VALDOSTA, Ga.- Valdosta State football senior Alfonso Franklin and Blazer soccer junior Katherine Kimmel were named this week's Steel's Jewelry Athletes of the Week. This is the first Steel's Jewelry weekly award for both Franklin and Kimmel while it marks the fourth Blazer football player this season to earn honors and the second for VSU soccer.
 
Franklin, a native of Saint Petersburg, Fla., had his best game to date as a Blazer, rushing for three touchdowns and 131 yards on the ground on ten carries, helping lead the No. 3 Blazers to a record-setting 73-0 at Erskine in the GSC-opener for both teams on Saturday.  Franklin scored three-straight touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters with the final one going for 38 yards as VSU set the new single-game scoring record with 73 points.  He averaged 13.1 yards per carry in the game as the Blazers racked up a season-high 293 yards on the ground in the contest. For his awesome performance in the win, Franklin was named GSC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday afternoon.
 
Kimmel had one assist and one goal on a penalty kick in the 3-0 victory over Georgia Southwestern on Wednesday evening. In that matchup, she tallied two shots and two shots on target from her defender position in 77 minutes of playing time. She also logged 48 minutes in the 3-1 loss to Montevallo on Saturday afternoon. Overall, Wednesday's achievements marked her second career goal and fourth career assist as a Blazer.
 
Franklin and the No. 3-ranked Blazer football team host No. 17-ranked West Alabama in a key Gulf South Conference matchup at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium on Saturday at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, Kimmel and the Blazer soccer team have a busy schedule at home this weekend when they host Lee at 1 p.m. on Sunday. For more information on Blazer football and soccer as well as all things VSU athletics, visit vstateblazers.com.