SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Shippensburg University redshirt-junior outside linebacker Alex Sauve was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week on Monday morning by the league office.
 
In a 24-14 win at West Virginia Wesleyan last Thursday night, Sauve finished with a game high and career-high 17 tackles that included 3.5 tackles-for-loss (TFLs). Of that total was an eight-yard sack.
 
Sauve also forced two fumbles (both ended up being recovered by West Virginia Wesleyan), and in the first quarter recovered a fumble in the Raider end zone and returned it 42 yards. That fumble was forced by safety Dave Hines Jr. after a hit dislodged the ball one yard short of the Raider end zone.
 
On special teams, Sauve – who was serving as the long snapper for most of the night – hustled down field and successfully downed two punts inside the 5-yard line. One was downed at the 1-yard line and another was downed at the 3-yard line.
 
The 17 tackles are five more than Sauve's previous single-game best. Also among his tackles was a stop on a zero-yard run and another that came on a fourth-down play that forced a turnover on downs.

It is the first weekly award of the season for the Raiders the second of Sauve's career. In fact, it is the first time that a Raider has earned the league's Defensive Athlete of the Week award since Sauve's first time being honored on Sept. 29 of last season (after eight tackles, an interception, and a half-sack in a 10-7 win over Bloomsburg).