Monday news & announcements

Three schools have announced player of the week honors, though there's nothing out from the conference yet. Tennessee State's Javarris Williams is again the offensive player of the week, and Jacksonville State's Zach Walden is the specialist of the week. Tennessee Tech linebacker Aaron Williams, a redshirt freshman, is the newcomer of the week.

Check back later for the full list of honored players, and for the OVC's standings in this week's I-AA polls. How high will UT-Martin climb? How low will Eastern Illinois go? Can TSU crack the top 25?

Now, here's what the papers have today on OVC teams:

The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf Chronicle again tells us how much better Austin Peay State played in the second hald against D-II Charleston (W. Va.) in Saturday's 49-10 win. The paper gives much of the credit for the Govs' momentum to Lanis Frederick's crunching block on the opening drive of the half.

Eastern Illinois is learning what the view looks like when you're not leading the pack, according to the (Charleston, Ill.) Journal Gazette/Times-Courier. EIU defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni says his unit takes credit for the Panthers' 15-9 loss to new league leader UT-Martin. He told the paper, “We talk about outplaying the opposing defense, and they stopped us one more time than we stopped them." The paper says EIU linebacker Donald Thomas is feeling some of that blame. Late in the fourth quarter he reached out to tip the ball on a Greg Peterson pass, and tapped the Skyhawk QB's helmet instead. Thomas was flagged for a personal foul, giving UTM a first down at the EIU 40. They went on to score and win the game.

Jacksonville State Coach Jack Crowe feels a bit more comfortable about his team's ability to win close games after getting past Tennessee Tech 17-10 in overtime, according to The Anniston (Ala.) Star (sorry, subscribers only). The Star also says sophomore tackle Devon May will rejoin the team after being suspended from the TTU game for breaking curfew ... oh, and for getting arrested, we find out. The paper hasn't learned the charge yet. Crowe blames May's absence in part for the Gamecocks' woeful first-half offensive play.

The (Nashville) Tennessean has a shortie on Javarris Williams' POTW honor.

The Nashville City Paper says TSU fans finally have more to enjoy than tailgating and halftime. With the Tigers tied for the OVC lead, coach James Webster's comments earlier this season about conference play and a shot at the playoffs meaning more than the classic games are proving prophetic.