Dean Named NWC Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week

By Timothy Walsh, Athletics Communications Writer

SALEM, ORE. -- Senior quarterback Josh Dean (Dana Point, CA/Dana Hills HS) of Willamette University has been selected as the Northwest Conference Football Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week after leading the Bearcats to a 56-30 win in the annual Wagon Wheel game against Lewis & Clark College on Saturday, Oct. 19 at Griswold Stadium.

Willamette amassed 646 yards of offense against the Pioneers, with Dean completing 27 of 39 passes (78.4%) for 333 yards and a school record seven touchdowns.

He broke the previous record of six touchdown passes, set by Dean last season and by current Bearcat assistant coach John Horner ('94) in 1993.

Dean tossed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Derek Traeger (Jr., WR, Mount Angel, OR/John F. Kennedy HS), threw a 38-yard scoring strike to Erik Baker (So., WR, Moraga, CA/Campolindo HS/Whitworth Univ.), and connected with De'Zhon Grace (Fr., WR, Castro Valley, CA/Bishop O'Dowd HS)on a two-yard touchdown pass, all in the first quarter.

Dean connected with Traeger twice more during the game: in the second quarter from 13 yards away, and in the third quarter from 16 yards out.

He found Grace yet again on the first play of the fourth quarter, then capped his record-setting performance with a 13-yard strike to Joe Mendoza(Jr., WR, Ventura, CA/Ventura HS).

Dean also carried the ball 15 times for 72 yards, including several key rushes for first downs.

Since becoming a starter in the season-opener a year ago, Dean has started 15 games, while passing for 4,820 yards and 53 touchdowns. He has thrown for over 300 yards in 13 of the 15 games.

Against Lewis & Clark, Dean helped the WU offense gain 34 first downs, including 19 on pass completions. The Bearcats averaged 7.2 yards per play overall.

Willamette, ranked #21 nationally by D3football.com and #19 by the American Football Coaches Association, will host Northwest Conference rival Pacific Lutheran University (#17/#16) on Saturday, Oct. 26 at McCulloch Stadium in a game with playoff implications. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. (PDT).