St. Louis, Mo., October 30, 2021 – The Washington University in St. Louis football team defeated Carroll 35-12 on Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd of 3,221 at Francis Olympic Field on Parent and Family Weekend.

The Bears are now 6-2 overall with a 6-1 mark in CCIW play.

WashU scored with just 24 seconds remaining on the clock in the first quarter following a three-play drive. Prior to the offensive drive, the Bears' defense came up big as Kyle Schroeder sacked quarterback Michael Johnson which led to a fumble that was recovered by Connor Burke to give WashU possession.

Following two incomplete passes, quarterback Matt Rush found Jared Harrison in the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown catch. Junior kicker Chris Vartanian's extra-point attempt was good, giving WashU the 7-0 edge heading into the second quarter.

WashU's defense forced a four-and-out for Carroll to end the first quarter and took possession to open the second. The Bears put together a five-play, 54-yard scoring drive that took 1:40.

Rush started the drive with a 24-yard pass to Collin Goldberg for a first down at the 30. Emmanuel Ebirim ran for four yards to move the Bears up and Rush then hit junior Cole Okmin with a 22-yard pass to put WashU at the four yard line. Ebirim sealed the deal with a four-yard run and Vartanian's extra-point attempt was good to put the Bears up, 14-0, with 13:20 remaining in the second quarter.

Neither team put up anymore points until the clocked ticked down to zero at the end of the second quarter. Carroll ultimately scored as the buzzer went off following a nine-play, 41-yard drive.

Johnson hit Austin Eichstaedt for an eight-yard pass and the Pioneers moved up another 15 yards following a WashU roughing the passer penalty. Johnson found Eichstaedt for two more passes for four and five yards, respectively, before Adam Timbrook ran for two yards for a first down at the 15. Back-to-back rushes from Nick Legnaioli moved Carroll up to the eight but with just two seconds on the clock, Carroll called a timeout to regroup for a field goal. Jacob Laurent hit the 24-yard attempt to cut WashU's lead to 14-3 at the half.

The Pioneers received to open the third quarter and put together a 16-play, 74-yard drive, reaching the one yard line. WashU's defense once again came up big, however, as Anthony Brown forced a fumble which was recovered by Schroeder to give the Bears possession at their own one yard line.

That ultimately led to another WashU touchdown following a nine-play, 99-yard drive.

Rush found Okmin for a big 34-yard pass to give the Bears a first down. Rush then hit Goldberg for a 13-yard gain for another first down. A 12-yard run from Rush resulted in the third-straight first down at the 40. Tennyson Holmes ran for back-to-back gains of five and six yards, respectively, giving the Bears another first down at the 29.

Holmes then unleashed for a 25-yard run to put the Bears at the four yard line. Holmes finished the drive for WashU with a four-yard touchdown run with 5:34 remaining in the third quarter. Vartanian's extra-point attempt was good, extending WashU's lead to 21-3.

Carroll scored its lone touchdown of the game on the following possession, putting together and eight-play, 75-yard drive.

Johnson hit Eichstaedt for a nine-yard pass and Legnaioli ran for five more yards to give the Pioneers a first down at their own 39. Johnson found Josh Hill for a six-yard gain and Eichstaedt for a three-yard pass before launching a 43-yard pass to Keon Miller, resulting in a first down at the nine yard line. Legnaioli picked up three yards in two attempts and Johnson ultimately scored a six-yard touchdown with 1:26 left in the third quarter. The Pioneers attempted a two-point conversation which was unsuccessful.

The Bears scored again on their next drive, made up of four plays and 45 yards.

Rush hit Okmin for a 20-yard pass to give the Bears a first down at the 25. Ebirim ran for six yards and Goldberg caught an 11-yard pass from Rush. Following a quick break to start the fourth quarter, Rush found Okmin for an eight-yard touchdown pass and Vartanian's kick was good, pushing the WashU lead to 28-9 with 14:54 left in the game.

Carroll added more points – another field goal – on the following drive, after 11 plays and 57 yards.

Timbrook picked up the first yards of the drive with a four-yard run and quarterback John Taylor ran for six yards for a first down at the 50. Taylor then found Hill for 12-yard and 21-yard passes, putting the Pioneers at the 17. Timbrook ran for seven yards, five yards then two yards. The Pioneers had to settle for a field goal, however, following a no-gain rush and an incomplete pass. Laurent hit the 20-yard attempt to trim WashU's lead to 28-12.

The Bears added one final touchdown with just over five minutes left to play. Following a drive for WashU that resulted in a blocked field goal, Andrew Whitaker came up with a big defensive play. On the first play of Carroll's drive, Whitaker intercepted Taylor's pass at the 20 and ran it in for a touchdown with 5:36 left on the clock. Vartanian's extra-point attempt was good, giving WashU the 35-12 lead that would hold until the end of the game.

The Bears racked up 445 yards of total offense which included 320 passing and 125 rushing. WashU's defense held Carroll to 280 yards of total offense, including 209 passing and 71 rushing.

Offensively, Rush went 19-for-27 with 300 passing yards and two touchdowns.

Okmin recorded 112 yards on six catches and scored one touchdown while Goldberg finished with 48 yards on three catches. Holmes led the Bears on the ground with 52 yards in 14 attempts for an average of 3.7 yards-per-rush and one touchdown.

On the defensive side, Alex Harvey finished with eight tackles including six solo. Schroeder had seven total tackles with five solo, a sack, a forced fumbled, a fumble recovery and a tackle-for-a-loss. Whitaker had seven total tackles with five solo plus two interceptions.

The Bears close out the home portion of their schedule next Saturday, November 6 with a 12 p.m. game against No. 1 North Central before traveling to Carthage the following weekend for the regular-season finale.