Wheeling, W. Va. - On Saturday, the Wheeling University Football team picked up their first win of the 2025 season in a 35-31 battle with Lake Erie. On Monday, the Mountain East Conference (MEC) released their weekly Player of the Week awards, presented by The Healthplan, and for the second time in three weeks, the Cardinals Special Teams unit earned honors. Sophomore Punter Brett Jackson would earn the MEC Special Teams Player of the Week award after helping the Cardinals to win the battle of field position.
Jackson would step into the starting punter role due to injury, and took advantage of his opportunities. Jackson would punt the ball five times in the game for 195 yards, and averaged 39.0 yards per punt. Of the five punts, three of those punts would pin the Storm back inside their 20-yard line, with his longest punt of the day being a 42-yarder that was downed at the Lake Erie three-yard line. Jackson played a big role in keeping the Storm to just 14 first half points, making them work with a long field throughout the day. It allowed the Cardinals to keep the game tied heading into halftime and allowed them to battle back and take the win late.
He started his big day right from the get-go, coming on to punt after the Cardinals first drive. He sent the ball 37 yards down to the Lake Erie seven-yard line, forcing them to drive 93-yards down the field on the next possession. His biggest punt of the night would come in the second quarter after Wheeling took a 14-7 lead. The Cardinals were forced to punt on the next drive and Jackson did his part to pin Lake Erie deep. He set up at the Storm 45-yard line and sent the ball out of bounds at the Lake Erie three-yard line. His final punt to land inside the 20-yard line came in the game's third quarter as he punted from the Storm 46-yard line. Jackson would send the ball down to the Lake Erie eight-yard line to round out the day.
Brett Jackson is the third Wheeling University Student-Athlete to earn Conference Player of the Week honors during the 2025-2026 season. It is the third straight week that the Cardinals earned a conference Player of the Week winner from the conference. Jackson is the second football player to earn Conference Player of the Week honors, joining fellow punter Carter Blake, who earned Special Teams Player of the Week in week one of the season. The last Cardinal to win Player of the Week honors was Wheeling Women's Soccer Player Akyla Walcott, who earned the conference's Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week award.
The Wheeling University Football team returns to action on Saturday, September 20th, when they hit the road to face Fairmont State with kick-off at 1 PM.
