The best performances of Week 9 came in all shapes. A quarterback carved up a top-five team on a Thursday night in Baltimore. A running back broke two 75-yard touchdown runs. A cornerback returned an interception 98 yards, and a kicker won a game in Philadelphia with no time on the clock.

This week, all of them were honored. South Carolina State and North Carolina Central took four of the five MEAC weekly awards, Arkansas-Pine Bluff claimed two SWAC honors after its rout of Bethune-Cookman, and North Carolina A&T’s Tyrek Brown was named a CAA co-defensive player of the week after sealing the 100th GHOE. The Week 9 recap has the full story of every game.

MEAC Weekly Honors

  • Offensive Player of the Week: Keely Watson, South Carolina State (27 of 36, 279 yards, 4 TD)
  • Defensive Player of the Week: Khareem Thompson, North Carolina Central (7 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 0.5 sack, 1 QB hurry)
  • Offensive Lineman of the Week: James Reddick II, South Carolina State (8 pancake blocks, no sacks or penalties allowed)
  • Rookie of the Week: Matteo Bracalenti, Delaware State (35-yard field goal as time expired)
  • Specialist of the Week: Riley Daniels, North Carolina Central (2 field goals)

Keely Watson and James Reddick II, South Carolina State

South Carolina State’s offense did whatever it wanted at Hughes Stadium, and the MEAC honored both ends of it. Watson, a quarterback from Jacksonville, Fla., completed 27 of 36 passes, a 75 percent completion rate, for 279 yards and four touchdowns in the 51-10 win over Morgan State. His scoring throws went to four different receivers: Martavious Collins, Troy Hillman, DJ Maultsby and Shamontae Burgess.

Reddick, a graduate center from Fort Valley, Ga., anchored the line that cleared the way for 509 yards of offense, including 279 through the air and 213 on the ground. He earned a 91 percent blocking grade and recorded eight pancake blocks without allowing a sack or committing a penalty.

The Bulldogs are 7-2 and 2-0 in MEAC play. They are No. 2 in the Black College Football Poll and No. 1 in the Data Driven HBCU Computer Poll, and this week’s poll comparison breaks down why.

Khareem Thompson and Riley Daniels, North Carolina Central

Howard came to Durham averaging 20.4 points a game and left with none. Thompson, a defensive lineman from Charlotte, N.C., led a North Carolina Central defense that held the Bison to 114 total yards, 44 passing yards, four first downs and 2 of 15 on third down in a 34-0 shutout. He finished with seven tackles, three of them solo, 2.5 tackles for loss, half a sack and a quarterback hurry.

Daniels, a freshman kicker from Raleigh, N.C., made 21- and 29-yard field goals in the second quarter. It was his fourth game this season with multiple made field goals, and he has accounted for 64 points.

The Eagles are 4-5 and 2-0 in MEAC play, tied with South Carolina State atop the conference, and back in the Black College Football Poll at No. 8.

Matteo Bracalenti, Delaware State

Bracalenti, a kicker from Westgrove, Pa., had the final word in the second HBCU Battle of the Legends. With the score tied at 33, he made a 35-yard field goal as time expired at Lincoln Financial Field to complete Delaware State’s comeback from two 17-point deficits against Norfolk State.

Marqui Adams was among the MEAC’s other notable performers after completing 17 of 23 passes for 243 yards and four touchdowns in the win. Norfolk State’s Elyjah Mitchell also drew a mention with a game-high 91 receiving yards on five catches, including a 49-yard reception.

SWAC Weekly Honors

  • Offensive Player of the Week: Athean Renfro Jr., Texas Southern (21 rushes, 233 yards, 2 TD)
  • Defensive Player of the Week: Michael Williams II, Southern (3 tackles, 2 INT, 115 return yards, 1 TD)
  • Newcomer of the Week: Demetric Whitlock Jr., Arkansas-Pine Bluff (4 catches, 48 yards, 3 TD)
  • Special Teams Player of the Week: Trey Glymph, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (9 of 9 on extra points)

Athean Renfro Jr., Texas Southern

Renfro is making a habit of this. A week after winning the award for his game against Southern, he ran 21 times for a career-high 233 yards and two touchdowns in Texas Southern’s 23-20 overtime win over Grambling State. He scored on runs of 75 and 86 yards and averaged 11.1 yards per carry.

Renfro now has 899 rushing yards, second in the SWAC, and he averages 105.1 yards a game. He has already passed his 2025 total of 835 yards with three games left. This is his third weekly award of the season, and Texas Southern has won two straight.

Michael Williams II, Southern

Williams, a cornerback, turned Southern’s 42-14 win at Florida A&M into a highlight reel. He intercepted two passes and returned them for 115 yards, including a 98-yard touchdown. His other interception came at the Southern 2, ending a Florida A&M scoring chance.

Williams has 24 tackles, three interceptions, a tackle for loss and two pass breakups this season. It is his first weekly award.

Demetric Whitlock Jr. and Trey Glymph, Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Three of Whitlock’s four catches went for touchdowns in the 63-21 win over Bethune-Cookman. The wide receiver from Gilbert, La., scored from 7, 35 and 2 yards out on throws from Jack Schierholz, and he finished with 48 receiving yards.

Whitlock leads the Golden Lions with 36 catches, 570 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, and this is his second weekly award. Glymph, a graduate kicker, went 9 for 9 on extra points in the rout. He has not missed a field goal this season, with a long of 39 yards, and he leads the SWAC in field goals.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff jumped from receiving votes to No. 5 in the Black College Football Poll after the win and is tied for first in the SWAC West at 3-2.

CAA Honors: Tyrek Brown, North Carolina A&T

North Carolina A&T’s 100th Homecoming needed one more play, and Brown made it. The sophomore linebacker from Charlotte, N.C., sacked Elon quarterback Brady Stober and forced a fumble with 44 seconds left, and the Aggies recovered to seal a 13-10 win before 22,401 at Truist Stadium.

Brown finished with six solo tackles, a sack, two forced fumbles and a pass breakup. He shared CAA Defensive Player of the Week honors with UAlbany’s Shawan Lewis. The Aggies held Elon to nine first downs and 201 total yards, improving to 4-5 and 3-2 in CAA play.

Follow every result and the full standings on the 2026 football season dashboard.