Perry senior quarterback and Toledo commit Walter Moses broke a pair of Drew Schiano’s career passing records during the 2024 season.
Schiano totaled 6,054 passing yards and 80 touchdowns through the air. Moses first surpassed his predecessors’ passing yards record in a Week 7 62-0 win over Orange, in which he went 10-of-13 passing for 232 yards and three touchdowns.
The senior overtook the passing touchdowns record in a 68-0 Week 10 win over Hawken with 87 yards and two touchdowns.
Moses idolized Schiano throughout his career, making the moment even more special.
“Being able to break Drew’s record was awesome,” Moses said. “I always looked up to him when I was younger, watching him play football. I’ve always been close to him and his dad, who was my middle school coach. It was definitely an awesome experience to do it with my team.”
Moses even joked with Schiano about breaking his records growing up.
“It started off more as a joke,” Moses said. “Growing up with him and watching him set all these records, joking around saying I was going to be the one to break all of them. It was surreal for it to happen.”
He felt that surreal feeling the moment it was announced that he had broken the record over the loudspeakers at Alumni Stadium.
“It was definitely awesome to hear it over the PA,” Moses said of the moment.
Moses is also trying to leave that lasting impact on the younger players, much like Schiano did for him.
“I definitely want to leave the kids with a positive experience,” Moses said. “I love hanging out with those kids on the sideline during the game, and I love talking to them whenever I see them around school. I want to leave them with the mindset that football is supposed to be fun. I think it’s kind of what I preach. It shouldn’t be tense. I’ve played my four years here, and I’m just having as much fun as I can. Having them see football as a fun sport, they should be smiling. Leaving them with that would be amazing.”
That mindset has helped Moses put together a stellar career.
“It’s helped me as a leader,” Moses said of the benefits. “In those tense moments, I’ve always been able to be calm and comfortable in the situation we’re in. Being able to bring everybody back when the moments are high has helped me as a leader to be calm and collected during those times. I’m able to smile and crack a joke in the huddle when something doesn’t go well.”
It’s been a memorable year for the Toledo commit, who led Perry to its first state championship in program history and is now breaking career records.
“It’s unreal,” Moses said of his accomplishments. “I always have high expectations for myself, but going into (high school), I never could have imagined this would happen. Winning a state championship with my team is absolutely awesome. I couldn’t imagine another group to do something like that with, especially with growing up with those guys. Being able to commit to Toledo and have all the hard work pay off is awesome.”
Although finding his college was relieving, it didn’t change the way Moses worked toward his goals.
“(The commitment) definitely felt like a weight lifted off my shoulders,” he said. “But it didn’t factor into chasing the all-time record because, at the end of the day, both of these records are team accomplishments more than individual. It’s awesome to have done all of this with the team that I’ve grown up with my whole life.”
Moses tied the touchdown record with a 47-yard touchdown pass to fellow senior Luke Sivon, who he also connected with on an 80-yard touchdown pass to break the all-time passing yards record, and he re-wrote the record book with a 14-yard touchdown toss to Trent Taylor.
“It was awesome,” Moses said. “We got in the red zone and called a play-action. We knew it was coming, but we weren’t calling plays just to get the record. We were playing our game, and it ended up aligning perfectly. It was awesome to get it with them. Growing up with them and playing sports with them my whole life has been amazing.”
The postseason is just around the corner for Perry, who finished 9-1 and won a Chagrin Valley Conference Chagrin Division title. Moses and the Pirates will look to keep the momentum rolling with the hopes of a repeat in Canton.
“We just have to keep playing Perry football,” Moses said of what it’ll take for postseason success. “We can’t get distracted by outside factors, and if we play our brand of football, we’re one of the best teams in that state, and I think we prove that. Playing our football is going to get us far again.”
Perry hosts Akron Buchtel in the first round of the Division IV playoffs on November 1.
