By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Cayman Spaulding was a force Saturday as the Tennessee Tech Football team shut down Lindenwood's offense in a 52-10 victory at Tucker Stadium.
Spaulding, a sophomore from Lithonia, Ga., was recognized for his efforts on Monday morning as he shared the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference's Defensive Player of the Week honor with Charleston Southern's Davion Williams.
The weekly awards are voted on by the league's sports information contacts.
The Golden Eagle linebacker collected six total tackles – four solo and two assisted – as he also had 2.5 for-loss, including a four-yard sack. Spaulding also had a 29-yard interception return for a touchdown. Adding to the impressive resume is that the game was the fourth time this season the Tech defense has held an opponent to under 100 rushing yards for the contest as Lindenwood ended with 68 yards on 36 carries, an average of 1.9 yards per rush.
The explosive Lion offense was held to 249 total yards, its lowest output of the season against a Football Championship Subdivision team. The only game this year Lindenwood had fewer yards was the season opener at Kansas, where the Lions were held to 202 total yards.
Spaulding is the third Golden Eagle this season to collect a Big South-OVC Defensive Player of the Week nod, joining defensive linemen Hudson Tucker (Sept. 23) and Theron Gaines (Sept. 30). Punter Spencer Ashby was also named the Big South-OVC Freshman of the Week back on Sept. 2.
He shared the honor with CSU S Williams, who recorded eight total tackles – seven solo – with four for-loss for 17 yards and one sack for nine yards. Williams also forced a fumble on the sack and recorded a QB hurry. The Buccaneers, however, lost the game 17-14 to Gardner-Webb.
The Offensive Player of the Week honor went to Eastern Illinois' M.J. Flowers. The Panther running back collected 280 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns as he ran 27 times for 194 yards and a score, then caught three passes for 86 yards and two more touchdowns in a 45-38 victory over Western Illinois.
The Special Teams Player of the Week award went to Tennessee State's C.J. Evans. The kickoff return specialist handled three kicks for 140 yards – an average of 46.7 yards per return – as he brought one kick back 98 yards for a touchdown, his second KOR score of the season.
The Freshman of the Week award went to Charleston Southern's Tyson Greenwade. The running back finished the game with 15 carries for 68 yards and a touchdown, while also catching three passes for 31 yards.
Tech returns to action this week with the first of its final two road contests of the regular season as the Golden Eagles head down to Birmingham to take on non-conference Samford in a 2 p.m. contest. Tech then will head to UT Martin on Nov. 16, before returning to Tucker Stadium for the season finale against Eastern Illinois on Nov. 23 for a noon start.
Tickets for that game are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or order online at TTUsports.com.
Photo | Jim Dillon
