PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Junior running back Terrance West of the Tigers finished third in the voting for the 27^th annual Walter Payton Award, it was announced at the FCS Awards Banquet sponsored by The Sports Network and Fathead.com on Monday night.

Senior quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo of Eastern Illinois won the Payton Award while sophomore quarterback Vernon Adams of Eastern Washington finished second.

Ironically, West and his Towson teammates eliminated Garoppolo and No. 2-ranked Eastern Illinois on Friday night in the quarter-finals of the NCAA FCS playoffs. West played a vital role in the Tigers' 49-39 victory. He set an FCS playoff record with 354 rushing yards on 39 carries and five touchdowns.

West, who leads all of college football with 2,295 rushing yards, had 22 first place votes and 370 points in voting from a national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries. Garoppolo won the award with 74 first-place votes and 576 points. Evans was second with 30 first-place votes and 446 points.

Garoppolo had an outstanding regular season as he led Eastern Illinois to an 11-1 record and a second straight outright Ohio Valley Conference championship. The Panthers were ranked second in the nation, losing only to FBS member Northern Illinois by four points.

Garoppolo led the FCS in passing yards (4,489), passing yards per game (374.1) and touchdown passes (48). He was second in total offense (377.9 yards per game) and third in passing efficiency (170.6).

He continued to build on his many Eastern Illinois and OVC records throughout the FCS playoffs this month. He finished the Panthers' 12-2 season completing 375-of-568 pass attempts (66 percent) for 5,050 yards and 53 touchdowns with only nine interceptions.

Adams, a 6-foot, 190-pound sophomore, led Eastern Washington to a 10-2 regular season record with 4,059 passing yards and a Big Sky Conference record 46 touchdown passes. The Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year led the FCS in total offensive yards per game (379.2) as well as passing efficiency rating (185.7).

A three-time All-Colonial Athletic Association first team selection, West also leads all college football players with 39 touchdowns and he has tied the NCAA FCS record set by Omar Cuff of Delaware in 2007. In his career, he has scored 83 touchdowns, six shy of the NCAA FCS record set by Brian Westbrook of Villanova.

As a freshman, West was named as the winner of the Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman in FCS football.

The 2013 CAA Football Offensive Player of the Year, West was named as the CAA Offensive Player of the Week four times.

The Tigers, now 12-2 on the season, return to action on Saturday, Dec. 21 when they face No. 3 Eastern Washington in the FCS semi-finals in Cheney, Wash. The winner of the Towson-Eastern Washington game will advance to the NCAA FCS championship game on Jan. 4.

The three Payton Award finalists were honored at The Sports Network's FCS Awards Banquet and Presentation along with the winners of the Buck Buchanan Award (Montana State defensive end Brad Daly, FCS outstanding defensive player), Jerry Rice Award (Eastern Washington wide receiver Cooper Kupp, FCS freshman of the year) and Eddie Robinson Award (North Dakota State's Craig Bohl, FCS coach of the year).

Jarrett Payton, son of the late Walter Payton, who enjoyed his Hall of Fame career with the Chicago Bears, presented the 27th Payton Award at the national banquet.

There were 147 ballots cast in the 2013 Walter Payton Award voting. The results: