Zientek Named NAIA Offensive Player of the Week

Kansas City, Mo. – Saint Xavier University senior quarterback Jeremy Zientek (Oak Lawn, Ill./Marist) was named the NAIA Football Offensive Player of the Week late Monday for his impressive performance in Saturday’s 61-3 road win over Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) this past Saturday in Bourbonnais, Ill. Zientek contributed on the first seven of his team’s nine touchdowns in the game and also earned Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League Offensive Player of the Week honors early Monday morning. Zientek threw five touchdowns passes and rushed for two more scores in the Cougars’ big victory, their first of the 2008 season. It is SXU's first national player of the week honoree in football in nearly a year when former kicker Shane Longest was named the NAIA's Special Teams Player of the Week on October 2, 2007.

In addition to his seven touchdowns on the day, Zientek also completed 29 of his 41 pass attempts for 438 yards and rushed three times for 11 yards. His five touchdown passes tied a 10-year-old record at Saint Xavier University, while the team’s total offense numbers of 654 yards set a new single-game school mark. It was the first time this season that SXU has garnered the weekly national award in any of the three categories, offensive, defensive or special teams.

Saint Xavier (1-2 overall) heads to Deerfield, Ill., on Saturday, September 27, to take on Trinity International University (Ill.) for its final MSFA crossover game of the 2008 season. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start at Leslie Frazier Field in Deerfield.