Rome named MSFA Mideast Offensive Player of the Week

DEFIANCE, Ohio - Defiance College senior wide receiver Tawann Rome was chosen as the Mid-States Football Association's Offensive Player of the Week among Mideast League players after his three-touchdown performance versus Madonna on Saturday, the conference announced on Monday.

Rome (Grayson, La./Arabia Mountain) racked up a season-high 132 yards on just five receptions, which was also a season-best total, and found the end zone three different times in the Yellow Jackets' 55-27 victory. Rome's three touchdowns made it a career day for the Louisiana native and marked the first three-touchdown game by a Defiance wideout since Quenell Rutlege caught three scores on Oct. 1, 2016.

The Week 9 award gives Defiance the team's second Player of the Week Award for the 2024 season, joining quarterback Jehlani Warren in Week 4. Rome is the first wide receiver from a MSFA Mideast League team to win Offensive Player of the Week this season and second overall between both divisions to pick up weekly honors.

The senior wideout compiled his fourth 100-yard game and fifth multi-touchdown performance. He currently leads the Yellow Jackets with 394 receiving yards and four touchdowns, ranking 17th in the MSFA in yards per game at 49.3. He now has 15 career receiving touchdowns to rank fifth in career receiving touchdowns at Defiance and his 1,408 career yards are good for eighth all-time. He is also five catches shy of becoming the 10th receiver in program history with 100 career receptions.

The Yellow Jackets travel to Upland, Ind. on Saturday to battle the Taylor University Trojans at 1 p.m. 

-JACKETS-