In brief: Vandals land two WAC honors

College football: Idaho defensive end Aaron Lavarias (pictured) and place kicker Trey Farquhar were named the Western Athletic Conference defensive and special teams players of the week, respectively, after the Vandals’ 30-7 win over UNLV on Saturday.

Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick was named the top offensive player.

Lavarias, a senior from Woodinville, Wash., had four tackles, including three for a loss of 18 yards, and a forced fumble. He had two sacks, including one early in the third quarter in which he also forced a fumble that was recovered by the Vandals.

Farquhar, a sophomore from Redlands, Calif., hit all three of his field goal attempts and was 3-for-3 in extra points in the win against UNLV. In the first quarter, Farquhar nailed a 50-yard field goal and later added 44- and 27-yarders.

Kichton back, but he’s injured

Hockey: Defenseman Brenden Kichton has been returned to Spokane by Detroit after the 18-year-old attended the Red Wings’ prospects camp, but he broke his finger while playing at the Traverse City Prospect’s Tournament and is expected to miss four to six weeks.

Spokane still has three players at NHL camps – defenseman Jared Cowen with the Ottawa Senators, center Tyler Johnson with the Minnesota Wild and right wing Blake Gal with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Vandals add assistant coach

College men’s basketball: Tim Murphy has been added to the University of Idaho staff.

Murphy, most recently an assistant with Cal Poly (2001-2009), joins the Vandals with 26 years of NCAA coaching experience.