They started out as rivals for the quarterback spot at a school that hadn’t played football in more than 65 years. Four years and 39 games later, Justin Peery and Scott Pingel owned almost every passing and receiving mark in the NCAA records book.

It was 1996 and Westminster College, a Division III institution in Fulton, Missouri, was reviving a football program that last put a team on the field in 1931. “I prefer to say we were unbeaten for over 60 years since our 1931 team finished 8-0-1,” kids longtime sports publicist Terry Logue.

Pingel did not play football while in junior college or the University of Missouri, Columbia, but “got the itch” to play again after arriving on the Westminster campus. He began his Blue Jay career buried on the depth chart at quarterback. “During our early practice sessions, it seemed like nobody was catching the ball, so I went to our receivers coach and asked if I could give it a shot,” says Pingel. The coach, former Mizzou great Tony Galbreath, gave Pingel the opportunity, and Pingel quickly emerged as one of the team’s top pass catchers.

Peery, who enrolled at Westminster because he was a three-sport letterman in high school and “didn’t know what to give up,” hoped to play multiple sports in college. He worked his way up to the third-string quarterback spot by the 1996 season opener. “On the last drive of that first game, our No. 1 guy tore his ACL and was gone for the year,” says Peery. “The coaches decided to let me and the No. 2 quarterback alternate for the rest of the season.”

But Peery’s talent was too hard to ignore. By the third game, he became the starter and Peery and Pingel never looked back. “We didn’t have to call too many specific routes or plays,” says Pingel. “I’m not comparing us with (Marvin) Harrison and (Peyton) Manning, but we had a special on-field connection.”

Peery agrees. “Our offense was very loosely structured,” he says. “It didn’t matter what the situation was, I’d just look downfield and think, ‘Where’s Scott?’ ”

Westminster went 5-4 in its inaugural season and 6-4 in 1997 before the real fireworks began. The Blue Jays finished 9-1 in 1998 and established Division III records for total offensive yards (561.2) and passing yards (488.8) per game, while averaging more than 47 points a game. Peery’s 465.1 yards of total offense and 450.1 passing yards per game are Division III individual records. Pingel caught 130 passes, including 26 for touchdowns, and his 2,157 receiving yards remains the single-season, all-divisions record in NCAA history.

The 1999 team averaged more than 49 points per game and finished 8-2, while the total offense and passing yardage figures were just slightly down from the record-breaking 1998 year. Pingel caught a Division III-record 136 passes his senior year and ended his brilliant four-year run with all-divisions records of 436 receptions and 6,108 receiving yards. His 75 touchdown catches tops Division III and is third among all NCAA receivers all-time.

Peery holds Division III career records for total offensive yardage (13,645) and passing yards (13,262) and his 148 touchdown passes is tied for the all-time, all-divisions record.

Despite those and numerous other NCAA records, Pingel and Peery remain modest about their achievements. “We got a lot of the credit, but there were 16 of us who started in 1996 and graduated together,” says Pingel.

“In the moment, it was hard to have perspective on how good we were,” remembers Peery. “It was a ‘perfect storm’ and there were several ‘coaches’ on the field.”

Today, both men remain involved in football on the high school level. This fall, Pingel, who also teaches math, begins his coaching tenure at Christian Brothers College High School near St. Louis. Peery, an English teacher, is the new offensive coordinator for Strafford High School in Springfield, Missouri. Any guesses what type of offense they may try with their new teams?

From left: Scott Pingel and Justin Peery. Photos Courtesy of Westminster (Missouri)