Peters earns conference honors

University of New Hampshire cornerback Dontra Peters (Annapolis, Md.) was named Monday as the CAA Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season.

Peters notched an interception and forced a fumble in the Wildcats’ 40-20 victory at Rhode Island on Saturday.

Peters, who previously garnered this honor Oct. 1 for his two-interception effort in a Sept. 29 win against Delaware, made his fourth pick of the season – tied for the CAA lead – on Bob Bentsen’s second-down pass in the UNH end zone to halt an eight-minute URI drive and preserve the Wildcats’ 9-6 lead late in the first quarter. 

New Hampshire scored on its ensuing drive to build a 16-6 advantage.

Early in the second quarter, the senior co-captain came through again when he jarred the ball loose from Rams running back Assani Mudimbi, tallying his first career forced fumble that was recovered by Manny Asam (Bloomfield, N.J.) at the UNH 21.

The ‘Cats took advantage of the change of possession by moving down the field and adding a field goal for a 19-6 lead.

Peters leads a defense ranked first in the league with 15 interceptions and rated second in the league with a plus-10 turnover margin. 

This is the fourth CAA weekly award for the 5-foot-11, 200-pound Peters, who was named Special Teams Player of the Week twice in 2011.

The No. 11 and CAA-leading Wildcats (7-2, 5-1 CAA) return to Cowell Stadium to take on William & Mary (2-6, 1-4) on Saturday at 12 p.m. 

It will be Military Appreciation Day, Legends Day and fans bringing a canned food item for the New Hampshire Food Bank will receive a special ticket rate.