Ten best performances from the weekend by local college football players
Corey Seargent, East Carolina- true freshman and former Northwestern Shrine Bowler made two tackles and broke up a pair of passes during East Carolina’s second straight win over ACC foe Virginia Tech.
Seargent came off the bench at cornerback and was whistled for a late holding call that got Virginia Tech into ECU’s end as the Hokies tried to overturn a seven-point deficit late, but he broke up a pair of passes in the final minute to help the Pirates hang on to the win. Seargent also prevented a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, running down receiver Cam Phillips inside the 10-yard line, and limiting the visitors to a 60-yard completion instead of six points.
Dijuan Ussery, Missouri Western- former Nation Ford speedster caught five passes for 151 yards and a touchdown during the Griffons’ 34-14 win over Lindenwood. Ussery, a junior transfer from Coffeyville Community College in Kansas, reeled in a 57-yard touchdown on his team’s first second half offensive play, helping Missouri Western overturn a 14-3 deficit.
Alstevis Squirewell, Newberry- Great Falls product had a huge game Saturday, forcing and recovering a fumble and returning an interception for a big boy touchdown during the Wolves’ conference-opening 38-31 win over Tusculum.
Squirewell, a senior defensive lineman, picked off a Pioneers’ pass and returned it 32 yards for a crucial third quarter touchdown, and also sacked Tusculum’s quarterback during the Pioneers’ first offensive drive, forcing and recovering the fumble. The interception was the fourth of Squirewell’s career. He added three tackles to his game-winning performance, and was named South Atlantic Conference defensive player of the week Monday afternoon.
Hunter Nunn, Appalachian State- former York Cougar hauled in his first catch as a college football player and it happened to go for a 1-yard touchdown during the Mountaineers’ 49-0 shellacking of Old Dominion. Nunn, a sophomore tight end, snagged his TD pass with about 7 minutes left in the third quarter to cap a nine-play scoring drive.
Beau Nunn, Appalachian State- the second Nunn twin up in Boone also had an excellent game for the Mountaineers Saturday, helping his team rush for 321 yards in the big win over the Monarchs. Nunn, a sophomore right tackle, kept a pretty clean pocket for QB Taylor Lamb, while helping Appalachian average over five yards per carry.
Devin Pearson, Charlotte- sophomore former South Pointe standout made four tackles and his first collegiate interception but couldn’t help the 49ers overcome the six interceptions their quarterbacks threw during a 17-7 loss to Florida Atlantic. Pearson picked off Jaquez Johnson’s first quarter pass, one of the 12 combined turnovers during a very sloppy Saturday night contest.
Mitchell Jeter, The Citadel- senior defensive tackle from Rock Hill High made six tackles and shared a sack during the Bulldogs’ 33-20 loss to crosstown rival Charleston Southern.
Worth Gregory, East Carolina- punter from Fort Mill had a nice game during the Pirates’ 35-28 win over Virginia Tech, hitting five kicks for an average of over 41 yards with three downed inside the 20. Gregory also handled all of his snaps cleanly during a game played in nasty conditions.
Jatavius Stewart, William Penn- Stewart is on a tear for NAIA school William Penn University. The former Rock Hill Bearcat caught four passes for 106 yards and a touchdown, a 63-yarder on his team’s first possession. Stewart has seven touchdowns in five games this fall, and TD grabs in four straight games.
Anthony Johnson, Iowa Western Community College- South Pointe’s Johnson snagged a 70-yard touchdown pass during Iowa Western’s 21-14 win over Ellsworth Community College. Johnson finished the game with two catches for 75 yards, including the second quarter TD bomb that put his team up 14-0.
Other notable performances
Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State- it wasn’t the Northwestern sophomore’s best outing for the Cowboys, with two of his turnovers converted into touchdowns by Texas on Saturday. But Rudolph’s team still got the win, with the QB completing 22-of-34 passes for 290 yards and a touchdown. He threw two interceptions and was sacked three times, with one of the picks and a fumble both taken back for touchdowns by the Longhorns. Oklahoma State is 4-0 and faces Kansas State at home next Saturday.
Quadarius Fair, Grossmont College (Calif.)- Rudolph’s former receiving buddy at Northwestern, Fair, made four catches for 33 yards during Grossmont’s 17-7 loss to Golden West in the California junior college league.
DeRyan Sanders, Chabot College (Calif.)- another local playing California juco ball, Sanders, the former Fort Mill standout, ran the ball three times for 60 yards, caught two passes for no gain and returned a pair of kickoffs a combined 79 yards, with a long of 56, during Chabot’s 38-36 loss to Feather River.
Zeek Rodney, Wake Forest- sophomore defensive tackle from South Pointe had a pair of stops during Wake’s 31-24 loss to undefeated Indiana.
Ervin Moore, Concord University- former Lancaster Bruin made three tackles, including one for a loss, during Concord’s 59-17 blowout of West Virginia Wesleyan.
Jaleel Scott, Ellsworth Community College (Iowa)- Rock Hill High’s Scott caught four passes for 56 yards during his team’s 21-14 loss to Iowa Western.
Akiven Williams, The Apprentice School- Lewisville’s Williams made six tackles from his defensive line spot during the Builders’ 56-21 loss to Washington and Lee.
Ty Currence, Limestone- former York Cougar made five tackles during the Saints’ 46-22 loss to ranked Lenoir-Rhyne.
Jamal Tyler, Pittsburg State (Kan.)- Rock Hill High’s Tyler ran the ball three times for 20 yards during the Gorillas’ 31-24 win over Fort Hays State.
Andre Foulks, Wingate- York product made three tackles and a sack during Wingate’s 17-0 shutout of Catawba.
Nate Casey, Davidson- Westminster Catawba product made three tackles during the Wildcats’ 34-0 loss to Morehead State.
Tyrell Curry, Eastern Kentucky- Rock Hill Bearcat made five tackles from his starting safety spot during the Colonels’ 51-13 win over Austin Peay.
Devin Starnes, Tusculum- former South Pointe Stallion recorded six tackles during Tusculum’s 38-31 loss to Newberry.
Corey Dover, Newberry- in that same game, former York Cougar Dover made a team-high six tackles for Newberry’s defensive effort. Dover also broke up a pair of passes.
Chris Bouyer, East Tennessee State- former Northwestern player made a pair of tackles during the Bucs’ 27-24 loss to Emory & Henry.
Gerald Dixon, Jr., South Carolina- senior from Northwestern had a tackle-for-loss during the Gamecocks’ 31-14 win over Central Florida.
Rylan Wells, Jacksonville- Fort Mill Yellow Jacket QB spelled Jacksonville starter Kade Bell for a play, picking up 13 yards on a scramble during a Dolphins’ touchdown drive in the third quarter of their 20-16 win over Marist.
Andrew Komornik, Gardner-Webb- former Nation Ford Falcon punted 10 times during the Runnin’ Bulldogs’ 16-0 loss to Wofford. Komornik put three of his kicks inside the opposing 20-yard line. He’s punted at least seven times in all four games this season, with 33 kicks total.
Arthur Williams, Pikeville- Lancaster’s Williams made eight tackles with one for a loss during Pikeville’s narrow loss to NAIA-ranked Reinhardt.
Tay Hicklin, Georgia Southern- South Pointe product made a pair of tackles during Georgia Southern’s 44-20 win over Idaho.
This story was originally published September 28, 2015 at 12:11 PM with the headline "Ten best performances from the weekend by local college football players."