Northwest Notes: Nov. 22, 2023

| November 22, 2023 1:15 AM

Layne, Jackson earn

Big Sky honors

Redshirt freshman quarterback Jack Layne started Saturday's game in place of an injured Gevani McCoy. All he did was throw for six first-half touchdowns, tying the school record for touchdowns passes in a game, and helped Idaho build a 56-0 lead before sitting for most of the second half.

For his efforts, he was named the Big Sky Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Week and the STATS Perform FedEx Ground FCS National Freshman of the Week.

Layne was 20-26 for 275 yards and six touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran nine times for 33 yards. He threw passes to seven different receivers and five different players caught touchdowns from Layne.

He is the second Vandal this year to earn a National Player of the Week award this season, joining Ricardo Chavez who was named the National special Teams Player of the Week after the big win over Nevada.

In addition to Layne's Big Sky honor, senior returner/receiver Jermaine Jackson also picked up Big Sky Special Teams Player of the Week honors.

Jackson returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown to put Idaho up 28-0 near the end of the first quarter. The touchdown put the game out of reach for Idaho State and it was just his first touchdown of the game. He added a receiving touchdown early in the second quarter, giving Idaho a 42-0 lead over the Bengals. He caught three passes for 18 yards and also had one rush for 18 yards in the game.

Yang, who played at NIC

steps downs as coach

at NAIA Rocky Mountain

Rocky Mountain College Athletics announces a national search for a head volleyball coach, as Coach Yang Yang officially resigns from her head coach position on Monday.
Yang, who was named a second-team All-American as a sophomore at North Idaho College, has been coaching at Rocky Mountain College since 2015, being named a two-time Frontier Conference Assistant Coach of the Year before earning the head coach position before the 2019 season. She began her coaching career after a successful playing career with the Battlin' Bears, where she was named a two-time All-American. Coach Yang totaled a 91-65 record as the head coach for Rocky Volleyball, leading the Battlin' Bears to the Frontier Conference Championship games and NAIA National Tournament appearances in the 2020, 2022, and 2023 seasons. The Battlin' Bears won the Frontier Conference Tournament in the 2022 season.