Story by MAYAN PAZ Photos by BENNY ARMSTRONG
Tiger Media Network
For the first time this season, the Fort Hays State University defense managed to keep its opponent from scoring any points during Saturday’s 37-0 victory against Northeastern State. The RiverHawks were completely answerless against the Tiger defense and only managed to get to the ball into the red zone once throughout the game after a Tiger turnover.
With under two minutes until halftime, leading 10-0 FHSU quarterback Jack Dawson was intercepted deep in Tiger territory. With NSU on the Tiger six-yard line, miscommunication at the snap led to a loose ball around the Tiger’s 25-yard line. FHSU senior safety, Benyon Williams, charged the ball and took advantage of a lucky bounce of the turf, where the ball landed straight into his hands. Williams returned the ball 81 yards for an FHSU touchdown, pushing their lead to 17-0.
“It was a crucial play for us, and I’m glad I could seize that opportunity,” Williams said. “It was a well-executed play by our defense, from the play-call to the defensive line, I would not have that opportunity without the effort of my teammates.”
Williams’s play changed the momentum going to the locker room at the halftime break, and the Tigers never looked back as they scored another 20 points in the second half to secure the win.
Originally from Tampa, Fla., Williams is in his second season as a Tiger; however, he is playing a substantial part of the defensive unit at Fort Hays. Williams earned the MIAA Defensive Player of the Week award after his performance during week one’s win over Angelo State, and he is making a mark on each and every game he takes part of. Although being only 5’9” tall and 175 pounds, Williams compensates for what he lacks in size in excitement, aggressive style of play, and excellent play readings skills.
“He is not the biggest guy, but he is playing with such physicality, excitement, and energy that his size does not matter,” FHSU Head Coach Chris Brown said. “He is a great asset to our team and a great energizer for the rest of the players.”
Brown said Williams’s success is part of a team effort and claims that the defense still has a lot of room for improvement.
“It feels good to play like that, but we can still improve our teamwork and defensive play,” Brown said.
For Williams, this performance is just another step, and he agrees that the team has more room for improvement.
“We need to stay focused and win our away games, too,” Williams said. “We can still get better on the way we get stops, and we still have a lot of work to do.”
After Williams had already claimed an MIAA Defensive Player of the Week award once, he seemed to consider that award as a nice bonus but not as a goal. Both Williams and Brown mentioned that the award is just a result of a well-executed team performance, and the team’s performance is the key to good individual performance and not the other way around.
“Each player is expected to do their job, and the team’s success leads to individual recognition,” Brown said.
FHSU will next play UCO at 7 p.m. on Saturday in Edmond, Okla.
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