For the first time since 2013, a Grinnell College football player has been named the Midwest Conference Offensive Performer of the Week.
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Dustin Saia '22, a receiver from Sioux City, Iowa (West), became the first Pioneer to win the award since Jacob Bernholtz in 2013. He is Grinnell's first player to win any MWC Football Performer of the Week honor since Ryan Slager did so in 2018 on the defensive side of the ball.
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Saia was a key cog in the Pioneers earning their first victory since 2018, and first in the MWC since 2014, with a thrilling 35-28 overtime decision over Lawrence University. Saia scored three touchdowns, the first a 16-yard pass from Grayson Woodhouse '25 and second a 5-yard run. The most important score came on the first play of overtime, a 25-yard strike from Woodhouse that provided the game-winning points.
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Saia had 215 all-purpose yards, going for 125 yards on 11 receptions, rushing five times for 29 yards and returning a kickoff 61 yards.
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The University of Chicago boasted the other two winners, with Aidan Cappellino earning Defensive Performer of the Week honors and Will Goodman the Special Teams Performer of the Week.
