Udinski, Felus Named Centennial Players of the Week

By: Jennifer Jones
Director of Sports Information
jonesj@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net

HUNTINGDON, Pa. – After helping lead the Juniata College football team to its upset of Centennial Conference rival Gettysburg College Saturday, junior Ward Udinski (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) and senior Brandon Felus (Columbia, Pa./Columbia) were named conference offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively, the league announced Sunday.  It marks the third consecutive week an Eagle has earned player of the week honors.  This is the second weekly nod the two have earned in their careers. 

"They are leaders with a vision," said head coach Tim Launtz of the pair.  "They are enthusiastically fierce and competitive, relentless hard workers and do everything in their power for their teammates to be successful.  They are good players, but more importantly, they are good teammates."

Udinski earned his second player of the week nod of the season after throwing a career-high four touchdowns in the win over Gettysburg.  He finished the game with over 230 yards in the air, and ran for an additional 76 yards and a touchdown, accounting for 26 of the team's points.

This is Felus' first weekly nod of the year.  He earned defensive player of the week honors at the end of last season.

Felus recorded five tackles, all solo, including two sacks and one for an eight-yard loss.  One of his sacks forced a fumble and he blocked his second field goal of the season against the Bullets.

Juniata (3-0) has started its season 2-0 in conference play for the first time since 2002.  The Eagles have won by an average of 22 points this season while holding opponents to just over 16 points. 

"This team is committed to being all in and risking everything for each other," added Launtz.  "This team is enjoying the journey and they take pride in what they are accomplishing.  They practice and trust each other to be individually responsible and that is leading to collective success. We know we keep saying this, but they are embracing the gradual evolution that teams go through rather than looking too far ahead.  They are staying focused on the process."

The Eagles face Franklin & Marshall on the road next, heading to Lancaster Saturday, Sept. 28 for a 1 p.m. kickoff.

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