RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Great American Conference announced the football players of the week for the final week of the 2023 season. Henderson State's Andrew Edwards and Southern Nazarene's Gage Porter shared the Offensive Player honor; the Reddies' Gary Lewis earned the Defensive Player accolade and Harding's Ty Dugger claimed the Special Teams award.

#theGAC FOOTBALL OFFENSIVE CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Andrew Edwards, QB, Henderson State, So., Bentonville, Arkansas
Edwards led the Reddies to a 31-27 victory at No. 10 Ouachita Baptist. He completed 21-of-29 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns. He added a rushing touchdown. In the Reddies' four-game win streak that pushed them into the playoffs, he has completed 76.7 percent of his passes, accounted for 17 touchdowns and thrown no interceptions.

#theGAC FOOTBALL OFFENSIVE CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Gage Porter, QB, Southern Nazarene, Sr., Elk City, Oklahoma
Porter assured the Crimson Storm of the program's first winning season at the NCAA Division II level by rushing for 195 yards and four touchdowns in the 49-21 home win against Oklahoma Baptist. He added 135 yards through the air. He became the first Division II quarterback with 1,500 rush yards and 1,500 pass yards in a season since 2015.

#theGAC FOOTBALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Gary Lewis, DE, Henderson State, So., Fordyce, Arkansas
Lewis came up with a crucial turnover in the fourth quarter of the Reddies' victory against Ouachita Baptist in the Battle of the Ravine. With less than six minutes remaining, he sacked Tiger quarterback Eli Livingston and forced a fumble, recovered by Jakob Neel. The Reddies secured their first win against the Tigers since 2015.

#theGAC FOOTBALL SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ty Dugger, PR, Harding, So., Searcy, Arkansas
Dugger registered the Bisons' first punt return touchdown since 2016 when he ran a second-quarter punt back 64 yards for a score as part of Harding's dominating 56-0 road win against Arkansas Tech that locked up the top seed in Super Region #3 for the Bisons. He notched only the second punt return touchdown in the GAC this season.

OTHERS NOMINATED

Ethan Everson, QB (Northwestern Oklahoma State), Ryan Hirt, RB (Southeastern Oklahoma State), Cole Keylon, QB (Harding), Jariq Scales, RB (Southern Arkansas)

Carter Brock, LB (Southern Nazarene), Antoine Martin, LB (Northwestern Oklahoma State), Dawson Scott, DE (Southern Arkansas), Zach Strickland, LB (Harding)

Chancelor Gill, PR (Northwestern Oklahoma State), Hayden Nitz, PK (Southern Arkansas)