Kansas City, Missouri – October 12, 2015- Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) kicker Chadd Dearen has been named as the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Special Teams Player-of-the-Week. This is the first career NAIA National Special Teams Player of the Week award for Dearen.

“Chadd is an exceptional kicker with a great desire to be great at his craft,” says head coach Frank Tristan , “This past Saturday he really excelled in all three areas; punting, field goals and kick-offs.”

Dearen, a junior from Rowlett, Texas , helped to lead the Lions to a 47-7 win against Lyon College. He converted four-of-four field goals, three of which were 35-yards or greater, including a season-long 47-yard attempt.

He also ran for nine yards on a fake field goal, gaining the first down for the Lions.  Dearen punted three times for 120 yards, including a long of 63 yards.  Against LC, he tallied 612 yards on 10 kick-off attempts.

Dearen credits his stellar performance on Saturday to his teammates, “My teammates on both sides of the ball put our special teams in a position to make plays and everything fell into place.  I’m excited about this season and I believe we have picked up good momentum heading into Langston.”

Currently, Dearen ranks fourth in the NAIA in scoring (kicking) with 50 points.  He also ranks no. 29 in Division 1 in field goals percent (0.667), no. 31 in Division 1 in pat kicking percent (0.963) and no 32 in Division 1 in punt yards per attempt (38.400).

SAGU is currently 5-1 for the season and 2-0 in the Central States Football League .  On Saturday, October 17, 2015 the Lions will take on defending CSFL champions, Langston University (2-3 overall and 0-1 in CSFL).

Southwestern Assemblies of God University is a private, Christian university located 30 minutes south of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Waxahachie, Texas. The university was established in 1927, and now offers more than 70 associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees on campus or online. More information is available at www.sagu.edu or by calling 1-888-YES-SAGU.

Contact: Natalie Tristan, SAGU SID, [email protected]