Southeastern’s Johnson III, Nicholls’ Ennis, UIW’s Wilson take Southland Football Player of the Week honors

FRISCO, Texas – A trio of clutch performances in impressive wins led Southeastern’s Cephus Johnson III, Nicholls’ Eli Ennis, and UIW’s Kole Wilson winning the Southland Conference’s football weekly awards for the eighth week of the season, as announced by the conference office Monday.

Offensive Player of the Week: Cephus Johnson III, Southeastern – QB – Sr. – Mobile, Ala. (Davidson HS)
Johnson III wins his second Southland Player of the Week award this season after he engineered a Southeastern offense that finished with 459 yards and controlled the ball for over 41 minutes in a 31-14 victory at Jacksonville State, which is in the midst of a transition to FBS. Johnson rushed for a team-high 91 yards and also threw a pair of touchdowns in the win. He completed 10-of-13 passes for 76 yards.
Honorable Mention: Deonta McMahon, McNeese.

Defensive Player of the Week: Eli Ennis, Nicholls – LB – Fr. – Ohatchee, Ala. (Ohatchee HS)
Ennis had a game-high 11 tackles and none bigger than his stop on 4th-and-1 to ultimately secure the win for the Colonels. Ennis started his day by blowing up a toss in the backfield for a forced fumble, then added his first career sack. With the Colonels nursing a five-point lead late in the game, Ennis was able to stop the Southland’s leading rusher Deonta McMahon for no gain on the fourth-down try. He finished the day with 2.0 TFLs and a quarterback hurry.
Honorable Mention: Herman Christophe, Southeastern.

Special Teams Player of the Week: Kole Wilson, UIW – RS – Fr. – Katy, Texas (Paetow HS)
Wilson had a stellar game for the Cardinals, returning two punts for touchdowns to become the UIW record holder for single-game, season, and career punt returns for scores. Both touchdowns came on 48-yard returns as he totaled 179 yards on seven returns in the Cardinals’ non-conference win over Faulkner. His total punt return yardage is the second-highest single game total in Southland history, the highest single-game total in FCS this season, and most in an FCS game since 2018.

Southland weekly award winners are nominated and voted upon by each school’s sports information director. Voting for one’s own athlete is not permitted. To earn honorable mention, a student-athlete must appear on 25 percent of ballots.