Payne, Beck earn MWC honors

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    By Brandon Judd

    BYU senior punter Matt Payne found himself in familiar territory Monday, while sophomore quarterback John Beck earned his way into an elite group of Mountain West Conference players.

    For the fourth time this season, Payne was named MWC Special Teams Player of the Week after his performance in BYU”s 41-24 victory over Air Force on Saturday. Beck, meanwhile, earned his first MWC Offensive Player of the Week citation.

    Payne tallied 11 of the Cougars” 41 points against Air Force, hitting five PAT”s and two field goals. His second field goal, a 53-yarder in the fourth quarter, tied Payne”s career long and made him a perfect 4-for-4 on field goals on over 50 yards this season.

    Payne also punted three times on Saturday, averaging 42.3 yards per punt with one downed inside the 20-yard line and another downed at the 21-yard line.

    Head coach Gary Crowton said Payne was an essential part of a stellar day for the special teams, which registered a punt block returned for a touchdown in the game.

    “I thought our special teams was good,” Crowton said on Saturday. “We talked about that a lot all week because we knew the possessions were critical. We were able to make some big plays on special teams to help us out, especially in the fourth quarter.”

    Payne executed a fake punt as well, running 20 yards for a first down late in the fourth quarter. The drive ended in a Cougar touchdown and a 17-point lead.

    On offense, Beck led the Cougars to a 38-point second half, best in the Crowton era, and chalked up a career-high four TD passes.

    Beck completed 20-of-31 passes to finish with 319 yards passing, 236 of which came in the second half. His first touchdown pass, a 70-yard bomb to wideout Todd Watkins just 33 seconds into the third quarter, started a Cougar barrage as they scored 28 unanswered points.

    “He”s [Beck] throwing to the right guy,” Crowton said after the game. “He seemed to be a little tentative in the first half, so I told him to just have fun and be aggressive and he did it.”

    Beck”s 319-yard effort was his third 300-yard passing game of the season. In eight games, he has thrown for 1,790 yards and nine touchdowns.

    Also, New Mexico defensive end Evroy Thompson earned MWC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Thompson tallied a career-high seven tackles (four unassisted), including three tackles for loss and a nine-yard sack in the Lobos” 19-9 victory over San Diego State. He also caused a fumble and helped limit the Aztecs to minus 19 yards rushing.

    Cougars in the NFL: It was a busy weekend for former BYU football players in the NFL this weekend as three Cougars found the end zone on Sunday.

    New Orleans” Colby Bockwoldt, who played linebacker at BYU from 2000-2003, recovered a fumbled kickoff and returned it six yards for a touchdown in the Saints” 31-26 victory over Oakland. Raiders tight end Doug Jolley, who was a Cougar from 1998-2001, also scored on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Kerry Collins.

    Former Cougar tight end Chad Lewis, who played for BYU from 1993-1996 and now is at Philadelphia, scored on a 10-yard pass in the first quarter of the Eagles” 34-31 overtime victory over Cleveland.

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