Ex-Maplewood standout Ladarius Vanlier was named the OVC co-offensive player of the week on Sunday.
Ex-Maplewood standout Ladarius Vanlier was named the OVC co-offensive player of the week on Sunday.
Former Maplewood star Ladarius Vanlier was named the Ohio Valley Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Week on Sunday after scoring a career-high four touchdowns in Tennessee Tech’s 42-24 win over Austin Peay on Saturday.
Vanlier helped the Golden Eagles snap their five-game losing streak by accounting for 272-all-purpose yards. That moved him into second in Tech history for all-purpose yards (5,196) and fourth among active Football Championship Subdivision players.
The 5-foot-8, 175 pound senior rushed for touchdowns from 51, 46 and 1 yards and also had a 69-yard catch for a TD.
Vanlier rushed for 131 yards on just 11 carries and had two catches for 74 yards. He returned two kickoffs for 66 yards and a punt for 1-yard.
Vanlier is ranked 16th nationally in all-purpose yards (141.9 per game). He leads Tech in rushing (622) and return (597) yards and is fourth in receiving (175).
Tech (3-7, 2-5 OVC) will end the season Saturday when Tennessee State (4-5, 1-5) visits.
Eastern Kentucky quarterback Bennie Coney, who completed 44-of-68 passes for a school-record 417 yards and three TDs in a 41-34 double overtime win against Murray State, was also co-offensive player of the week.
Eastern Illinois defensive lineman Dino Fanti was the top defensive player, Southeast Missouri’s Cameron Sanders, a freshman from Memphis, was the top specialist, and his teammate, freshman Dante Vandeven, was the top newcomer.
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