Kenosha, Wis., November 13, 2021 – The Washington University in St. Louis football team closed out its regular-season with a 37-16 win at Carthage on Saturday afternoon.

The Bears are now 7-3 on the season and finish CCIW play 7-2. With the win, the Bears tie the record for most wins in a CCIW season since joining the conference in 2018.

After forcing a punt on Carthage's initial possession, WashU scored on its first drive of the game which was made up of 10 plays and took 3:44.

Quarterback Matt Rush hit Sam Fenske with a 10-yard pass to start things off with a first down. He did it again, this time finding Collin Goldberg for a 20-yard pass and a first down. On the following play, Rush ran the ball himself, picking up 15 yards for another first down at the 45. 

Rush then found Goldberg for back-to-back passes of four and seven yards, resulting in another first down. Senior Emmanuel Ebirim picked up two yards before Rush found Cole Okmin and Goldberg, each for 11 yards. It was Ebirim who sealed the deal, running in the final 10 yards for a touchdown. Junior kicker Chris Vartanian's extra-point attempt was good, giving the Bears a 7-0 lead with 9:43 left in the first quarter.

The Bears defense quickly forced Carthage to punt on the following drive and took over possession at their own 32.

Rush found Okmin for a three-yard pass to start the eight-play, 68-yard drive. Senior Tennyson Holmes picked up three yards and Rush hit Collin Hoyhtya for a 34-yard hurl to give the Bears a first down at the 28.

Okmin caught back-to-back 11-yard passes from Rush to give the Bears two more first downs, moving up to the 16. Holmes added another double-digit gain with a 12-yard run to the four and then finished the job with a four-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful, giving WashU a 13-0 edge over the Firebirds.

WashU's defense continued to stand strong against Carthage, forcing another punt to take over possession.

As the first quarter ticked down, the Bears started their 16-play, 55-yard drive that resulted in another score.

Kenvorris Campbell started off with a five-yard run. Rush then hit Gabriel Sirek for a six-yard gain and Toby Clark for 12 yards, giving WashU a first down at the 42. Campbell picked up another yard and Rush found Sirek for an eight-yard pass.

Campbell started off the second quarter with a one-yard gain and followed that up with four more yards. Rush found Sirek for an eight-yard pass before hitting Jared Harrison for 10 yards and a first down at the 10.

A false start moved the Bears back five yards but Campbell picked up one yard on the next play. Rush then ran for three yards and moved up to the 12 on a Carthage penalty. Ebirim ran for two yards to the 10 and following two incomplete passes, Vartanian came out to kick a 27-yard field goal, which was good, giving the Bears a 16-0 lead with 10:55 remaining in the second quarter.

WashU's defense continued to deny Carthage, forcing three more punts in the second quarter. The Bears also punted twice and had a chance for a field goal with 2:02 remaining on the clock. Following an eight-play, 39-yard drive, Vartanian's 42-yard attempt was no good.

Following the halftime break, WashU started the third quarter with an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive.

Rush started the drive with an eight-yard pass to Hoyhtya and Ebirim picked up nine yards on two rushes for a first down. Rush then found Ebirim for an 11-yard pass for another first down at the 47.

Ebirim continued to pick up yards for the Bears, running for four yards followed by three. Rush hit Goldberg for a four-yard, first-down pass and Holmes ran for five, three and four yards, respectively. Ultimately it was Hoyhtya who scored, catching a 24-yard touchdown pass from Rush. Vartanian's extra-point attempt was good, stretching the Bears' lead to 23-0 with 10:50 left in the third quarter.

On the following drive, Carthage scored its first points of the game following a seven-play, 67-yard drive.

Kyle Jessie hit Sylvere Campbell for a 21-yard pass and a first down at the 46. Jessie then found Jordan Wiles, but that play resulted in a one-yard loss on a JT Streepy and Anthony Brown tackle. Jessie hit Sylvere Campbell again for a seven-yard gain before Rey Guajardao ran for 26 yards on three carries for three-straight first downs. The touchdown was eventually scored by Sylvere Campbell, who caught a seven-yard pass from Jessie. Jessie's extra-point attempt failed, cutting WashU's lead, 23-6, with 7:45 left in the third quarter.

Following back-to-back punts by both teams, WashU added more points on a six-play, 51-yard drive.

Rush started things off with a 23-yard pass to Goldberg for a first down at the 28. Okmin ran for a seven-yard gain followed by four more yards from Campbell. Rush found Hoyhtya for a nine-yard pass and Campbell ran for three yards to put the Bears on the five. Hoyhtya caught the five-yard touchdown pass from Rush and Vartanian's extra-point attempt was good, giving WashU a 30-6 edge with 2:54 left in the third quarter.

Carthage added another field goal on the following 12-play, 49-yard drive.

Jessie hit Sylvere Campbell with a seven-yard pass to start and Guajardo ran for seven yards for a first down on the 41. Jessie then hit Eddie Ell for 14-yards and Guajardo added three more yards on the ground. Jessie found Ell for a six-yard pass for the final play of the third quarter.

Mike Bojesen ran for five yards to open up the fourth quarter for a first down at the 18, but an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty moved the Firebirds back to the 28. Jessie then ran for a loss of three yards on a Johnathan Smith and Brown tackle before hitting Sylvere Campbell for a 19-yard pass for a first down at the 12. Guajardo ran for six yards before an incomplete pass set up Carthage for a 23-yard field goal. David Collins hit the target, closing WashU's lead to 30-9 with 11:53 remaining.

The Bears wasted no time in adding more points, however, as Goldberg returned the ensuing kickoff for 97 yards and a touchdown. Goldberg's run breaks the program record for longest kickoff return for a touchdown, previously set in 1999 by Cory Snyder which was 95 yards. Vartanian's extra-point attempt was good, bumping WashU's lead to 37-9.

Carthage scored the final points of the game on the next drive, which lasted nine plays and 71 yards.

Jessie hit Wiles for a 13-yard first down and then found Ell for another 14-yard gain. Jessie found Sylvere Campbell for 19 more yards to give the Firebirds a first down at the 25, but was then sacked by Alex Harvey for a loss of two yards.

Carthage moved up another 15 yards following a complete pass from Jessie to Sylvere Campbell. Guajardo picked up another four yards before Jessie hit Sylvere Campbell for an eight-yard touchdown pass. Collins' extra-point attempt was good, making the score WashU 37, Carthage 16 which held until the end of the game.

In the final Carthage drive of the game, junior Kieran Conjar intercepted the ball at the 27 to give the Bears the possession back until the final horn.

WashU finished with 473 yards of total offense – 317 passing and 156 rushing. Carthage had 258 yards of total offense – 167 passing and 91 rushing.

Rush went 27-for-40 with no interceptions and finished with 304 yards and two touchdown passes.

Ebirim led the Bears on the ground with 51 yards in 12 attempts and a touchdown. Holmes finished with 45 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown.

Goldberg led receivers with 97 yards on seven catches plus a 97-yard kickoff return touchdown while Hoyhtya had 80 yards on five catches and two touchdowns.

Defensively, Streepy had nine total tackles including four solo, half a tackle-for-a-loss and one pass breakup. Brown finished with nine total tackles, one-and-a-half tackles-for-a-loss and two pass breakups. Harvey and Smith each had a sack on the day.

For more information on the Bears' postseason opportunities, visit washubears.com.