Hall, Hardenberg, Diarra and Benderski Named to D3Football.com National Team of the Week
Buffalo State cornerback Chris Hall (Pasadena, CA/St. Francis), Ithaca junior linebacker Brian Hardenberg (Verona, NJ/Verona), Salisbury University junior linebacker Issa Diarra (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) and St. John Fisher College senior defensive lineman Mike Benderski (Chittenango, NY/Chittenago) were named to the D3Football.com National Team of the Week presented by Scoutware for their outstanding play on Sept. 15.
The Team of the Week is D3football.com's weekly honor roll, recognizing the top performances at 14 positions from the previous week.
Hall ended UW-Whitewater's first possession and last possessions of the game with interceptions, helping Buffalo State defeat No. 1 UW-Whitewater, 7-6. He finished with six tackles, five solo, with two of the solo tackles coming on consecutive plays in the red zone to force a field goal attempt.
Hall now leads the nation with six interceptions in his first three games as a Bengal. Buffalo State snapped the three-time defending national champions’ 46-game winning streak with the victory. It was the first time a non-ranked team had ever defeated a No. 1 team during a regular season game in Division III history.
Hardenberg had a career-high 12 tackles, including a school-record six tackles for loss, in his first career start as Ithaca came back from a 21-7 deficit in the final three minutes to win. Tackles #11 and 12 were on Union's last two plays from scrimmage: he dropped the quarterback for a two-yard loss on second-and-goal from the Ithaca one-yard line, then notched a 10-yard sack (the first of his career) to drive the Dutchmen back to the 13, forcing them to settle for an overtime field goal. Hardenberg stopped Union's running back a yard short of what would have been a win-clinching first down with under two minutes to go, which forced the Dutchmen to attempt a punt; their 30-yard loss on the punt snap set up Ithaca's tying score.
Diarra made six tackles (five solo) for Salisbury in the Sea Gulls' 69-6 win against North Carolina Wesleyan College on Saturday. He also posted three tackles for a loss of 17 yards, two sacks and a forced fumble this season. In his first year with SU, Diarra has eight tackles, including three for loss, two sacks and one forced fumble in two games played this season.
Benderski blocked two field goals in Fisher's 20-16 win over University of Rochester on Saturday in Courage Bowl VIII. The second block came with the score tied at 14-14 in the fourth quarter with under five minutes to go. He busted through the middle and blocked the 32-yard attempt with his left arm and teammate Wade Kline scooped up the ball and returned it 72 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.