Kuzdale Earns Freshman of the Week Honors

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Coastal Carolina quarterback Zach MacDowell (Acworth, Ga.) and Liberty linebacker Chad Brown (Melbourne, Fla.) have been named the Big South football Choice Hotels Offensive Player of the Week and New Balance Defensive Player of the Week, respectively, for games played in week three of the 2008 season, it was announced today by the Conference office.  In addition, Liberty punter Mike Larsson (Monroe, N.C.) was named Special Teams Player of the Week, while Charleston Southern defensive back Chris Kuzdale (Tampa, Fla.) was tabbed Freshman of the Week.

Kuzdale, who entered the game with five tackles in his first two appearances of the year, was second on the Buccaneers with five tackles, all solo stops, at Miami (Ohio).  He also made a key play late in the first quarter with Charleston Southern leading the RedHawks, 7-0.  Kuzdale thwarted a Miami drive in the red zone when he forced and recovered a fumble at the CSU 15-yard line, allowing the Bucs to capitalize and later score off his takeaway.

In just his second collegiate start, MacDowell was solid in leading the Chanticleers to their first win of the season, going 17-of-26 passing ( =65.4 percent) for 233 yards and one touchdown at Monmouth.  He added seven rushes for 29 yards and finished with 262 yards of total offense, as well as an average of 8.96 yards per passing attempt.  MacDowell led Coastal Carolina to scores on three of its first four possessions for an eventual 20-0 halftime advantage, and also directed the offense to a season-high 416 yards of total offense for the game.

Brown tied for the team lead with seven tackles at Western Carolina, recording three solo hits and four assisted stops in Liberty’s three-point win.  He led the Flames with 2.5 tackles for loss of 14 total yards, one of which was a nine-yard sack late in the fourth quarter when the Catamounts had the ball on the Liberty seven-yard line – keeping WCU out of the end zone and forcing a field goal.  Brown also recovered a fumble in the third quarter to give Liberty the ball back, which eventually led to the Flames’ final touchdown of the game. Brown’s seven tackles tied a career-high, while the 2.5 tackles for loss set a new personal best. 

Larsson recorded his best punting average of the season, booting four punts for 158 yards for an average of 39.5 yards per punt.  His season-long 42-yard punt with 3:34 left to play in the game pinned Western Carolina at its own 10-yard line and kept the Catamounts out of Liberty territory the remainder of the contest.  Larsson also booted punts of 37, 40 and 39 yards, and WCU managed just three punt returns for nine yards.