Willamette Football swept the Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week awards after their 21-18 victory over Simpson University this past Saturday.
Alex Rivera IV was named Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Bearcats to the winning touchdown in the final four minutes of the game. Trailing 18-15 with 3:46 remaining, Willamette took over on their own 28 yard line. Rivera IV was responsible for 72 yards of the final drive, rushing for four yards and passing for 68, including a 5-yard touchdown pass to Trajan Clark. He also connected with Clark on the 2-point conversion to give Willamette a 21-18 lead with only 32 seconds left. Rivera IV also led a scoring drive at the end of the first half, finding Elijah Romero for a 14-yard score with only 14 seconds left in the half.
Javi Rodriguez earned Defensive Player of the Week honors for making several key plays for the Bearcats in their 21-18 victory over Simpson University. He was a force behind the line of scrimmage recording three tackles for loss and three QB hurries. He had seven total tackles on the afternoon.
Salah Hill was named Special Teams Player of the Week for a huge block on a Redhawk field goal attempt in the second quarter. With the Bearcats trailing 9-0 and Simpson lined up for a field goal, Hill came off the right side to block the kick, which was recovered by Willamette and returned for a touchdown to make the score 9-7. Hill also intercepted a pass and added a pass break-up from his cornerback position.
