St. Louis, Mo., October 2, 2021 – The Washington University in St. Louis football team lost to No. 5 Wheaton, 40-10, on Saturday evening under the lights at Francis Olympic Field.

The Bears are now 2-2 on the year and 2-1 in conference play. Wheaton improves to 3-1 overall and 2-1 in the CCIW.

Wheaton scored on its first drive of the game, which was made up of nine plays and lasted 3:17.

Quarterback Luke Anthony hit Adam Terrini for an eight-yard pass and Giovanni Weeks ran for 11 yards to give the Thunder a first down at their own 46. Anthony ran for four yards and Jake Hibben followed that with an eight-yard run to pick up another first down at the WashU 38.

Anthony hit Terrini for a 12-yard pass and Weeks ran for another four yards before a penalty against the Bears moved the Thunder up 11 yards to the 11 yard line. Weeks ultimately scored the first touchdown of the game, rushing 11 yards into the end zone. Tommy Gallagher's kick attempt was good, putting Wheaton up 7-0.

The Bears only reached the 50 on their first drive of the game, forcing a punt. The Thunder then moved forward 49 yards to the WashU 33, but also ended up punting the ball away.

WashU started its next drive with just over five minutes remaining in the first quarter. Quarterback Matt Rush ran for five yards to start, but a fumble on the next play was recovered by Wheaton at the WashU 35.

Wheaton scored on its next drive which was made up of just three plays and lasted 1:19.

The Thunder began their drive with back-to-back runs by Weeks for 12 and two yards, respectively. Wheaton went on to score on the following play, starting with a pitch to Nate Magnusson who then launched a 21-yard pass to Spencer Peterson for the touchdown. Gallagher's kick was good, giving the Thunder a 14-0 advantage with just under three minutes left in the quarter.

The Bears struggled to move the ball, as they began their next drive on their own 23 and ended it at the 29. However, WashU's defense limited Wheaton on the next drive, forcing a punt.

After several fruitless drives on both sides, Wheaton added a field goal with 39 seconds left in the second quarter following a seven-play drive that lasted 1:36.

Weeks started the drive with a four-yard run before Anthony hit Terrini for an 11-yard pass. Weeks then ran for another four-yard gain, but that was erased as Connor Burke and Anthony Brown sacked Anthony for a loss of four. After an incomplete pass, Gallagher came out for a 37-yard field goal, which was good to put the Thunder up 17-0.

Following the break, the Bears received and started their drive with a Rush pass to Tennyson Holmes for nine yards. Holmes then ran for two yards to put WashU at its own 36, but Rush's pass was intercepted by Daniel Herber on the following play to give possession back to the Thunder. Wheaton then scored off a 10-play, 40 yard drive that spanned 3:51.

Anthony began the Wheaton drive with a seven-yard run, followed by a Weeks rush for a two-yard gain. Hibben followed that up with a three-yard run before Weeks picked up 13 yards on three play. Ultimately, Anthony hit Peterson for a 15-yard touchdown pass and Gallagher's kick was good to give Wheaton a 24-0 lead with 10:20 remaining in the third quarter.

The Bears next drive was a four-and-out scenario, giving the Thunder possession. Wheaton's possession didn't yield a score and ultimately resulted in a punt, which was blocked by Kyle Schroeder and recovered by the Thunder at their own 43 yard line.

The Bears put their first points on the board following a seven-play, 2:09 drive. Rush ran for a 12-yard gain to start and Kenvorris Campbell added a four-yard run. A Wheaton penalty for roughing the passer moved the Bears up 13 yards to the 14. Cole Okmin moved WashU up another three yards, setting up Chris Vartanian for a 30-yard field goal, which he hit. The Bears then trailed Wheaton 24-3 with 4:45 remaining in the third quarter.

After forcing a punt on Wheaton's next possession, the Bears took over at the one yard line. Holmes ran for a two-yard gain, but two incomplete passes forced a WashU punt. That punt was blocked, resulting in a safety to put Wheaton up 26-3 with 1:40 left in the third.

Wheaton followed that up with another touchdown, as weeks ran for 26 yards on the opening play and Gallagher's kick was good, extending the Thunder's lead to 33-3.

After several scoreless plays, the Thunder scored again in the fourth quarter following a 10-play drive that lasted 5:12.

Jeremiah Tucker started things off with an 11-yard gain before Sam Singleton ran for three yards. Tucker hit Terrini for a 14-yard pass to give the Thunder a first down at their own 43. Singleton followed that with an eight-yard gain before Tucker hit Terrini for another 14-yard gain.

A seven-yard run followed by a five-yard run from Christopher Carstens moved Wheaton up to the WashU 23. Tucker then ran for nine yards before hitting Terrini for a 14-yard touchdown pass. Gallagher's kick was good, putting Wheaton ahead 40-3 with 5:33 remaining.

On its final drive of the game, WashU scored a touchdown following a 12-play, 80-yard drive that lasted 5:03.

Rush hit Holmes for a five-yard pass to open the drive, and Holmes ran for a one-yard gain. Rush then hit Jack Jopes for an eight-yard gain and first down. Rush hit Jopes again for a three-yard pass, but a false start pushed the Bears back five yards to their own 32.

WashU lost two yards on a sack, but Rush hit Jopes for a 20-yard pass, putting the Bears at the 50 for a first down. Emmanuel Ebirim ran for three yards before Rush hit Danny Taylor for a 10-yard pass, putting WashU on the 37.

Another false start moved the Bears back five yards. Rush ran for two yards and then hit Collin Hoyhtya for a 26-yard pass resulting in a first down at the 14. Rush followed that up with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Hoytya. Vartanian's extra point attempt was good, cutting the Wheaton lead to 40-10 with just 30 seconds left on the clock.

WashU finished with 153 yards of total offense including 146 yards passing and just seven yards rushing. Wheaton had 386 yards of total offense with 179 passing and 207 rushing.

The Wheaton defense recorded six sacks for a total loss of 36 yards and added one interception.

Rush went 14-for-29 with 146 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Ebirim finished with 15 rushing yards on four attempts for an average gain of 3.8. Hoyhtya tallied 40 receiving yards on two catches with one touchdown.

Defensively, Zane Ahlfinger had 10 tackles including seven solo. Langston Laramore-Josey totaled eight tackles with five solo while John Christensen had six tackles with four solo. TJ Perusek added four solo tackles and one assist. Anthony Brown had five tackles including three solo as well as a sack for a loss of two yards.

The Bears are back next Saturday, October 9 when they host Illinois Wesleyan at 1 p.m.