YOUNG, OESTRIECHER EARN WAC HONORS

RUSTON – Louisiana Tech safety Deon Young and Bulldog placekicker Brad Oestriecher were named WAC Defensive and Special Teams Player of the Week, respectively, for their performance in the Bulldogs’ 22-14 victory over Mississippi State on Saturday night.

Young, a junior from Hattiesburg, Miss., made seven tackles, intercepted a pass and broke up another. He also had a team-high five solo tackles. His biggest play came in the third quarter when, with Tech leading 16-14, he intercepted a third-down pass at the Tech 8-yard-line and returned it 42 yards to midfield; a late hit penalty would then give Tech great field position deep in MSU territory to set up another Oestriecher field goal. He also broke up a pass late in the fourth quarter that forced MSU to punt. Oestriecher was 3-for-3 on field goal attempts from 48, 28 and 50 yards. The senior from Baton Rouge, who was a kickoff specialist his first three years and redshirted in 2007, hadn’t attempted a field goal since his freshman year of 2004. The 48- and 50-yarders both eclipsed his previous career-best, and it marked the first time in his career he had connected on multiple field goals in a game. The 50-yarder also marked Tech’s first field goal of 50-plus yards since Josh Scobee nailed a 52-yarder against Tulsa in 2003. WAC Offensive Player of the Week honors went to Fresno State running back Ryan Mathews for his 163-yard, 3 TD performance in a 24-7 win at Rutgers on Monday. The award marked the initial WAC weekly honor for both Young and Oestriecher.