INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – McKendree University redshirt sophomore return specialist/receiver Jacob Bachman (Eureka, Ill./Eureka) has been named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Football Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday afternoon by the league office.
Bachman earns his first career GLVC Special Team Player of the Week accolade following his performance to help the Bearcats to a 24-10 win this past Saturday at Walsh University. He becomes the first Bearcat player to earn a GLVC Special Teams Player of the Week since Matt Cole was honored on Oct. 21, 2019.
In the win at Walsh, Bachman accounted for 181 all-purpose yards as he returned three kickoffs for 99 yards and averaged 33 yards per kickoff return, including a 47-yard return to set up McKendree's final touchdown of the game.
Along with prowess on kickoff returns against the Cavaliers, Bachman also caught six passes for 72 yards and added 19 rushing yards on two carries, including scoring the final touchdown on a 3-yard run with 4:07 left in the game.
On the season, Bachman leads the Bearcats in receptions (21), receiving yards (183), kickoff returns (5), kickoff return yards (132), punt returns (6), punt return yards (50) and all-purpose yards (390) and is averaging 97.5 all-purpose yards per game and is fourth in the league in receptions per game as he is averaging 5.2 per game.
In addition to Bachman, the league named Truman State sophomore running back Cody Schrader and Southwest Baptist senior linebacker Coleton Smith as the GLVC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week respectively.
Schrader earns his second Offensive Player of the Week honor this season after running for 164 yards on 32 carries and two touchdowns in an upset comeback 38-35 win at then 12th-ranked Tiffin. He scored the winning touchdown on a 3-yard run with 26 seconds left in the game and averaged 5.1 rushing yards per game and tallied his third 100-yard rushing game of the year.
Smith earns his second Defensive Player of the Week honor this season after registering 19 tackles and one tackle for a loss in SBU's 28-20 win at Lake Erie College. Along with the 19 tackles, he had five solo stops and 14 assisted tackles to lead the Bearcats to their first win of the season.
Bachman and the rest of his McKendree (1-3 overall, 0-0 GLVC) teammates return home this coming Saturday, Oct. 2 as they open GLVC play with a 1 p.m. game on Pink Out Day at Leemon Field against William Jewell College (0-4, 0-0 GLVC).
