Ja’Quay Pough takes home LSWA, Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors

NATCHITOCHES – Ja’Quay Pough’s monster day at Incarnate Word on Saturday made him the first Northwestern State defensive player to record at least 20 tackles in a game since the 2014 season.

That performance also made him the first Demon to earn weekly Southland Conference and Louisiana Sports Writers Association honors during the 2019 season.

Pough on Monday was named Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Monday morning after recording 21 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack in Northwestern State’s 44-41 overtime victory against then-No. 20 UIW. Southland Conference players of the week are chosen by voting conducted among the conference’s football sports information directors.

Later Monday, Pough picked up LSWA Defensive Player of the Week honors in a vote of statewide media members. Pough totaled 12.5 of a possible 20 points as he earned the first LSWA honor of his career.

With 11 solo tackles and 10 assists, Pough, a junior linebacker from Sherman, Texas, became the first Demon to total at least 20 tackles in a game since Marion Chapman recorded 20 against Sam Houston State on Oct. 18, 2014. The 21 tackles are the most by a Southland Conference player this year and lifted Pough’s season total to a team-leading 70.

Pough’s award is the first weekly Southland Conference award for a Northwestern State defender since Peyton Guidry earned the honor for the final week of the 2017 season. Guidry also was the most recent Demon to earn LSWA Defensive Player of the Week acclaim, picking up the award for his performance against Stephen F. Austin in the 2017 season finale.

Pough and the Demons return to action Saturday at 4 p.m. when they face McNeese in Lake Charles.