ISU’s Panikowski named Special Teams Player of the Week

IDAHO FALLS (KIFI) - Idaho State kicker Gabe Panikowski was named the Big Sky's Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday.

The junior from California will be one to watch over the next couple years. He put together 14 points against Western Oregon on Saturday, or almost one-third of the Bengals' point total.

Those scoring efforts included three field goals, one of which split the uprights from 51 yards away. Despite being the longest ISU field goal in two years, there was enough power behind it for a theoretical 60-yarder.

In addition to his contributions on fourth down, Panikowski also went 5-for-6 on extra points. The Bengals ran away with a 50-10 victory against the Division II school.

"Gabe is a sweetheart of a guy," said Idaho State head coach Cody Hawkins after Saturday's win. "And it's awesome to see him come in - he has unbelievable leg talent."

"And kicking in the Dome he runs into a lot of issues," he explained, "because if you hit the ceiling, it's a re-kick. I actually think we got lucky on one of the kicks. It hit the white [roof], but it may have just gone past the uprights."

"But we're going to have to re-kick some this year because he can absolutely bang it," Hawkins added.

Panikowski will have another opportunity to suffer from success when the Bengals take on North Dakota this weekend.