards and four touchdowns without an interception to lead the No. 16/19 Mountain Hawks to the victory. It was his third straight games with at least 300 yards and four touchdowns through the air to open the season. Lum leads the nation in points responsible for per contest and ranks second in both passing yards and total offense per game. He is completing 68 percent of his passes for 1,131 yards and 14 touchdowns through the first three games. Lum earns his fifth-career Offensive Player of the Week award. The last player to win as many as three straight awards was Holy Cross quarterback Dominic Randolph, who took four in a row in 2008.

Defensive Player of the Week
Kyle Simmons, DB, Lafayette Sr., 6-1, 200 (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum)
Simmons was all over the field in Lafayette's 37-12 win at Penn on Saturday with 15 tackles and a pair of interceptions, one of which he returned 31 yards for a touchdown to break the game open late in the third quarter and give Lafayette a 30-12 lead. He returned the other interception 21 yards in the fourth quarter to set up Lafayette's final score. The 15 tackles were a career-high, and the pick-six was the first of his career. Simmons earns his first Defensive Player of the Week award.

Special Teams Player of the Week
Austin O'Brien, K, Lafayette Fr., 6-3, 250 (Medford, N.J./Shawnee)
O'Brien booted a 48-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to give Lafayette a 16-12 lead at the break on its way to a 37-12 victory over Penn on Saturday. He also made 4-of-5 extra point attempts. O'Brien receives his first weekly award from the Patriot League.

Rookie of the Week
Ross Scheuerman, RB, Lafayette Fr., 6-0, 190 (Creamridge, N.J./Allentown)
Scheuerman had a breakout performance in Lafayette's 37-12 win over Penn, rushing 13 times for 89 yards and catching a 44-yard touchdown pass to help lift the Leopards to the victory. Scheuerman led Lafayette with 147 all-purpose yards in the game. He claims his first weekly award.

Honorable Mention

Ryan Spadola, WR, Lehigh Jr., 6-3, 205 (Howell, N.J./Freehold Township)
Spadola had nine receptions for a career-high 214 yards and three touchdowns in Lehigh's 34-22 win at Princeton on Saturday.

Andrew Shoop, QB, Lafayette Jr., 6-1, 210 (Danville, Pa./Danville)
Shoop completed 14-of-23 passes for 230 yards and four touchdowns without an interception in Lafayette's 37-12 victory at Penn.

Ryan Taggart, QB, Holy Cross Sr., 6-2, 214 (Bedford, Texas/Trinity)
Taggart completed 22-of-35 passes for a career-high 320 yards and a touchdown and also ran for 34 yards and a score to earn game MVP honors in Holy Cross' 30-22 win over Harvard on Saturday.

Andrew Zitnik, DB, Holy Cross So., 5-11, 175 (Warren, Ohio/Warren G. Harding)
Zitnik had a team-high nine tackles and a 97-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to help seal Holy Cross' victory over Harvard.

Gavin McCarney, QB, Colgate So., 6-2, 192 (Jefferson Township, N.J./Jefferson Township)
McCarney completed 26-of-34 passes for 200 yards and ran for 122 yards and three touchdowns in Colgate's 37-20 loss to Dartmouth on Saturday.