PINGEL CATCHES COLLEGE FOOTBALL RECORDS; ST. VINCENT PRODUCT FIGURES TO BREAK EVERY MAJOR NCAA MARK NEXT YEAR

FULTON -- As remarkable of a year this has been for the St. Vincent football team, it has been an even more incredible season for a certain St. Vincent graduate.

Scott Pingel, a junior split end at Westminster College, has -- statistically speaking -- just completed the most dominant football season ever put forth by an NCAA Division III receiver.

And next year -- barring injury -- he will own every major NCAA all-division receiving record.

Pingel -- a former St. Vincent quarterback -- is the No. 1 target in a pass-first, pass-often scheme that racked up 488 passing yards per game and went 9-1 under the leadership of head coach Ralph Young, a former assistant coach at Southeast Missouri State.

~"My gosh, few, few men have broken (the number of) records he's broken," Young said. "But he takes it all in stride. He's not out there trying to break the record. He's a very unselfish player."

The All-American owns or ~shares 12 school records, four St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference records and nine national records.

One record Pingel hasn't broken yet is Jerry Rice's NCAA record of 301 career catches. Pingel will tie it with his first reception next season.

"It's a good feeling to be mentioned with him," Pingel said. "What he's done in college and as a professional is unbelievable."

Speaking of unbelievable, Pingel set new Division III single season records in receptions in a season (130), receptions per game (13.0) and touchdown receptions (28). His 2,157 yards receiving this year bettered the old Division III mark by almost 300.

Pingel -- who caught at least 17 passes in three different games -- broke the record for most receiving yards in a game this year with 395. And with just 10 more yards, Pingel will claim the NCAA all-division record for career receiving yards (4,470). Pingel ~is on pace to demolish that benchmark by almost 1,500 yards.

~All this is hard to imagine for someone who play~ed quarterback in high school.

"~It's been a little overwhelming," Pingel said. "But if you throw this much, someone's going to catch the ball. I just happen to be in the right place.

~"If someone would have told me a year after high school that I would be going to Westminster to play football, I would have automatically thought I was going as ~a quarterback. I wanted to be a receiver in high school, but nobody could play quarterback as a ~freshman so I stepped up."

Pingel -- who is known for his sure hands and his ability to come up with the ball in a crowd -- feels his high school experience ~at quarterback gives him an advantage when running routes and has helped in forming a bond between him and Westminster junior quarterback Justin Peery.

~~"I try to think what Justin would be thinking," Pingel said. "(Peery) is great on and off the field. But on the field, it's like two bodies with one mind. That's something that you develop after three years."

Young agreed that there is a unique chemistry between Pingel and Pee~ry.

"I want to spread the wealth, but the bottom line is that there Is a connection between Scott and Justin," Young said. "They have a feel for each other and there is a to-go~-to situation there."

Despite leading the nation in total and passing offense, the Blue Jays failed to make the Division III 16-team playoff~s. Their only loss cam~e in the season finale, a 52-51 setback in the conference championship game against MacMurray (Ill.) College. In that game, Peery just overthrew Pingel in the end zone with 37 seconds left in the game. It would have been Pingel's 14th catch of the day, his 27th touchdown of the season and 301st catch of his career.

But hey, there's always next year.

The following is a list of where Pingel stood In Division III at the and of the season: 1st in receptions per game (13.0), 1st in receiving yards per game (215.7), 3rd In scoring (16~ ppg) and 4th all-purpose yards per game (216.2).