ST. LOUIS, Mo. — It was freshman running back Carson Fletcher who stole the show in the ground game on Saturday in South Dakota's thrilling five overtime win at No. 21 Southern Illinois as the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) has named him the Newcomer of the Week, the league announced Monday afternoon.
 
Fletcher paced the potent South Dakota rushing attack with a career-best 19 carries and 104 yards, rushing for his first 100-yard game in his collegiate career. He had nearly half of the team's 224 rushing yards and was one of two backs with 15+ carries on the day (Phillips Jr., 17).
 
On the season, Fletcher sits second on the team with his 68 carries for 330 yards on the ground in his 11 games played on the year. He's rushed for one touchdown score, his first of his collegiate career coming against NDSU on September 27. He averages 4.9 yards per carry and has a long of 17 on the season (vs. Illinois State, October 25).
 
The Racine, Wisconsin native becomes the seventh Coyote to earn a weekly honor from the conference office this season and is the first to earn the Newcomer of the Week honor. South Dakota has now won at least one of the five weekly honors this season: offensive, defensive, newcomer, special teams, and offensive lineman.