Atlanta, Ga. – Scoreboards around the Southern Athletic Association were let up during week two of the conference slate with five team scoring more than 40 points.
 
Trinity hung 63 points on Rhodes and Hendrix won a shootout with Millsaps 53-42 as the Tigers and Warriors sit atop the standings at 2-0. Berry won its SAA opener and joined Sewanee, who was idle last week, at 1-0 in league play.
 
The week three schedule features Trinity traveling to Berry and Hendrix hosting Sewanee.
 
In the national rankings, Trinity is up a spot to No. 5 in the D3football.com poll while Berry received votes.
 
Hendrix signal caller Jacob Buniff leads NCAA all divisions with 1,665 yards (416.2 per game) and 18 passing touchdowns. Berry leads the nation in scoring offense with 61.3 points a game while sitting seventh nationally in total offense with 521.7 yards a game. Trinity has the SAA’s stingiest defense, allowing 16.8 points a game.
 
Around the League:
SAA Football Standings
SAA Football Stats
 
Athletes of the Week:
OFFENSIVE: Ryan Merrifield | Trinity | Fifth-year | Austin Texas – Playing just the first half, Merrifield tied a Trinity single-game record with four touchdown catches and led the Tigers to a 63-14 victory over Rhodes. The fifth-year scored three times in the second quarter alone and totaled 151 yards on the afternoon, highlighted by a career-long 82-yard touchdown catch and run that put Trinity up 28-0 at the time.
 
DEFENSIVE: Cam Willis-Roberson | Southwestern | First-year | League City, Texas – In his first career start, the newcomer recorded three interceptions and led Southwestern its first SAA victory, a 43-20 triumph over Birmingham-Southern. Willis-Roberson totaled 29 INT return yards also notched two tackles in the game from his safety position.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS: Ethan Klapatch | Millsaps | Junior | Metairie, La. -  Klapatch did his part to hinder the Hendrix high-powered offense, averaging 55.2 yards on four punts, totaling 221 yards. Three kicks sailed over 50-yards, including a long of 67 yards and with two landing inside the 20-yard line.
 
Notable Performances:

• Jacob Buniff (Hendrix) – completed 24-of-35 for 416 yards and five touchdowns against Millsaps. He has eclipsed the 400-yard passing mark three of the season’s first four weeks. Buniff is averaging just over 416 passing yards per game, totaling 1665 yards through 4 games, and has thrown 18 TDs – all of which rank first in the NCAA, regardless of division.
• Matt McClary (Birmingham-Southern) – Threw for 239 yards and two scores, including an 82-yard touchdown pass. Also added 90 yards on the ground punctuated with an 82-yard scoring run.
• Gray Jennings (Millsaps) – Totaled 418 passing yards and six total touchdowns (five passing, one rushing) against Hendrix The 418 passing yards are the fourth-most in a single game in program history, and five passing touchdowns ranks tied for second for the Majors.
• Devan Phillips (Southwestern) – Rushed for 132 yards on 26 attempts in his first collegiate start. Also caught two passes for 32 yards.
• Caleb Harmel (Trinity) – Anchored a stout Tigers defense, snagging this third interception of the season and returning it for a 65-yard defensive touchdown that put the Tigers up 14-0. The fifth-year finished with five tackles in just over one half of action.
• Cole Porch (Birmingham-Southern) – sailed two punts for a total of 112 yards, placing both inside the 20-yard line.
• DJ James (Southwestern) – Blocked a BSC field goal attempt and returned it 63 yards for a touchdown, putting the Pirates on top 14-6 in the first quarter.
• Nickleberry Lamont (Trinity) – Piled up 73 yards on just four returns with two plays going over 25-yards. Highlighted his big day with a 29-return into Rhodes territory that led to a touchdown and opened the second half with a 34-yard return, leading to another Trinity score.

Looking Forward:
SAA Football Schedule
 
Football Weekly Report Archive
Week 1 – Sept. 5
Week 2 – Sept. 11
Week 3 – Sept. 18