ST. LOUIS – Missouri State quarterback Jason Shelley (Sr., Frisco, Texas) and running back Jacardia Wright (So., Decatur, Ill.) were honored today by the Missouri Valley Football Conference as conference players of the week for their roles in the Bears’ win over No. 14-ranked UT Martin on Thursday.
Shelley is the MVFC Offensive Player of the Week, and Wright is the MVFC Newcomer of the Week.
Shelley had as many touchdown passes as incompletions in Missouri State’s week two win. He was 19-for-24 for 297 yards and a career-high five touchdowns, which tied a Bears single-game record. Shelley’s 14th straight 200-yard passing game included two clutch fourth-quarter TD passes to Ty Scott, the first of which put the Bears up for good and capped a 63-yard scoring drive. On fourth-and-one at the UTM 7-yard line, Shelley and the Bears went for the go-ahead score, and it paid off with a fade to Scott in the left corner to make it 28-24. Just over five minutes later, he hit Scott again, this time on a 22-yard crossing route, to put things out of reach, 35-24, with 4:37 to go.
A preseason All-American selection and Walter Payton Award Watch List honoree this fall, Shelley was the 2021 MVFC Offensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. He earned MVFC Player of the Week honors twice and MVFC Newcomer of the Week distinction three times last season.
Wright, a transfer running back from Kansas State, logged his first career 100-yard rushing game in MSU’s win, carrying 23 times for 120 yards (5.2 yards per carry) in a breakout effort. He also scored on a 19-yard pass from Shelley with 35 seconds left in the first half to put the Bears up 21-14 at the midway point. Including his four pass receptions for 42 yards, Wright had 162 all-purpose yards for the game and became the first MSU player since Nov. 20, 2021 (Kevon Latulas) to rack up 100 or more rushing yards. His game-long 47-yard rush was the team’s longest run from scrimmage this season.
The Valley also recognized LB Zeke Vandenburgh of Illinois State (Defensive Player of the Week) and KR Jalen Carr of Illinois State (Special Teams Player of the Week).
The No.5-ranked Missouri State squad will travel to Arkansas this Saturday (6 p.m., SEC+) before returning to Robert W. Plaster Stadium on Sept. 24 to open MVFC play against South Dakota State (2 p.m.) on Family Weekend.
