With last week behind us, it is time to announce True To The Cru’s Players of the Week presented by the Crusader Football Alumni Association.
The Offensive Player of the Week honor goes to the Cru offensive line, who played a key role in UMHB’s 49-3 win over Texas Lutheran on Saturday. Nine different players saw action on UMHB’s offensive line: Ethan Ruckman, Matt Sanders, Jeffery Sims, John Kazmierski, Jesse Hoke, Lance Jones, Hayes Chizer, Adam Dobbins, Reuel Tandoh.
Together, they helped the Cru to 455 total yards of offense, 253 on the ground. UMHB also scored three rushing touchdowns, and the offensive line did not allow a sack.
The offensive line tallied 59 percent of the vote.
Defensively, our Player of the Week is linebacker Jacob Mueller, who earned the honor for the fourth time this season. Switched from strongside linebacker to weakside linebacker, the Fort Worth native posted the second-most tackles for the Cru, with eight. He added a team-high 2.0 tackles for loss for 13 yards and one sack.
He tallied 50 percent of the vote.
Kicker Anthony Avila was voted as the Special Teams Player of the Week. He nailed all six of his extra-point attempts, and averaged 57.5 yards per kickoffs on eight kickoffs. He did miss his lone field goal attempt of the contest.
The senior from Troy, Texas picked up 57 percent of the vote.
Volleyball Player of the Week: Kayla Janikula
The senior hitter earned True To The Cru’s Player of the Week honor for the third time this year, tallying 26 kills over the Cru’s two matches, both victories. She opened the week with 19 kills against Texas Lutheran, helping UMHB to a five-set win. Then on Saturday at ETBU, in a three- set sweep, Janikula added seven kills. Additionally, the Kingwood, Texas native posted just three errors on 57 total attacks.
Men’s Soccer Player of the Week: Nick Villanueva
In UMHB’s lone match of the week, a 3-1 victory over Belhaven, the senior midfielder scored a season-high two goals. He also added season-bests in shots on goal (3) and total shots (6), as the Austin native got plenty of scoring opportunities. Villanueva netted the go-ahead goal in the 23rd minute before adding another in the 38th minute. He was named a Co-Offensive Player of the Week by the ASC.
Women’s Soccer Player of the Week: Maria Rico
Rico earns our Player of the Week honor once again, as the junior forward rose to the occasion in UMHB’s only match of the week, a 1-0 overtime victory against Belhaven. The back-and-forth contest saw UMHB take a total of 18 shots during regulation, including three from Rico, before she found the back of the net in the ninth minute of overtime to win the game. Rico leads the ASC in goals with 12 and in points with 27.
