Welch brings record-setting football career to close
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Right from the start, Pioneer football coach Chris Sulages knew Keith Welch ’13 was something special.
“He could always throw the ball great,” Sulages told the Portland Tribune, “but the first time we gave him a play call, he ran into the huddle, called the play correctly, got everybody lined up right, and snapped the ball like he’d done it a million times. Right then we knew we had something special. And then he started running around, and we really knew.”
On November 16, Welch’s Pioneer football career will come to a close in a game against Whitworth. At that point, Welch will already have gone down in the Lewis & Clark record books as the all-time leader in total offense and touchdown passes. Currently, he’s also second all-time in passing yards and completions, though that may change by the end of the season.
Welch’s success isn’t confined to just Lewis & Clark; he also holds the total offense record for the Northwest Conference and currently leads the NWC in passing yards, passing yards per game, and touchdown passes in 2013. Welch was the NWC player of the year in 2011.
Off the field, Welch is studying psychology and has an interest in graphic design and marketing. He has also thought about becoming a sports agent.
Said Sulages, “He’s a sharp guy. An all-around student-athlete.”
