LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Union (Ky.) College's Mike Brinkley, Virginia-Wise's Marcus Bratton and Campbellsville (Ky.) University's Harold Small are the Mid-South Conference Football Players of the Week for the week ending Oct. 3, the conference announced on Monday.

The weekly award is the second of the season for Brinkley, while Bratton and Small earn their first conference honor of the 2009 season.

Brinkley was one yard shy of tying his career high for passing yards with 328 in Union's 31-0 win against West Virginia Tech on Saturday, Oct. 3. The sophomore, Anthony, Fla., native completed 23-of-34 passes, including two for touchdowns. Brinkley also rushed 10 times for a career-high 46 yards and another score.

Union picked up 533 yards of total offense while securing its first shutout since 1993, a span of 169 games.

Bratton sealed Virginia-Wise's 28-21 win over Georgetown (Ky.) College Saturday with his second interception of the day at the Highland Cavalier's five-yard line with 37 seconds left in the game. Bratton collected his first pick in the first quarter, setting up Virginia-Wise's second touchdown.

After the performance against Georgetown, Bratton ranks No. 22 in the NAIA in total interceptions with two.

Small broke Campbellsville's record for longest kickoff return with a 100-yard effort in a 42-28 win against Shorter (Ga.) College on Saturday. Small's run, beating the previous mark of 93 yards set in 2004, answered Shorter's first score to tie the game at 7-7. The freshman has seven kickoff returns this season with two touchdowns and an average of 33.4 yards per attempt, ranking fifth in the NAIA.

The Tigers rank sixth as a team in the NAIA in kickoff return yards per attempt with a 25.8 average.

MSC Players of the Week

Aug. 31 -- O - Michael Scott (W.Va. Tech), D - Daniel Hazard (Shorter), ST -Cody Parker(Georgetown)

Sept. 7 -- O - Mike Brinkley (Union), D - Jamie Payton (Lambuth), ST - Travis Carter (Cumberland)

Sept. 14 -- O - Michael Scott (W.Va. Tech), D - Logan Lollis (Shorter), ST - Chris Simpson (Cumberlands)

Sept. 21 -- O - Jordan Hazard (Shorter), D - Matt Gular (Virginia-Wise), ST - Mike Cox (Georgetown)

Sept. 28 --O - Adam Wiese (Lambuth), D - Cameron Achord (Belhaven), ST - Triston McCathern (Faulkner)

Oct. 5 -- O - Mike Brinkley (Union), D - Marcus Bratton (Virginia-Wise), ST - Harold Small (Campbellsville)