LA VERNE, Calif. – Bryan Peterson's 14-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Fullman with 30 seconds left in the game provided the winning points in Whitworth's 50-48 win at La Verne in a non-conference football game on Saturday afternoon at Ortmayer Stadium.
Peterson's record-setting day helped the Pirates improve to 3-0 this season.
Peterson broke NCAA Division III single-game records for completions in a game and most consecutive passes without an interception. He set Whitworth team records for single-game passing yardage, completions and attempts. He went 59 of 83 for 589 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions and the Pirates needed every bit of that performance to overcome the Leopards (1-1), who rolled up 672 yards of total offense in the game. Peterson tied the school record for TD passes in a game.
"Peterson was on fire today," said Whitworth head coach Rod Sandberg. "Our receivers and running backs were incredible, and we needed them to be."
Trailing 48-44 after La Verne's John Lilly caught his sixth touchdown pass of the game with 3:20 left to play, Peterson marched the Pirates 62 yards to find Fullman for the winning touchdown with 30 seconds left.
But Whitworth still had to survive a Hail Mary attempt on the game's final play from 37 yards away. Lilly almost caught his seventh TD of the game, but he was just out of the back of the endzone.
The teams traded touchdowns throughout a back-and-forth first half that saw Whitworth take a 30-28 lead into the locker rooms. In fact, the game-deciding drive might have come just before halftime when Peterson took Whitworth 49 yards in five plays in only 20 seconds to set up Robert Thullen for a 20-yard field goal as time expired. Those three points gave the Bucs the 30-28 lead at the break and may have proven to be the difference in the game.
Peterson threw for 313 of his yards in the opening half, tossing touchdown passes to Brett Moser, Fullman, Drew Clausen and Nick Kiourkas.
But the passing combination of William Livingston to Lilly kept the Leopards in the game. Lilly caught three touchdowns in the first half, including a 40-yarder on La Verne's first possession.
And Lilly was only getting started. He added a 77-yard TD reception on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, then put ULV ahead 41-36 with an 80-yard scoring play early in the fourth. His 25-yard reception with 3:20 to play appeared to win the game for the Leopards. Lilly finished the game with eight catches for 274 yards (34.25 yards per catch) and six touchdowns. Livingston completed 27 of 44 passes for 469 yards with seven TD passes and two interceptions.
Whitworth's only turnover came on an unusual play in the third quarter. Safety Taylor Roelofs intercepted Livingston at the La Verne 30-yard line and ran the ball back toward the Leopards' goal line. But he was tackled as he stretched for the end zone and officials ruled he fumbled the ball back to ULV, giving the Leos the ball back on a touchback.
Whitworth finished with 651 yards of offense. Eight different receivers were credited with receptions, led by Connor Williams and Drew Clausen with 12 each for 101 and 88 yards, respectively. Kiourkas had eight catches for 117 yards, including a key fourth-down reception on the Pirates' game-winning drive. Running back Griffin Hare also caught eight passes for 91 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown reception. He also ran for 45 yards on nine carries. In addition to his big passing day, Peterson also ran for a touchdown in the third quarter.
La Verne's 672 yards of offense included 507 through the air and 165 on the ground.
Neil Wagner led the Whitworth defense with 10 tackles. Kelvin Mackey intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble, both in the second half. Danny Welstad was in on two sacks.
Christian Lozon had a game-high 16 tackles for La Verne.
"On a day when our defense and special teams were not sharp, it was great to have the offense carry us," Sandberg said. "This was a crazy game where there were so many plays that could have gone either way. Our players believed. You could see it in their eyes."
The previous Pirate school records broken today were 528 yards (J.J. Green in 1994), 61 attempts (Blain Bennett in 1986) and 43 completions (also set by Bennett in 1996). Peterson tied the school record for touchdown passes in a game with six, which is shared by Joel Clark (against PLU in 2005) and J.J. Green (against Willamette in 1994).
Whitworth returns home to host Chapman University next Saturday at 1:00 pm in the Pine Bowl.