By Duane Cochran
For the Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT —
Ben Landis accepted numerous congratulations and pats on the back Thursday evening following his team’s big 27-16 come-from-behind victory on the road over Clarion (Pa.) University at Memorial Stadium.
However, Fairmont State’s 6-3 junior punter from Johnstown, Pa. did a great job as usual of being modest and acknowledging all of the well-wishers with a simple “Thank you” and a small grin.
Still, someway, you just know inside he had to be absolutely beaming with pride.
Landis missed the entire 2009 football season with a torn ACL in his kicking knee. The injury occurred during an intramural basketball game prior to spring drills in 2009.
After months of rehab and hard work Thursday night marked the return of Landis to the football field and for sure it was a triumphant one in more ways than one as he was named Co-Special Teams Player of the Week in the West Virginia Conference along with the University of Charleston’s Corey Hill.
Fairmont State actually earned double honors from the conference this weekend. Junior cornerback Ryland Newman was named the Co-Defensive Player of the Week by the league along with Glenville State’s Donald Marshall.
Landis punted eight times in the FSU victory for an average of 43.5 yards per punt. He placed five balls inside the Golden Eagles’ 20-yard line, including two inside the five yard line. He had a long punt of 50 yards and six punts of 40 or more yards.
“I’m really proud of Ben,” said FSU coach Mike Lopez. “How about the job he did? To be honest we didn’t know what to expect from him coming off of that injury, but what a factor he was in the win. I’m very happy for him and obviously we’re very happy he’s back and healthy again.”
Newman, on the other hand, helped spark FSU to its come-from-behind win. Trailing 16-7 midway through the third quarter Newman, a 5-11, 185-pounder from Ranson who also plays point guard on the Falcons’ basketball team, picked off a Clarion pass and raced 54 yards to the end zone to make it 16-13. The TD was the first of 20 unanswered points by the Falcons in the win which improved them to 1-0 on the year.
Newman also tied for game-high tackles honors with 11, including one for a loss.
Hill, a 6-foot, 190-pound freshman linebacker from Leetonia, Ohio, who shared special teams honors with Landis, helped set up a Charleston touchdown just before the half by blocking a punt deep in Mars Hill territory. The ensuing one-yard TD run by UC’s Jordan Roberts gave the Golden Eagles’ a 28-6 halftime lead en route to a 42-20 victory.
Marshall, a 6-foot, 230-pound junior linebacker from Wichita, KS., racked up 16 tackles, including four sacks in Glenville's 44-10 win over West Virginia Tech. He also forced three fumbles and recovered one.
The league’s Offensive Player of the Week was Concord running back Brian Kennedy. The 5-8, 170-pound junior from Centreville, Va., rushed for 171 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries in the Mountain Lions’ 20-17 road win at Lenoir-Rhyne. Kennedy also caught three passes for 27 yards to help Concord improve to 2-0.
