St. Louis, Mo. – The Washington University in St. Louis football team closed out the season with a 35-23 win over Carroll at Francis Olympic Field on Saturday afternoon. The Bears finish the season overall at 7-3, and 6-3 in conference.
The Bears put the first points on the board on the first drive of the game.
Kenneth Hamilton started things off with a four-yard run and quarterback
Matt Rush ran for another 15 yards for a first down at the Bears' 46. Hamilton added another eight yards followed by a one-yard run.
Following a pass interference call on Carroll, the Bears moved up 15 yards for a first down at the 30. Rush hit
Collin Goldberg for seven yards followed by Hamilton for three yards for a first down at the 20. Hamilton ran for two more yards before
Fred Ware picked up six yards on two runs. Carroll was whistled for another penalty this time for an off-side, resulting in five more yards for the Bears. First-year quarterback
Levi Moore completed the drive with a seven-yard touchdown run and
Chris Vartanian hit the extra-point kick for a 7-0 WashU lead.
Carroll tied things up on the opening drive of the second quarter as Josh Raby hit JR Muth for a 19-yard touchdown and Jacob Laurent's kick was good for a 7-7 tie.
WashU responded with a touchdown on its next drive. Rush hit
Gabriel Sirek for a 19-yard gain and a first down at the 50. The Bears moved up 15 yards following a roughing the passer call and Rush launched a 33-yarder to
Collin Hoyhtya for a first down at the two. Ware ran for one yard and Hoythya caught a one-yard touchdown pass which Vartanian followed with an extra-point kick for a 14-7 Bears' edge.
After forcing a Carroll punt, the Bears were then forced to punt themselves. The punt was muffed by Carroll, however and the ball was recovered at the two-yard line by Sirek.
Hamilton ran for one yard before losing a yard on the next play. Rush closed the drive out with a two-yard touchdown run and Vartanian hit the kick, putting WashU up 21-7.
Carroll reached the 11 on the ensuing drive and lined up for a field goal. Laurent's kick was good, making it 21-10 at the half.
The Pioneers started the second half with a 5:20 drive that resulted in a missed field goal, giving the Bears the ball.
Ware ran for six three yards and then caught a 15-yarder from Rush for a first down at the Bears' 48. Rush picked up six yards and Ware ran for 15 yards on four attempts, picking up a first down at the 31. Rush picked up 11 yards for another first down and Ware ran for eight more yards. Rush connected with Hamilton for a 13-yard touchdown and Vartanian's kick was good for a 28-10 WashU lead.
The Pioneers came out on the following drive to add another touchdown. Quarterback Josh Raby hit Trevor Hancock for 18 yards twice and connected with Austin Eichstaedt for a 31-yard touchdown pass. The extra-point kick was no good, making it a 28-16 game.
The Bears started the fourth quarter with a fumbled which was recovered by Carroll's Will Campbell on the 43. Raby hit Mikey Coleman for a 43-yard touchdown and Laurent's kick was good for a 28-23 Bears' lead.
WashU punted on its next drive and ended up stopping Carroll on downs on its next drive.
The Bears punted again and WashU's defense stopped Carroll on the one to get the ball back and go down for one more touchdown.
Hamilton ran for two yards followed by three and then unleashed for 40 yards. Carroll was also whistled for a personal found, giving WashU 15 more yards to the 39. Ware picked up four yards on two runs and Rush hit Goldberg for 13-yard pass and a first down at the 22. Hamilton closed out the drive with a 22-yard touchdown run and Vartanian's kick was good, giving WashU a 35-23 lead.
WashU finished with 310 yards of total offense (133 passing, 177 rushing). Rush went 14-for-16 for 133 yards with two touchdowns. Hamilton led the Bears' rushing efforts with 98 yards on 17 attempts with one touchdown while Ware had 48 yards on 16 attempts. Hoyhtya led the receivers with 53 yards on four catches with a touchdown while Hamilton also had a touchdown.
Defensively,
Matthew Schmal had nine tackles and 0.5 tackles-for-a-loss while
Riley Merrigan had five total tackles and a forced fumble.
Johnathan Smith had five total tackles with 1.0 tackles-for-a-loss and 0.5 sacks.
