Sept. 19, 2004

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Western Washington University quarterback Steve Nichols has been named Great Northwest Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week for Sept. 12-18.

Nichols, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound senior from Stevenson, completed 28-of-41 passes for 276 yards and four touchdowns as the Vikings beat Nebraska-Omaha, ranked No.23 in last week's American Football Coaches Association/NCAA Division II Top 25, 31-21.

Nichols tossed touchdown passes of 12, 13, 20 and 11 yards, including three of them in the first half when Western built a 24-6 lead.

With 3,671 career passing yards, Nichols is just 86 yards from eighth place among school leaders. In three games this season, he has completed 73-of-119 passes for 835 yards, with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Western (2-1) meets arch-rival Central Washington (1-3) on Saturday (6 p.m.) in the second annual Wells Fargo Battle in Seattle, presented by Comcast, at Qwest Field. It is the GNAC opener for both schools.