KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Montana Western quarterback Michael Palandri was named the NAIA football offensive player of the week, the organization announced Monday.
Palandri, a redshirt junior from Maple Valley, Wash., was 19-for-28 passing for 416 yards and four touchdowns in the Bulldogs' upset win over then-No. 3-ranked College of Idaho. He added 23 rushing yards and two more TDs as Western rolled to the 42-25 victory.
Western shot up the NAIA top 25 poll to No. 4 after the win.
Palandri, of course, was also named the Frontier Conference offensive player of the week, and teammate Keegen Muffich was named the league's defensive player of the week.
Muffich, a sophomore from Butte, totaled 12 tackles, including seven solo tackles and 2.5 tackles-for-loss.
It's the second consecutive week Western has had two athletes earn conference player of the week honors. Palandri was also the offensive player of the week last week after the Bulldogs' win over Eastern Oregon, and Coby Tanioka was the special teams player of the week.
Carroll College placekicker Spencer Berger was selected as the Special Teams player of the week. Berger, from Billings, was instrumental in Carroll’s 16-13 win over Rocky Mountain College. He went 3 for 4 on field goal attempts, with a long of 44 yards and the ultimate game-winner with under two minutes to play.
