CONWAY, Ark. - The Hendrix College football team moved into a tie for first place in the Southern Athletic Association standings after a 54-51 shootout win against Washington University at Crafton-Faulkner Field at Young-Wise Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon.

The Warriors improve to 7-2 overall and 6-1 in the SAA and is now tied with Berry, who lost to Birmingham-Southern 14-7 today. Hendrix could advance to the NCAA playoffs with a win over last place Sewanee and a Berry loss to Centre next week.

The tone of the game was set from the get go when Warrior junior quarterback Seth Peters connected with junior Dayton Winn on a screen pass and the Pea Ridge, Ark. native ran the reception 70 yards for a score just 20 seconds into the contest.

On the Bears' (5-4, 4-3) first possession, Warrior linebacker Ben Cunningham forced a fumble and it was picked up by senior safety Caleb Shannon, who returned it 10 yards back to the Wash. U. 38. Four plays later, freshman Travis England scored on a flick pass from two-yards out to make the game 13-0 in the first 2:24 of the game.

After a Washington 16-yard touchdown pass from J.J. Tomlin to Matt Goldberg at the 7:12 mark of the first quarter, sophomore Ben Luedtke ran back the ensuing kickoff 92 yards to give Hendrix a 20-7 lead. Winn scored on a nine-yard rush with three seconds left in the first quarter to go up 27-7.

Tomlin completed a 21-yard pass to Hank Childs to cap the Bears' first drive of the second quarter. Peters found Winn for a 52-yard touchdown on their next drive to make the game 34-14. An Austin Smestad two-yard run and a 10-yard pass from Tomlin to Kevin Hammarlund made the game 34-28 just before halftime.

Wash. U. tied the game at 34-34 with a five-yard rush by Cody Ratermann to start the third quarter. Warrior junior Tyler Clifton blocked the extra point that would have given the Bears the lead.

A 48-yard run by Winn set up a four-yard touchdown scramble by Peters to put Hendrix up 41-34 at 8:13 in the third. The Bears answered with a 13-play, 67-yard drive capped by a 10-yard pass from Tomlin to Marcus Ramspott, tying the score at 41-41.

Washington took a three-point lead on a 25-yard field goal by Alex Hallwachs to start the fourth quarter. The Bears scored again on a three-yard Ratermann rush to go up 51-41 with 9:34 remaining.

The Warriors rattled off 11 plays for 66 yards over the next four minutes and cut the deficit to 51-48 on a six-yard pass to junior Spencer Smith. The Hendrix defense forced the Bears to punt after three plays - which included an 11-yard sack by Cunningham.

Starting at their own 46-yard line, Winn rushed for 26 yards on the first two plays and a personal foul by Wash U. gave Hendrix the ball at the Bears' 13. Winn covered the final 13 yards on the next four plays and found the endzone from two yards out to give Hendrix a 54-51 lead. Quincy Marting blocked the extra point.

With 1:16 left in the game, the Bears got the ball back on their own 12-yard line. They managed to get the Warrior 14 with 4.6 seconds remaining. Hallwachs' 30 yard field goal attempt was blocked by Smith as time expired to secure the win for Hendrix.

Hendrix ran 68 plays for 541 yards and a 8.0 per play average. Wash. U. ran 99 plays for 612 yards and a 6.2 average. The Bears had a 32-25 advantage on first downs.

Hendrix Notes
- The Warriors tie the program record of seven wins set by the 1926 team that went 7-1-1.
- Hendrix' 54 points was the most for the team since bringing football back in 2013 and the most points scored since 1950.
- Winn continued his assault on the record books. With 197 yards rushing, he broke the single-season SAA record for yards in season. He now has 1,532 yards on the year, passing Mike Barthelemy's of Millsaps record of 1,400 yards set in 2013.
- Winn also had 128 yards receiving and four total touchdowns. He broke the school record for touchdowns in season with 20.
- The junior tailback had 394 all-purpose yards and continues to lead the nation with 267.8 per game.
- Peters was 20-for-26 passing for 290 yards and four touchdowns. His 212.4 passing efficiency was a school record.
- Junior Ethan Hoppe had six catches for a career-high 94 yards.
- Luedtke's 92-yard kick return was the longest in school history, breaking Winn's 88-yard return set last week.
- The Warrior defense recorded a program record 102 tackles. They also had seven tackles for a loss.
- Shannon led all players with 16 tackles to go with his forced fumble and 10-yard fumble return.
- Junior cornerback tied his career high with nine solo tackles.
- Freshman corner Chandler Marquardt had a season-high eight solo tackles.
- Cunningham finished with eight tackles, a forced fumble, 1.5 tackles for a loss and a sack.
- Jake Falleur had a sack and Gray Stanton and Harrison Newton had a half sack each.
- The Warriors honored four seniors before the game - Shannon, Reid Cone, Jay Jeffers and Jordan Zeidman.

Washington U. Notes
- Tomlin was 41-of-55 passing for 494 yards and four touchdowns.
- Childes had 11 catches for 123 yards and Hammarlund caught seven balls for 90 yards.
- Ratermann took 20 carries for 83 yards and two scores.
- Marting led the Bears with 10 tackles.
- Josiah Situmeang had six tackles, two for a loss, a sack and two forced fumbles.

Up Next
Hendrix will try to secure at least a share of the SAA regular season title at Sewanee - The University of the South next Saturday.