Football
ShunDerrick Powell Earns FCS Offensive Player of the Week
ShunDerrick Powell wins FCS Player of the Week Honor after big game against Austin Peay.
CONWAY, Ark. — ShunDerrick Powell is off to a hot start for Central Arkansas. The senior from Hoxie, Ark. has more than 600 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns in the Bears’ first three games of the season.
His biggest game of the year, so far, came Saturday against Austin Peay. Powell’s performance was impressive enough for him to earn FCS Offensive Player of the Week Honors.
Stats Perform FCS National Offensive Player of the Week
Congratulations to Central Arkansas RB ShunDerrick Powell
Story: https://t.co/5QqfhkHxGF pic.twitter.com/Xen9kWzSMz
— FCS Football (@OptaAnalystFCS) September 16, 2024
Against the Governors, Powell gained 210 yards from scrimmage and scored three touchdowns. He had 173 rushing yards and touchdown runs of 11- and 63-yards to go along with his four catches for 37 yards and a 12-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Will McElvain.
For the season, Powell has ran for 475 yards on 54 carries and scored six touchdowns. He’s averaging nearly 160 rushing yards per game and has a long run of 81 yards. He’s eight passes in UCA’s first three games of the season, averaging 19.5 yards per catch and scoring twice.
UCA could’ve had a second play considered for the offensive player of the week award with Darius Hale running for 145 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns against Austin Peay.
“ShunDerrick had a down night, he only averaged eight yards a carry,” UCA coach Nathan Brown joked after Saturday’s win. “Darius averaged 10 and a half. Shame on us if we’re not (getting them the ball), right? We’ve got a chance to be really good, but we’ve got to continue to get those two horses involved, because when you get the ball in 27’s hands, or you get the ball in 4’s hands – and they complement each other so well – good things happen.”
The Bears (2-1) will hit the road again this week to face UAPB at 6 p.m. Saturday in Pine Bluff.
| Sat, Aug 31 |  | @ Arkansas State | L, 34-31 |
| Sat, Sep 7 |  | @ Lindenwood | W, 34-13 |
| Sat, Sep 14 |  | Austin Peay | W, 45-17 |
| Sat, Sep 21 |  | @ Arkansas-Pine Bluff | W, 56-17 |
| Sat, Sep 28 |  | vs Lamar | W, 34-14 |
| Sat, Oct 5 |  | @ Abilene Christian | L, 41-34 |
| Sat, Oct 12 |  | vs West Georgia | W, 34-33 |
| Sat, Oct 26 |  | vs North Alabama | W, 24-19 |
| Sat, Nov 2 |  | @ Utah Tech | L, 34-21 |
| Sat, Nov 9 |  | @ Eastern Kentucky | L, 31-24 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Southern Utah | L, 38-31 |
| Sat, Nov 30 |  | @Tarleton State | 2:00 PM |
