Williams named WSFL Special Teams Player of the Week
Jim Howell
Nov. 4th, 2009
Freshman defensive lineman is first Matador to win honor in three years
Yuma, Arizona – November 4, 2009 -- Arizona Western College is proud to announce that AWC Football player Jesse Williams has been named the Western States Football League Special Teams Player of the Week for the week ending November 1st. It’s the first award for Williams during his Matador career. It’s also the first time that a Matador has taken home that category of the WSFL Player of the Week Award since Lance Harrison-Brown won the honor on September 17th, 2006. The announcement comes just four days after the Matadors completed a perfect 2-game homestand with a 48-14 win over the Glendale Gauchos Saturday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Yuma.
While this may be the first big headline that Williams has grabbed in the United States since arriving on the AWC campus this past August, he’s been highly touted in his home country of Australia for quite a while for earning a scholarship to play American football in the U.S. He hasn’t disappointed that hype at all, since he’s the only defensive lineman to start every game for the Matadors this season. The native of Brisbane has also been a stalwart on special teams as well, and showed what he’s learned in the span of just two plays… and 14 seconds. The Gauchos were threatening to put their first points of the game on the board midway through the second quarter Saturday night when the drive stalled at the Matadors’ 12-yard line. The 29-yard field goal attempt amounted to little more than a ‘chip shot’ for Gauchos’ kicker Ryan Schauger, but Schauger didn’t bank on Williams’ hard-charging rush through the middle of the Gauchos’ offensive line to knock the attempt down… and backward. That allowed Matador safety Jordan Sklba to scoop the blocked football up and sprint 78 yards the other way for a Matador touchdown-the Mats’ first TD on special teams this season. The Gauchos then returned the ensuing kickoff back into Matador territory and scored a rushing touchdown just one play later, so Williams and the Matadors’ special teams found themselves right back on the field just seconds later. Schauger had to experience déjà vu, however, since his extra-point attempt after the TD was sent back to him-again off the hands of Williams, who busted through the line to get a hand on the attempt.
On the season, Williams continues to be a force both on special teams and defense, since he leads the team with 3 forced fumbles, is tied for 2nd in assisted tackles (28), is 3rd in sacks (3 ½) and is 4th in total tackles (39).
Williams and the 9th-ranked Matadors now get ready for their final road test of the 2009 regular season. They’ll head to the Valley of the Sun this Saturday, November 7th, for an afternoon matchup against Phoenix College. It’s a 1:30PM kickoff Arizona time from Hoy Stadium in Phoenix, and Matador fans that don’t make the trip to Phoenix College (1202 West Thomas Road) to watch the game can catch all of the action on the Matador Sports Network’s radio (SportsRadio 560 KBLU) and internet legs (AWC Athletics website (www.azwestern.edu/athletics) & KBLU website (www.kbluam.com)). Coverage will begin with the Underhill Transfer Pre-Game Show at 1PM.
