PORTLAND, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College football graduate student quarterback Sam Simril and senior tight end Julius Walker each earned spots on the D3football.com Team of the Week, the website announced Tuesday morning. 
 
Simril and Walker played key roles in the River Otters' 43-41, triple overtime comeback win over Whitworth on Saturday. The win marked Lewis & Clark's first win over the Pirates since 2011 and their first win in Spokane since 1996. Simril earns his first career Team of the Week award, while Walker becomes the fourth player in program history to be named to the Team of the Week two times. Lewis & Clark's five D3football.com Team of the Week honorees is a new program-record – surpassing the 2011 team that earned four awards. The River Otters are just the third school in the history of the D3football.com Team of the Week to have two different quarterbacks honored in the same season (Simril and junior Dashiell Weaver). Howard Payne University (2002) and Loras College (2015) are the only other schools to have two quarterbacks honored in the same season in the 27-year history of D3football.com's Team of the Week. 
 
Simril threw all five of his touchdown passes in the final 20 minutes of regulation and overtime to help Lewis & Clark rally from a 28-7 deficit. He posted a new career-high with 437 passing yards, tied his career-high with five touchdown passes and went 34-51. In the second half alone, Simril went 20-32 for 265 passing yards and five touchdowns. 
 
Despite only starting three of the team's seven games, Simril ranks sixth in the Northwest Conference with 1,137 passing yards and tied for fourth with 10 touchdown passes. He has set new career-highs for passing yards and passing yards per game (189.5) this season. Simril ranks 22^nd in program history for career passing yards (2,211) and tied for 15^th with 24 passing touchdowns. 
 
Walker picks up his second Team of the Week award of the year after notching new career-highs in catches and receiving yards and matching his career-high in touchdown catches. He posted a line of eight catches for 140 yards and two scores against Whitworth. The senior tight end recorded a 19-yard touchdown catch to start Lewis & Clark's scoring in the second half. He added a 10-yard touchdown catch to tie the game at 28-28 midway through the fourth quarter. 
 
Walker has posted a new career-high for a single-season with 438 receiving yards and tied his career-high with six touchdown catches. He sits second on the team this year in catches (25), receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. The Washington native ranks eighth in the conference in receiving yards and third in touchdown catches. He needs just 48 yards to become the 33^rd player in program history to reach 1,000 receiving yards for his career. In 31 career games, Walker has racked up 69 catches for 952 yards and 18 touchdown catches. 
 
Lewis & Clark will host #21 Linfield University on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. The two teams are the final two unbeaten teams in the NWC (4-0) and the winner will be in the driver's seat to earn the conference automatic qualifier bid to the NCAA DIII Tournament.