September 14th, 2026 5:01pm
D2Football.com is pleased to announce the players of the week for week two of the 2026 season. This week’s honorees are Edward Waters receiver Izaiah Jean-Baptiste, Shippensburg Linebacker Alex Sauve and UNC Pembroke return specialist Malik Brown.
Offense
Izaiah Jean-Baptiste, WR, Edward Waters
Edward Waters rallied from a halftime deficit and shutout Miles in the second half to earn their first conference victory of the season. The offense was ignited by receiver Izaiah Jean-Baptiste who accounted for almost 40% of the Tigers’ offensive output. The senior from Davenport, Florida hauled in nine receptions for 144 yards and scored three touchdowns. His longest play of the day was a 40-yard reception for a score in the third quarter. He also added TD grabs of 14 and 15 yards in the first half.
Defense
Alex Sauve, LB, Shippensburg
Alex Sauve led a Shippensburg defense that helped deliver the first win for new head coach Drew Gallardy. In the Thursday night contest at West Virginia Wesleyan, Sauve put in a career night with 17 total tackles. Among his stops were 3.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a fourth down stop that resulted in a turnover on downs. He also forced two fumbles, recovered a fumble forced by a teammate and returned it 42 yards. The recovery happened at the goal line, which ended a scoring threat, flipped the field and gave possession to the Raiders. Sauve also contributed on special teams, downing two punts inside the opponent five yard line. Alex Sauve is a junior from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
Special Teams
Malik Brown, KR, UNC Pembroke
Malik Brown scored twice on special teams to lead UNC Pembroke to a 31-24 win at Shorter. Brown began his day by returning the opening kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown, just seconds into the contest. In the third quarter, Shorter appeared to take control of the game with two touchdowns within a span of 60 seconds. Trailing 21-10, Brown returned a kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown to swing the momentum back in the Braves’ direction. For the day, Brown totaled 215 yards from four returns, with two touchdowns. He is the first player in program history to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same game.
Week One
Offense: Hank Kraft, RB, Northern State
Defense: Legend Doggett, DB, West Alabama
Special Teams: Tristan Hite, P, Chadron State
Week Zero
Offense: Cephus Harris, RB, Davenport
Defense: Carter Daniels, LB, CSU Pueblo
Special teams: Neal May, KR / PR, Augustana