NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Wheaton’s Danny Puknaitis, Elmhurst’s Perode Charles and North Central’s Tyler Oakley were named the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Football Players of the Week on Monday.
 
Puknaitis, a senior running back from Naperville, Illinois and Naperville North High School (Business/Economics major), totaled 132 yards of offense during the Thunder’s 40-27 win at Illinois Wesleyan that clinched a share of the CCIW title on Saturday. He rushed for 92 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns and caught three passes for 38 yards on the day. Puknaitis’ one-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter gave Wheaton a 40-27 lead and helped secure the win.
 
Charles, a junior linebacker from Loma Linda, California and Redlands High School (Business Administration), totaled 11 tackles (eight solo), a pass breakup and an interception in helping lead the Bluejays to a 15-14 win over Millikin on Saturday. He led the team in tackles and forced an interception by batting a ball in the air and picking it off. After trailing 14-0 at the half, Elmhurst's defense shut down the Big Blue in the second half as the Bluejays allowed just 58 yards of offense and no points.
 
Oakley, a sophomore defensive back/kick returner from Lena, Illinois and Lena-Winslow High School (Accounting major), totaled two kickoffs for 103 yards (51.5 average) during the Cardinals’ 27-10 win at Augustana on Saturday. Oakley returned a kickoff 70 yards following the Vikings’ first score to put North Central in position to push its lead to 21-3 in the final minute of the first half.
 
2015 CCIW Football Players of the Week
 
Offense
Danny Puknaitis – Wheaton (11/9/15)
Sam Frasco – Augustana (11/2/15)
Artie Checchin – Illinois Wesleyan (10/26/15)
Sola Olateju – Wheaton (10/19/15)
Austin Breunig – North Central (10/12/15)
Andrew Bowers – Wheaton (10/5/15)
Josh Williams – Elmhurst (9/28/15)
Sam Frasco – Augustana (9/21/15)
Josh Williams – Elmhurst (9/14/15)
Sam Frasco – Augustana (9/8/15)
 
Defense
Perode Charles – Elmhurst (11/9/15)
K.J. Simpson – Carthage (11/2/15)
Adam Dansdill – Wheaton (10/26/15)
Sean Garvey – Illinois Wesleyan (10/19/15)
Caleb Ashby – Wheaton (10/12/15)
Frank Kalble – Augustana (10/5/15)
Sean Wetherell – Elmhurst (9/28/15)
Wes Cannonier – Wheaton (9/21/15)
Adam Dansdill – Wheaton (9/14/15)
Chaun Maiava – North Park (9/8/15)
 
Special Teams
Tyler Oakley – North Central (11/9/15)
Al Willett – North Central (11/2/15)
Chayce Volpert – Millikin (10/26/15)
David Simmons – North Park (10/19/15)
Fred McCann – Carthage (10/12/15)
Artie Checchin – Illinois Wesleyan (10/5/15)
Dom Zavaglia – North Central (9/28/15)
Michael Kelley – Illinois Wesleyan (9/21/15)
Brett Bayer – Elmhurst (9/14/15)
Noah Moore – North Park (9/8/15)
 
Twitter & Instagram: @CCIW_Athletics

The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services eight member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, IL), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL), Millikin University (Decatur, IL), North Central College (Naperville, IL), North Park University (Chicago, IL) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL). During the 2014-15 academic year, the CCIW honored over 1,500 academic all-conference recipients, 19 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 46 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients and 102 all-Americans.