BETHANY — Southern Nazarene set a school record with 556 total yards, 418 of which were passing, in a 63-17 rout over St. Mary. The 442 yards passing was the second highest total in school history, just second behind last year's 469 yards at Olivet Nazarene.

Brady Wardlaw was at it again with his bag of tricks. The junior quarterback threw for 366 yards, the third highest in his career, and five touchdowns. He went 28-for-40 with just one interception. He also led the team in rushing with 54 yards on seven carries.

Wardlaw had multiple targets as 11 different Crimson Storm caught passes. Phillip Anderson and Josh Woods led the way as each totaled seven receptions. Anderson had 61 yards receiving while Woods had 58 and a touchdown. David Balenseifen had the most yards receiving with 90 on just three catches, including a 37-yard reception, but Jarod Martin caught three passes, two of which were for touchdowns.

Adrian Valdes led the way on the defensive side of the ball with 13 tackles, 2.5 of which were for losses totaling 27 yards. He also had a hand in one sack. Chris Chaney totaled 1.5 sacks while Dillon Brumbaugh also had double-figure tackles with 12. Jayson Walser notched nine tackles as well.

It took the Crimson Storm less than three minutes and seven plays to go 57 yards to take the first lead of the game at 7-0 on a 3-yard pass from Wardlaw to Garrett Barnes. SNU went up 13-0 later in the first on a muffed punt and one play later Wardlaw found Gabe John for a 14-yard touchdown pass.

SNU lit up the scoreboard in the second quarter, scoring 36 points. The Crimson Storm scored on all four drives in the second and that didn't include a blocked punt that was recovered in the end zone.

The Spires, who were playing their opening game, didn't get on the board until 10:17 left in the third. SNU went up 56-7 late in the third on a Wardlaw pass to Fafa Alce. USM added a field goal and another touchdown in the fourth before backup quarterback Dylan Terry found Woods for a 13-yard touchdown pass to cap off the night.

SNU, now 1-1 on the season, will hit the road for the next two weeks to take on Haskell (Kan.) and Bethel (Kan.) before returning home Sept. 25 against Southwest Baptist.