Butler football's Derick Newton and Jacob Abel have earned National Junior College Athletic Association 'Player of the Week' honors announced by the national office Wednesday afternoon.
Newton, the 6'2 280-pound freshman defensive tackle, was a force to be reckoned with Saturday night as Butler defeated the No. 3 ranked Broncbusters. Newton's biggest play of the game came on Garden City's final possession as he got to the quarterback and made a sack for a big loss setting up a fourth and 24 for Garden City. The Broncbusters were not able to convert and Butler took over and were able to get in victory formation and run out the clock.
"Derick has an impact in every game he plays," said head coach Tim Schaffner. "At times he is un-blockable and he is so disruptive that if he's not making the play, he's clearing the way for one of his teammates. You could argue that he has been the best defender in our league this season."
Newton finished the night with eight tackles, seven solo and one assisted. He recorded five tackles for loss and three sacks in the 34-27 win. His three sacks on the night totaled for 19-yards of loss and 25-yards total yards of loss for the Broncbusters throughout the game. He also forced a fumble in the third quarter setting up the game tying field goal.
"Coach Braet and I have had the pleasure of coaching some really good defensive players over the years and Derick is right up there with the best of them," added Schaffner.
Jacob Abel, the 6'1, 198-pound sophomore kicker/punter from Goddard, KS, continued his make streak knocking down his ninth and tenth straight field goals on Saturday with his tenth being a 45-yard game tying field goal in the fourth quarter.
"There was no doubt about trying the game tying field goal from the 27-yard line (making it a 45-yard attempt). Conditions were perfect and we practice these scenarios all season long. We keep a book on practice and game kicks for each of the guys, so we were confident rolling him out there to tie the game; on film it looks like it would have been good from 55 yards," said Schaffner.
Abel went 4/4 on the night in extra points, making that 15-straigh extra point attempts. Abel has not missed a kick since September 17 and is 31/34 for extra points this season.
"Abel has really been pretty darn good all season long and has become nails the second half of the season. Let's not forget that this is his first year competing. He had to settle in, just like all the other new guys, only Abel's good and bad plays are easy to evaluate, but since mid-year, he's been awesome. His short punts have been a weapon all season long and now when he goes on the field, we know it's points," mentioned Schaffner.
