Wheaton, Ill. – The Washington University in St. Louis football team was edged by No. 12 Wheaton 36-35 on Saturday afternoon. The Bears are now 6-3 on the season and 5-3 in CCIW action.
 
The Bears got on the board first, scoring in the first quarter on their first drive of the game. WashU's defense stopped the Thunder at the eight, forcing a field goal, which was missed.
 
Junior Kenneth Hamilton picked up two yards to start things off before quarterback Matt Rush hit Collin Goldberg for 24 yards and a first down at the Bears' own 49. Hamilton notched another seven yards and Rush connected with Goldberg for four yards and a first down at the 40.
 
The Bears ran for a loss of four yards and fumbled, but Hamilton recovered the ball to keep it in WashU's hands. Hamilton picked up four yards and the Bears moved up on an unsportsmanlike conduct call on Wheaton.
 
Rush found Goldberg for 16 yards and a first down at the 29 before hitting Gabriel Sirek for five yards. Hamilton caught a nine-yard pass to the 16 for a first down and Rush ran it for nine yards. Collin Hoyhtya finished things off with a seven-yard touchdown run and Chris Vartanian's kick was good for a 7-0 lead.
 
Wheaton tied things up early in the second quarter. Giovanni Weeks opened the second quarter with a 10-yard run for a first down at the eight and then picked up another two yards. Ben Thorson ran for three yards and then hit Caleb Titherington for a three-yard touchdown pass. Mateo Jesch hit the extra-point kick, tying things up 7-7.
 
On the following drive, Rush hit Goldberg for one yard followed by 14 yards for a first down at the Bears' own 41. Fred Ware picked up seven yards and Rush connected with Hoyhtya for 10 yards and a first down. Rush found Goldberg again for four yards and then Rush ran for four yards.
 
Sirek caught a 26-yarder from Rush for a first down at the eight and Hamilton picked up three yards. Following two incomplete passes, the Bears lined up for a field goal, which Vartanian hit to make it a 10-7 game.
 
Wheaton went down to score on the next drive. Weeks ran for five yards and seven yards, respectively before Thorson hurled a 48-yard touchdown pass to Kortenhoeven. Jesch's kick was good, putting the Thunder up 14-10 with 5:59 remaining in the second quarter.
 
Following two punts, the Bears started the final drive of the second quarter with 2:03 remaining. Rush connected with Goldberg for four yards and then ran for his own two yards. Andrew Grisack lined up to punt, but following a penalty, the Bears got the ball at their own 41 for a first down.
 
Rush hit Goldberg for six yards and then found Hamilton for four yards. Rush picked up two yards before launching a 20-yard pass to Goldberg for a first down at the 27. With eight seconds left, Rush hit Goldberg for a short pass and the Bears lined up for another field goal – 38 yards – which Vartanian hit to make it a 14-13 game at the half.

WashU took the lead on the first drive of the second half, starting with a one-yard gain from Ware. Rush sent a deep 33-yard pass to Goldberg for a first down at the 44 and then found Hoyhtya for a 29-yarder to the 15 for another first down. Ware had back-to-back gains of five yards and Levi Moore closed out the drive with a five-yard touchdown run. Vartanian's kick was good, giving the Bears a 20-14 lead.
 
On Wheaton's next drive, the Thunder were at third-and-12 and were forced to punt following a sack of Thorson by Riley Merrigan. The Bears, however, also had to punt on the next drive and Wheaton came down to score and take the lead.
 
After reaching the 29, Thorson connected with Bonga for a 29-yard touchdown pass with 2:34 remaining in the third. Jesch's kick was good, putting Wheaton up 21-20.
 
Following a pair of punts, the Thunder added another touchdown with 8:51 left in the fourth. Thorson threw another 20+ yard touchdown pass on this drive, finding Kortenhoeven for 23 yards. Jesch's kick was good, giving the Thunder a 28-20 advantage.
 
The Bears answered with a touchdown on the next drive and a two-point conversion to tie things up 28-28.
 
Hamilton started off with a three-yard run and Rush hit Hoyhtya for 11 yards. Rush connected with Sirek for 16 yards and Hamilton picked up another three yards. Goldberg pulled down an eight-yard pass from Rush for a first down at the 37 and Hamilton added five more yards. Hamilton then broke free for 24 yards to pick up a first down at the eight and Ware finished things off with an eight-yard touchdown run. Sirek's pass attempt was successful for the two-point conversion to knot the score.
 
The Bears forced a four-and-out on Wheaton's next drive and went on to take the lead on the ensuing drive.
 
Ware started things off with a short run and Wheaton was whistled for a personal foul, giving the Bears 15 more yards to the 33. Ware added another four yards before Rush launched a 26-yard pass to Goldberg for a first down at the three. Hamilton scored the three-yard touchdown and Vartanian hit the extra point for a 35-28 Bears' lead with 1:07 remaining in regulation.
 
The Thunder used every second on the clock to work their way down the field and ultimately scored as the clock hit zero on a 34-yard pass from Thorson to Kortenhoeven. Down one point, Wheaton completed the two-point conversion for the 36-35 win.
 
The Bears had 468 yards of total offense (350 passing, 118 rushing) while Wheaton tallied 443 yards of total offense (266 passing, 177 rushing).
 
Rush threw for 350 yards, going 28-for-35 with one touchdown.
 
Goldberg had a stellar day for the Bears, notching 197 yards on 15 catches. His 15 catches ties the program record. Hoyhtya had 86 yards on seven catches with a touchdown and Sirek finished with 54 yards on four catches.
 
Hamilton led the Bears' rushing efforts, netting 53 yards on 12 attempts with one touchdown. Ware had 45 yards on 12 attempts with a touchdown.
 
Defensively, Matthew Schmal had nine total tackles with a tackle for a loss while Merrigan had nine total tackles, two tackles for a loss and two sacks. Bradley Hamilton and Henry Murr each finished with seven total tackles.
 
WashU closes out the regular season next weekend with a home game against Carroll at 12 p.m.