WHITTEMORE-PRESCOTT - Sep. 19, 2009 - Whittemore-Prescott used its speed and numbers advantage to pull away from Peck in a rare Saturday afternoon contest, exploding for a 26-point third quarter on the way to a 54-12 victory.

"Peck was a tough team, but with only 18 on their varsity roster we were able to wear them down a bit with our running game," said W-P coach Kevin Frederick. "Our defense had another good performance and we are continuing to gain valuable experience."

The Cardinals got another big performance from Chris Downes, who rushed for 213 yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries. HIs scoring runs of 3 and 28 yards in the first quarter gave the Cards a 12-0 lead.

It was the third quarter, though, when W-P took control. A safety made it 20-6, and Downes followed with touchdown runs of 34 and 32 yards. Dylan DeBoever added a 29-yard scoring run, and suddenly W-P had a 44-6 advantage.

Peck returned the kickoff after DeBoever's score for a touchdown, but W-P added a 35-yard Downes field goal and an 8-yard run by Greg Lomason to cap the scoring.

DeBoever finished with 57 rushing yards and two touchdowns on six carries and was 6-of-17 for 37 yards passing.

Zack Morgan led the receiving corps with 23 yards on three catches.

Defensively, Tommy Miracle and Stanley Matuszak each had eight tackles.

W-P (4-0) faces biggest test of the season so far on Friday when it hosts Pinconning (3-1), a 7-3 victor over John Glenn.

"(This) was a nice win," Frederick said. "But now we need to focus on next week."