Following a game where he recorded his second interception return for a touchdown of the season and helped McNeese to a 21-19 win over then-19th ranked Lamar in the annual Battle of the Border rivalry game, defensive lineman Phillip Bradford has been named this week’s Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
It’s the Monroe native’s second weekly award this season. Cowboys’ running back Coleby Hamm and punter Fabrizio Pinton were awarded honorable mention weekly honors for their performances in Saturday’s season finale.
Additionally, the Cowboys were named as an honorable mention for the Stats Perform FCS National Team of the Week, which was awarded to Yale for handing Harvard its only loss of the season.
Against Lamar, Bradford added to his Southland Conference leading total in tackles for a loss with two more, giving him 15.5 for the season. He recorded three total tackles, a pass break-up, and a quarterback hurry.
With McNeese having just taken a 14-13 lead over the Cardinals midway through the fourth quarter, the junior snatched a Lamar pass at the line of scrimmage and returned it untouched for a 21-yard score and increasing the lead to 21-13.
Hamm rushed for a career-high 131 yards and averaged 8.5 yards per carry. His final run of six yards gave McNeese a first down and allowed the Cowboys to run out the clock for the win. It also put him over 1,000 yards rushing for his career.
Pinton averaged 43.5 yards on six punts and had four downed inside the 20-yard line with three of those inside the 15.