Atupra, Fitzsimmons take home GPAC Player of the Week honors

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Two Morningside football players were recognized Monday as the Week 11 Great Plains Athletic Conference Players of the Week.

Victor Atupra earned the league's defensive honor, while Tommy Fitzsimmons was named the special teams player of the week.

Atupra intercepted three passes in Saturday's 63-20 win over Mount Marty — one in the second quarter and two in the third — marking the first three-pick game of his career. Combined with an interception the week before at Doane, he now has four on the season. He became the 12th Mustang to pick off three passes in a game.

Atupra's takeaways accounted for half of Morningside's six total forced turnovers in the win.

Fitzsimmons, meanwhile, was perfect in the snow, going 9-for-9 on extra points, the most this season. The sophomore kicker now has 61 PATs on the year, along with two made field goals.

The No. 10 Mustangs return to Elwood Olsen Stadium this Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff against Dordt, with the GPAC title on the line.