Week 9 Stats: 10-18, 164 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 1 receiving TD
Whitfield had big shoes to fill in the absence of reigning NEC Offensive Player of the Year Cole Doyle, and he did not disappoint in his first career start. The redshirt freshman orchestrated an impressive comeback that saw Saint Francis U erase a 15-point deficit with three touchdowns in the final quarter to defeat visiting Merrimack by a 28-21 final on Saturday. Going 10-of-18 with a pair of touchdown throws, zero interceptions and a two-yard touchdown catch, Whitfield becomes the first NEC player to pull off the NEC Offensive Player of the Week and NEC Rookie of the Week double this season. He capped off Saint Francis U’s furious rally in the final quarter with a 71-yard bomb to classmate Jayden Ivory that broke open a 21-21 tie and gave the Red Flash the lead with 5:49 remaining. That throw is tied for the fourth-longest in the conference this season. The Fredonia, NY native is the second Red Flash player to garner Offensive Player of the Week honors. He joins Doyle, who earned the distinction following the opening weekend of the season on September 4.