BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The (RV) Washington University in St. Louis football team defeated Illinois Wesleyan 33-23 on Saturday afternoon. The Bears are now 3-1 with a 2-1 mark in CCIW play.
 
Both teams were forced to punt on their first two respective possessions, but on the Titans' third possession of the game, junior Joseph Norris intercepted Dermot Smyth's pass at the 49, giving the Bears the ball.
 
At second-and-10, senior quarterback Clark Stephens connected with senior Collin Goldberg for a 30-yard pass to the 21 for a first down. Junior Fred Ware ran the ball for a 21-yard touchdown on the following play, scoring his first touchdown of the season. Sophomore Ross Muchnick's extra-point kick was good, putting WashU up 7-0 with nine seconds remaining in the first quarter.
 
The Titans had the ball to open the second quarter, and after 11 plays, IWU lined up for a field goal at the eight-yard line. Kaden Junge's field goal was no good, putting the ball back in the Bears' hands.
 
At second-and-10 on the Bears' ensuing drive, senior Kenvorris Campbell unleashed for an 80-yard touchdown.
 
Muchnick's kick attempt was blocked by IWU's Matt Hansen and the Titans' Frank Roti recovered the ball for a defensive PAT, making it a 13-2 game in favor of the Bears.
 
IWU punted on its following drive and the Bears started their drive at the 40. After losing a yard, Stephens found sophomore Makael Carter for a seven-yard pass to the 34. The pair connected again for a 28-yard catch and the duo completed the drive as Carter caught a six-yard touchdown pass at 7:10. Muchnick's kick was good, putting the Bears ahead 20-2.
 
On the next drive, the Titans put up their first touchdown with 2:13 remaining in the first half. Smyth hit Myles Kee for a 17-yard pass before connecting again for a 10-yard touchdown pass. IWU attempted a two-point conversion, but it failed, making it a 20-8.
 
The Bears responded with another touchdown to close out the second quarter. Stephens hit graduate student Grant Hajicek for nine yards to start things off and Campbell picked up five yards for a first down. Stephens kept the ball and ran it for four yards and then connected with senior Taidhgin Trost for 13 yards to the 37 for a first down.
 
Stephens connected with Goldberg for a six-yard pass before Campbell ran for 28 yards to the three-yard line for a first down. Stephens hit graduate student Collin Hoyhtya for a three-yard touchdown pass to close out the drive. Muchnick's kick was blocked by Nathan Schmidt and recovered by IWU for the end of the play.
 
The Bears punted on the first drive of the third quarter. The WashU defense followed that up with a big play as junior Brady Willmer sacked Smyth for a loss of five yards and senior Josh Hartman recovered the ball at WashU's own 37.
 
Although WashU punted on its following drive, Norris intercepted his second pass of the day, returning the ball for six yards.
 
With the ball back in the Bears' hands, Ware started things off with a 14-yard run and then picked up another 13 for a first down. He added 10 more yards before Stephens connected with Trost for 11 yards and a first down at the 36.
 
Stephens found Goldberg for four yards and then hit sophomore Drew Bomar for 12 yards and a first down at the 20. Sophomore Matthew Kinoshita ran for five yards and Stephens connected with Goldberg for a two-yard touchdown pass. Muchnick's kick was good, putting WashU ahead 33-8.
 
On the kickoff, IWU's Jahari Scott returned the ball for an 88-yard touchdown and Junge's kick was good, making it a 33-15 game.
 
On the next kickoff, the ball was fumbled and recovered by the Titans who then went on to add another touchdown. It was ultimately the quarterback Smyth who scored the touchdown and IWU added a two-point conversion for a 33-23 game with 2:14 remaining in the third quarter.
 
The Bears had 396 yards of total offense (175 passing, 221 rushing) while the Titans had 366 total (249 passing, 117 rushing).
 
Stephens went 22-for-38 for 175 yards with three touchdown passes.
 
Campbell led the rushing game with 145 yards on 16 carries with one touchdown while Ware had 63 yards on seven carries and a touchdown.
 
Goldberg led the receivers with 63 yards on seven catches with a touchdown and Carter had 47 yards on five catches and a touchdown.
 
Defensively, junior Ryan Schmadtke had 10 total tackles while junior Salomon Dessalines had nine total with one tackle for loss. Sophomore Joy Chane recorded nine tackles with a tackle for loss and one quarterback hurry. Senior Grant Purdy finished with six tackles, 0.5 tackle for loss, two pass breakups and two quarterback hurries and Norris had six total tackles with two interceptions for six yards.
 
The Bears are back home next weekend for a game against Carthage on Saturday at 1 p.m.