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| Bryan Peterson threw for just
86 yards as Whitworth crushed Lewis and Clark. He threw for a few
more at La Verne. Photo by Kelly Bird for Whitworth athletics |
Earlier in the week, Bryan Peterson's parents were not planning on traveling from Spokane, Wash., to La Verne, Calif., to watch Whitworth's non-conference tilt with the host Leopards.
But at the last minute, they bought a plane ticket and made it to Ortmayer Stadium in time for the game. And it turned out to be a trip they won’t forget.
Peterson, who was announced as the starting quarterback late in the week, set three school records, two NCAA Division III records and threw the game-winning touchdown pass — his sixth of the day — with 30 seconds to play in the Pirates' 50-48 victory Saturday.
“It was really cool that I could share the moment after the game with my family,” said Peterson, who completed 59-of-83 pass attempts for 580 yards.
Amazingly, Peterson's record-setting day almost didn't happen.
The senior has been in a position battle with sophomore Ian Kolste since the spring. Peterson started Week 1, but Kolste earned the start in Week 2. With Kolste dealing with an injury, Peterson took advantage of his opportunity in the Pirates' third game of the year.
“Having a positive mind-set paid off,” Peterson said. “I was ready to go when my number was called.”
Peterson set single-game school records for passing yards, completions and attempts. The previous Whitworth marks were 528 yards passing by J.J. Green in 1994, and 43 completions and 61 attempts both set by Blaine Bennett in 1986.
Peterson's six touchdown passes also tied a school record that was shared by Green and 2006 D3football.com All-America selection Joel Clark.
The Pirates' signal-caller realized he was having a special day when a coach told him at halftime that he had already thrown for 313 yards.
“I really had no clue,” Peterson said. “I was pretty shocked when he told me that.”
Whitworth's first-year offensive coordinator Alan Stanfield said the yards quietly pile up when the unit is working efficiently.
“You don't really notice it as the game goes along. I think we only hit eight deep balls down the field, but we were 20-of-21 throwing to the right flat and 20-of-26 going to the left flat, and then our guys made some nice plays afterward,” Stanfield said, noting the high-tempo offense ran 109 plays. “So the chunks come quickly.”
Stanfield also said his offense lends itself to big games. While coaching at Shadle Park High School in Spokane last year, Boise State commit Brett Rypien recorded a 613-yard game in Stanfield's offense.
Peterson's 59 completions also broke the NCAA Division III record of 56, which was previously set by Kalamazoo's Brandon Luczak in 2009. Peterson's 83 attempts also broke the D-III record for consecutive passes without an interception. Justin Peery of Westminster (Mo.) set the previous mark of 77 in 1998.
The latter achievement means the most to Peterson.
“That's a big thing being a quarterback — making smart decisions, taking care of the football,” Peterson said. “When you can go a full game and run 109 offensive plays and not turn the ball over … that's the thing I'm most proud of.”
“Bryan had a great week of letting the game come to him, and taking what the defense gave him, and then taking his shots when they presented themselves,” Stanfield added. “I can't think of one ball that really could have been picked off, or where he put the ball at risk. And that's hard to believe when we threw 83 times.
“He was just really smart with the football and knew where he wanted to go with it when we got the certain looks they were giving us.”
Despite the gaudy passing numbers he had posted, Peterson needed to lead Whitworth on one last drive. Trailing 48-44 with about three minutes to play, Peterson engineered a 62-yard drive and completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Fullman with 30 seconds to play for the game-winning score.
“If we would have lost that game, it would just be so much different,” Peterson said. “It would pretty much negate everything that happened in the game. The priority was winning, for sure. It feels good to be 3-0.”
The score was so close because La Verne wide receiver Jon Lilly was having a record day for Leopards too.
Lilly caught a school-record six touchdown passes — and very nearly caught his seventh on a Hail Mary attempt as time expired.
La Verne quarterback William Livingston threw seven touchdown passes and racked up 469 yards through the air as the two teams went toe-to-toe.
“That was such an exciting game,” Peterson said. “It was incredible.”
Stingy Simpson
Arguably the biggest upset of Week 3 came courtesy of Simpson. The Storm improved to 3-0 for the first time in 11 years by knocking off Illinois Wesleyan, 13-3.
The Titans entered the game ranked No. 21, but the Simpson defense forced three turnovers and held IWU scoreless for the first 52 minutes.
The win marks the Storm’s first 3-0 start since 2003. That season also served as the program’s most recent visit to the playoffs.
Through the first three weeks, the Simpson defense has allowed an average of 5.33 points per game.
“If you would have told me before the season that after three weeks, we would have given up 16 points, I’d take it,” Simpson head coach Jim Glogowski said in a press release.
“Since, I’ve been here, this is the best three-week stretch we’ve had as a defense as far as coming up with timely turnovers and stops in adverse situations,” he said.
The Storm have a bye week before opening its IIAC schedule at Buena Vista on Oct. 4.
The rest of the West
Sam Riddle threw for 355 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another score to lead Linfield over Redlands, 36-3. Redlands is 0-2 after suffering two straight losses to teams ranked in the top-10. … Concordia-Moorhead raced out to a 16-point lead and defeated St. John’s, 23-14. Saturday’s win marked the first time the Cobbers have beaten the Johnnies in three straight years since 1958-60. … UW-River Falls snapped a 14-game losing streak with a 43-28 win over South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, S.D. The Falcons’ previous victory came on Oct. 27, 2012 at UW-Stout. … Northwestern (Minn.) scored 15 points in the fourth quarter to rally past UMAC rival Martin Luther and remain unbeaten on the season. … Josh Vos rushed for 219 yards to lead Luther to a 49-21 win over Grinnell and a 3-0 overall record. … Cal Lutheran led 24-21 at halftime, but Willamette scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to win the non-conference game, 42-24. Dylan Jones had 177 yards and three touchdowns on the ground to lead the Bearcats. … Bethel bounced back from its season-opening loss with a 40-0 shutout over St. Olaf. … UW-Whitewater bussed to the East Coast and returned with a 48-0 win over The College of New Jersey. … Mitch Hendricks passed for 443 yards, helping Gustavus Adolphus beat MIAC rival Hamline. The Gusties are 3-0 following the 48-19 victory. … Crown scored the first touchdown and the last touchdown of the game, but St. Scholastica scored seven TDs in between to secure a 48-14 UMAC win. … North Central (Ill.) scored 21 first quarter points and topped UW-Platteville, 28-7, in a battle of top-10 teams.
Rank ’em
UW-Whitewater is the unanimous No. 1 team in the country, headlining this week’s ranked teams in the West Region.
The Warhawks received all 25 first place votes and are one of four teams from the West ranked in the top-10.
Linfield is No. 6 for another week, Wartburg is ranked No. 9 and St. Thomas moved up one spot to No. 10.
After suffering a loss to fifth-ranked North Central (Ill.), UW-Platteville dropped from No. 7 to No. 13 in this week’s poll. Bethel is the No. 15 ranked team for the second week in a row while idle Pacific Lutheran moved up one position to No. 16.
Concordia-Moorhead enters this week’s poll, debuting at No. 25.
West Region teams Chapman (25), Simpson (21) and Willamette (14) all received votes as well.
Number of the week
37 – As in the school-record number of points Central scored in the first quarter of its 65-12 win over Maranatha Baptist. The Dutch led 9-0 less than two minutes into the game and had only run one play from scrimmage at that point. Central also set a school record by posting two touchdowns in a five second span. Josh Osborn scored a on a 19-yard run and, following a touchback, Nick Henry returned an interception 24 yards for a score on Maranatha’s first play of the ensuing drive.
Looking ahead
St. John’s will travel to the Twin Cities to play rival St. Thomas. Whoever wins the battle for the Holy Grail trophy will also secure their first MIAC victory of the season.
Two teams from the Northwest Conference will make lengthy trips for non-conference games this week. Pacific will play at the University of Chicago while Pacific Lutheran plays at Trinity (Texas).
After a week off, Chapman will take another crack at a NWC team when the Panthers play at Whitworth.
Westminster (Mo.) is off to a 2-0 start in UMAC play and will host defending league champion St. Scholastica.
Buena Vista is the only IIAC team in action this weekend, traveling to Forest City, Iowa, to take on Waldorf.
UW-Stevens Point will be at home, facing North Central (Ill.) in the team’s final non-conference game.
Be heard
Do you have a story idea for the Around the West column? Contact me about approaching milestones, broken records, break-out players or any other storylines in the West. Or just drop me a note and let me know what you like or don’t about the column. All ideas and feedback are welcome. Email me at josh.smith@d3sports.com or follow me on Twitter at @DU_Josh_Smith.
