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Brett Taylor Named MVFC ‘Defensive Player of the Week’

Sophomore linebacker earns defensive weekly award for the second time in three weeks

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Western Illinois sophomore linebacker Brett Taylor (Macomb/Macomb) earned his second Missouri Valley Football Conference 'Defensive Player of the Week' award of the season following the Leathernecks' 24-19 win at No. 12 UNI last weekend. The conference office announced the weekly winners on Sunday (Oct. 18).
 
Taylor registered a game-high 12 tackles, of which 11 were solo stops, and one going for a loss. He came up with a big stop on second down inside the 10, which kept UNI out of the endzone and eventually settled for a field goal. Five of his 12 tackles came during the opening quarter.
 
His efforts on defense helped Western end a four-game losing streak to the Panthers, pick up the program's first win in the UNI-Dome since 2006, and more importantly remain undefeated in the MVFC at 3-0 (4-2 overall).

Taylor registered his third straight straight game of 10-plus tackles and did so for the fourth time this year.
 
Through six games, Taylor leads Western and the MVFC in tackles per game at 11.2 per game (67 overall). That ranks him 10th in the country, and he ranks 13th nationally averaging 5.8 solo tackles per game. Only two other Leathernecks have more total tackles (38) than Taylor has solo tackles (35).
 
Western takes to the road again this Saturday (Oct. 24), traveling to previously-ranked No. 4 Illinois State. Kickoff in Normal is scheduled for 2 p.m. and can be seen live on Comcast SportsNet Chicago and online at ESPN3.com.
 
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Players Mentioned

Brett Taylor

#44 Brett Taylor

LB
6' 2"
Sophomore
Macomb

Players Mentioned

Brett Taylor

#44 Brett Taylor

6' 2"
Sophomore
Macomb
LB