Kenosha, Wis. – The (RV) Washington University in St. Louis football team defeated Carthage 45-16 in a road game on Saturday afternoon. The Bears held the Firebirds to just three first-half points en route to the decisive victory and are now 3-0.
 
After two possessions ended in punts, Carthage got on the board first with a field goal. After getting down to the eight yard line, Eric Antkiewicz hit a 25-yard field goal to take the 3-0 lead.
 
WashU answered quickly on the next drive, starting with a two-yard rush from first-year Fred Ware. Senior quarterback Matt Rush picked up seven yards and 11 yards, respectively, before hitting senior Cole Okmin for a five-yard pass.
 
Rush hit sophomore Collin Goldberg for a 15-yard pass, bringing the Bears to the 20 for a first down. Ware then ran for 10 yards on two runs before Rush fired off a four-yard pass to Goldberg. Ware ran again for five yards followed by a one-yard touchdown run. Chris Vartanian's kick was good, giving WashU the 7-3 lead with eight seconds remaining in the first quarter.
 
On Carthage's next possession, the Bears defense held the Firebirds from picking up a first down, turning the ball over just one yard short.
 
WashU capitalized, scoring another touchdown on its next drive.
 
Rush found Okmin for a nine-yard gain and Kenneth Hamilton ran for three yards to bring the Bears to the 22. Rush launched a 22-yard pass to Hamilton on the following play for a touchdown and Vartanian's kick was good, pushing the Bears ahead 14-3.
 
WashU forced Carthage to punt on the next possession before adding another touchdown.
 
Rush hit Gabriel Sirek for an eight-yard gain and followed it up with a 35-yard hurl to Goldberg to put the Bears at the 35. Okmin then caught a 32-yarder from Rush for a first down at the three before Goldberg caught the three-yard touchdown pass with 6:09 left in the first half. Vartanian's kick was good to give WashU a 21-3 edge.
 
After several possessions that ended in punts, the Bears put up another three points before heading into halftime.
 
Rush ran for 11 yards and then hit Collin Hoyhtya for an 11 yard pass. Hamilton caught a short four-yard pass from Rush and Rush went on to find Goldberg for a 20 yard pass to but WashU at the 20. Following two incomplete passes, Vartanian set up for a 37-yard field goal, which was good, to give the Bears a 24-3 lead going into the break.
 
On the Bears possession to open the second half, the ball was fumbled and recovered by the Carthage defense, giving the Firebirds the ball on their own 13.
 
WashU's defense, however, came up with a big play on Carthage's possession. Following a 15-yard pass from Bryce Lowe to Sylvere Campbell and a penalty, senior Gus Christensen intercepted Lowe's pass at the 22.
 
Rush started the drive with a 20-yard pass to Hamilton, putting the Bears on the two yard line. A false start pushed WashU back to the seven, but Hamilton ran in for the seven-yard touchdown on the following play. Vartanian's kick was good, bumping WashU's lead to 31-3 with 11:52 remaining in the third quarter.
 
The Bears defense forced Carthage to turn the ball over on downs at the two yard line, but the Bears possession only produced a punt.
 
The Firebirds scored their first touchdown of the game at the very end of the third quarter as Lowe hit Alex Jarvis for a 21-yard touchdown pass. Antkiewicz's extra point was good, cutting the score to 31-10.
 
WashU answered back at the start of the fourth quarter, starting with a 60-yard pass from Rush to Okmin on the opening play. Hamilton ran for two yards and then Rush found Okmin again for a four-yard touchdown. Vartanian's kick was good, extending the Bears' lead to 38-10 with 13:31 remaining.
 
Carthage reached the 50 on fourth and three, but the final attempt for a first down was broken up by sophomore Andrew Dotson to give WashU the ball.
 
The Bears went on to score their final touchdown on the next possession, starting 13 yards on three runs by Hamilton to move to the 37. Rush then found Hoyhtya for a 37-yard touchdown pass. Vartanian hit the extra-point kick, boosting WashU's lead to 45-10.
 
Carthage added its final points on the next drive, as Kyle Jessie found Jordan Wiles for a 51-yard touchdown. The extra point attempt failed, however, making the score 45-16 which held until the final buzzer.
 
Offensively, Rush went 25-for-33 with 395 yards and four touchdown passes. Hamilton led the Bears on the ground, finishing with 31 yards on eight rushes with one touchdown. Ware finished with 30 yards on eight rushes and one touchdown.
 
Three receivers finished with more than 100 yards on the day, led by Okmin with 120 yards on six catches. Goldberg finished with 108 yards on seven catches and Hoyhtya had 102 yards on four catches.
 
Three WashU defenders finished with double-digit tackles. Kieran Conjar had four solo and seven assisted for 11 total tackles plus one pass breakup while Christensen also had 11 with nine solo and two assisted as well as one tackle for a loss and an interception. Matthew Schmal finished with 10 total tackles with two solo and eight assisted. Both Nate Light and Nolan Schmidt had a sack.
 
In total, WashU finished with 522 yards of total offense with 425 passing and 97 rushing. Carthage finished with 316 yards of total offense.
 
WashU heads to North Park next weekend for a 1 p.m. kick off before returning home on October 8 against Illinois Wesleyan.