Conway, Ark. – The (RV) Washington University in St. Louis football team opened the 2023 season with a 44-27 win over Hendrix on the road.
 
The Bears got on the board first with 8:14 remaining in the first quarter. Junior Kenneth Hamilton started things off with back-to-back runs for seven and 27 yards, respectively. Quarterback Matt Rush hit Tom Peters for eight yards and followed with a pass to Collin Goldberg for five yards to give WashU a first down on the 17.
 
Rush then hit Gabriel Sirek for a 17-yard touchdown pass and first-year Ross Muchnick converted the extra point for a 7-0 Bears' lead.
 
Hendrix pulled even with just under three minutes left in the first quarter. Jaxon Cobern ran up the middle for six yards before quarterback Jacob Buniff completed passes to Jax Johnson (nine yards), Christian Gadison (two yards), and Bryler Nitcholas (six yards), putting the Warriors at the 42.
 
Auvic White ran up the middle for two yards and Buniff hit Kanyn Utley for 10 yards. Cobern caught a four-yard pass from Buniff before Utley caught a 19-yard pass to put Hendrix on the 11. Utley finished out the run with an 11-yard touchdown and Slate Stanton's extra point kick was good, making it a 7-7 game.
 
The Bears started their next scoring drive in the closing minutes of the first quarter.
 
Rush hit Kenvorris Campbell for a nine-yard catch and Campbell then gained five yards on two runs. Hamilton ran for four yards and a first down to the 25. Rush found Goldberg for a two-yard pass which was the final play of the first quarter.
 
Rush opened the second quarter with a 23-yard touchdown run and Muchnick's extra point kick was good for a 14-7 Bears' lead.
 
Hendrix again tied things up with 10:06 in the second quarter. Buniff hit Gadison for back-to-back passes resulting in 11 yards, Utley for another 16 yards and Johnson for five more yards. Buniff found Gadison again for 15 yards and a first down at the 28. He followed that with an 18-yard pass to Mason Hays, putting the Warriors on the 10 with a first down. White ran for eight yards and Buniff hit Gadison for a two-yard touchdown pass. Stanton's kick was good for a 14-14 game.
 
WashU came out to score on the first drive of the third quarter. Hamilton picked up five yards on two rushes and then caught a pass from Rush for 11 yards for a first down. Campbell ran for three yards and Rush hit Sirek for 41 yards to the 30.
 
Rush found Zachary Ginsburg for a 30-yard pass to put up another touchdown for the Bears. Muchnick converted the extra-point kick to put the Bears up 21-14.
 
On the next Hendrix drive, Salomon Dessalines intercepted Buniff's pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown. Muchnick hit the extra point, making it a 28-14 game with 10:21 remaining in the third quarter.
 
The Bears added two more points on Hendrix's next drive. Cobern was tackled for a loss resulting in a WashU safety for a 30-14 game.
 
The Warriors scored on their next drive, following a WashU punt. White ran for two yards and Buniff hit Parker Turley for 14 yards. Gadison caught a 19-yard hurl to make a first down at the 46 and then pulled in another 17-yard pass for a first down at the 29. Buniff found Johnson for 15 yards to move up to the 14 and Gadison again for 12 yards to put the Warriors on the two yard line.
 
The Bears forced a loss of three years but Buniff followed with a complete touchdown pass to Johnson. Hunter Rocker blocked Stanton's kick, making it a 30-20 game with 3:51 remaining in the third quarter.
 
Hendrix closed it to a three-point game on the next drive. In the final seconds of the third, Cobern ran for a five-yard gain. Buniff found Utley for five yards to start the fourth quarter and then found Johnson for six more yards. The Warriors continued to work the passing game as Buniff hit Gadison and Utley to make it to the 49. Cobern ran for 14 yards to put the Warriors on the 37 and Buniff found Nitcholas for 16 yards.
 
Following two incomplete passes, Buniff ran the ball for nine yards but Hendrix was called for holding and lost 10 yards. Buniff found Gadison for 20 yards to score again. Stanton's kick was good, cutting the Bears' lead to 30-27 with just under 12 to play in the final quarter.
 
WashU answered with a quick score, taking just 34 seconds. Rush hurled a 42-yard pass to Goldberg, putting the Bears on the 23. He then hit Sirek for the remaining 23 yards to score. Muchnick hit the extra point for a 37-27 Bears' lead.
 
On the Warriors next drive, they reached the 15 and attempted a field goal, but the kick was no good, kicking WashU the ball. The Bears capitalized, scoring another touchdown.
 
Hamilton ran for back-to-back gains of six yards and Fred Ware picked up another yard. Rush ran for three yards and Ware caught a 32-yard pass to put WashU on the 45. Ware followed with a seven-yard run to put the Bears on the 38.
 
Rush connected with Goldberg for a 38 touchdown with 4:24 remaining and Muchnick's kick was good for a 44-27 ball game.
 
On the next Hendrix drive, Ryan Schmadtke intercepted Buniff's pass at the Warriors' 43. The Bears made it to the 24 on the final drive of the game before the clock ran out.
 
The Bears finished with 397 yards of total offense (120 rushing, 277 passing). Offensively, Rush went 15-for-23 with four touchdowns and 277 yards. Hamilton led the Bears' running game with 63 yards on 10 attempts. Campbell had 28 yards on nine attempts and Ware had 21 yards on five attempts.
 
Goldberg led WashU's receivers with 95 yards on five catches with a touchdown. Sirek scored two touchdowns and tallied 81 yards on three catches.
 
Defensively, Andrew Dotson had nine total tackles (7 solo, 2 assists) and Salomon Dessalines had eight total tackles (3 solo, 5 assists), an interception and 1.5 tackles-for-loss. Bradley Hamilton and Matthew Schmal each had six total tackles (3 solo, 3 assists) and Grant Purdy had five total (3 solo, 2 assists).
 
Goldberg finished with 92 yards on three returns including a run for 45 yards.
 
Muchnick closed out his collegiate debut with all six extra-point attempts good.
 
The Bears have next weekend off before beginning conference play on September 16 at Millikin.