Wheeling, W. Va. – Despite dropping their week 0 matchup at Clarion, the Cardinals would pin the Golden Eagles back several times in the battle for field positions. The Cardinals were recognized for their special teams effort on Monday as the Mountain East Conference (MEC) released their weekly Player of the Week Awards, presented by The Healthplan. Wheeling punter/linebacker Carter Blake was named the MEC Special Teams Player of the Week after leading the Cardinal's punting efforts.
Blake is in his first season as the Cardinal's primary printer, after spending time at outside linebacker a season ago, and showed off his big foot. He would punt the ball five times for 196 yards, while averaging 39.2 yards per punt. He would put three of those five punts inside the 20-yard line, while also booting the longest punt of the week, going 60 yards. One of his best punts came on his first of the night as he lined up at the Clarion 40-yard line. He would send the punt 38 yards, pinning the Golden Eagles o. Their own two yard line. His next punt would be the longest in the MEC as he set up on his own 35-yardine. He would send the punt way into the air, getting it down at the Clarion five-yardline for a 60-yard punt. He played a key role in keeping the Golden Eagles to just 14 points over the first 30 minutes of play, forcing them to face a long field.
After one week of play, Blake finds himself on top of several punting stats across the conference. He currently leads the conference in punts inside the 20-yard line (3), while sitting tied for the conference lead in both total punts (5) and 50+ yard punts (1). He also sits third in the conference in both punting yards (169) and average yards per punt (39.2). His 60-yard first quarter punt stands as the longest punt of the season in the MEC and was one of three to pin his opponents inside the 20-yard line. Along with his special teams contributions, Blake also made his presence felt in the linebacker core. He would finish the day with four total tackles, two solo and two assisted, on the day. He would be responsible for one pass break-up to round out his day on defense. It was a big all around season-opener for the redshirt sophomore as he looks to lead the way on both sides of the ball.
Blake is the first Cardinal to earn conference player of the Week honors, after the Cardinals had 45 student-athletes earn honors last season. He is the first Wheeling Football player to win the award this season, and is the first Cardinal to earn the award since Landon Lutz was named MEC Offensive Player of the Week back on November 11th, 2024. The last Cardinal student-athlete to earn Player of the Week honors was Wheeling Softball player Kaylin Shields, who earned the MEC Pitcher of the Week back on on April 28th, 2025.
The Wheeling University Football team returns to action on Saturday, September 6th, when they host Walsh at 6 PM.
