Northwest Notes
The honors keep rolling in for Idaho quarterback Mason Petrino, who on Monday took home STATS FCS National Offensive Player of the Week after his performance on Saturday at Northern Arizona.
Petrino led the Vandals to the 60-53 overtime victory at NAU in his final career game. He finished the game 36 of 43 for 498 yards in the air and six touchdowns. He also rushed for 65 yards and a score. Petrino put up 563 yards of total offense, the most by an individual in an FCS game this season.
His six touchdowns tie the program record. He joins a list of 12 others, most recently Brian Lindgren in 2002. Petrino’s 498 yards in the air was fourth most in program history.
Senior wide receiver Jeff Cotton was also recognized, as an honorable mention selection for offensive player of the week, while true freshman running back Nick Romano earned the honorable mention freshman of the week nod.
Cotton caught 18 passes on Saturday, setting a new Idaho record and tying for the most in a game in FCS this season. His 230 yards were the fifth most in a game in Vandal history. Romano racked up 286 all-purpose yards, the fourth most by a Vandal all-time.
Petrino was also named the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week and the College Sports Madness Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week.
WSU kicker Mazza named Lou Groza Award finalist
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Washington State redshirt sophomore Blake Mazza was named a Lou Groza Award finalist, the Palm Beach County Sport Commission announced Monday.
Mazza is one of three kickers up for the award given to the nation’s top collegiate place-kicker and is the first Cougar to be named a finalist for the award in program history.
The Plano, Texas, native who was named the Midseason All-America Second Team by The Athletic, entered the week tied for the second-most points (105) by a kicker in the country, tied for ninth in the country with a Pac-12 Conference best 51 PAT and tied for No. 12 in the country with a Pac-12 leading 18 made field goals. Mazza is 18 for 19 on field goal attempts after making his first 18 attempts of the season, the longest consecutive made field goal streak in program history. Mazza owns a pair of 50-yard field goals (50 against New Mexico State, career-long 51-yarder at Utah), tied for fourth-most 50-yard kicks in the country.
Rodrigo Blankenship of Georgia and Keith Duncan of Iowa are the other finalists.
The finalists will be honored at the 28th annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Awards Banquet on Dec. 9 in Palm Beach County. The same panel then selects the winner, who will be announced live on ESPN at the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Thursday, Dec. 12.
— From news services