William Jewell College senior quarterback DJ Balazs and junior kicker Zane Kitchell, as well as McKendree University sophomore lineman Lucky Baar, have been named the final Great Lakes Valley Conference Players of the Week in football, it was announced by the league office Monday. 

Balazs was tabbed GLVC Offensive Player of the Week, Baar was picked Defensive Player of the Week, while Kitchell was named Special Teams Player of the Week.

Balazs, a native of Lenexa, Kansas, led the Jewell offense to arguably one of the biggest wins in school history Saturday as the Cardinals went on the road to upset No. 23 Indianapolis, 27-24.  Balazs finished the game 28-of-41 passing for 239 yards and two touchdowns.  He also rushed 12 times for 56 yards and the game-winning touchdown.  The Cardinals gave the three-time GLVC Champion its first-ever loss to a conference opponent as the Greyhounds entered the regular-season finale with a perfect 22-0 mark since 2012.  This is the first weekly honor for Balazs and the first offensive award for the Cardinals since Thomas Cook, Jr., was honored earlier this year on Sept. 29.

Baar turned in one more big performance for the year in helping the Bearcats' to a 28-21 season-ending victory at Quincy. The Chicago, Illinois native registered seven total tackles on the day from his left defensive end position. Of his seven tackles, five went for loss, including four quarterback sacks. For good measure, Baar forced a fumble on his final sack with less than two minutes to play, which was recovered by the Bearcats to thwart the Hawks' final drive of the afternoon.  He also picked up his first career interception with a diving grab of a batted pass with Quincy driving in the red zone in the third quarter. Baar had four multiple-sack games during the Bearcats' five-game win streak to close the 2014 season. For the year, Baar closed with school-record totals of 26 1Ž2 tackles for loss and 18 quarterback sacks. He also finished third on the McKendree squad with 64 total tackles.  He was recognized as GLVC Defensive Player of the Week three times in the last month, as he was also honored on Oct. 20 and Nov. 3.  McKendree closed out the season earning four of the league's final five defensive accolades as A.J. Wentland picked up the award last week.

Kitchell, a native of Parrish, Florida, booted five punts for an average of 40 yards, including one that was downed inside the 20-yard line in William Jewell's 27-24 upset win at Indianapolis.  This is Kitchell's first career weekly honor and the first for a Jewell special teams player since Brandon Womack was recognized last month on Oct. 20.