Football | 9/14/2026 3:58:00 PM

Painesville, Ohio - Lake Erie College redshirt junior Curtis Thomas was named Great Midwest Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week, the league office announced on Monday afternoon. 

A Cleveland, Ohio, native, Thomas gave the Storm a jolt of energy in their 23-7 win over Wheeling by taking the opening kickoff of the second half back 100 yards for a touchdown to break open what had been a 10-7 game at the intermission. 

The score marked the second of his Lake Erie career and first special teams touchdown. 

The kickoff return touchdown was the first for the Storm since 2021, when Peyton Brown achieved the feat twice that year, including the season finale against Walsh University on November 13, 2021. 

Thomas is the first Lake Erie player to earn G-MAC Special Teams Player of the Week laurels since October 14, 2024, when placekicker Jaffer Murphy earned the praise after hitting a conference record 60-yard kick in a 29-23 win over Kentucky Wesleyan. 

Thomas and the rest of the Storm will blow into North Canton, Ohio, on Saturday night for a 7 p.m. kickoff against the Walsh Cavaliers.