St. Louis, Mo. – The RV Washington University in St. Louis football team defeated Carroll, 35-7, on Saturday afternoon in the 2024 home opener which was also the opener for the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) slate, on Francis Olympic Field.
 
The Bears are now 2-0 on the season and 1-0 in conference play.
 
WashU got on the board first, scoring with 2:46 remaining in the first quarter. Senior Kenneth Hamilton picked up nine yards followed by 17 yards and then another eight to start the drive. Senior Kenvorris Campbell added three yards on two runs for a first down at the 43.
 
Senior quarterback Clark Stephens connected with senior Collin Goldberg for a five-yard pass. A bad snap – recovered by WashU – resulted in a six-yard loss, putting the Bears at the 44 and prompting a timeout.
 
Out of the timeout, Stephens hit Goldberg again for 11 yards and a first down. Stephens followed that with back-to-back passes to Campbell, picking up a total of eight yards for a first down. Sophomore Levi Moore finished the job with a pass to junior Fred Ware, who scored the 25-yard touchdown. Sophomore Ross Muchnick hit the extra-point kick for a 7-0 WashU lead.
 
The Bears came out to force a punt on the next Carroll possession, but after the snap was overthrown, first-year Trent Carrier recovered the ball on the 14.
 
On the first play of WashU's drive, Stephens pitched it to graduate student Grant Hajicek who hit sophomore John Benke for a 14-yard touchdown with 25 seconds left in the first quarter. Muchnick converted the extra point again for a 14-0 lead.
 
Both teams punted on their first drives of the second quarter, and both teams also turned the ball over on downs on their second possessions.
 
Following another punt from Carroll, the Bears went on to score again to make it a 21-0 game. Hamilton started things with a two-yard gain. Following a one-yard Bears' loss, Hamilton ran it for 11 yards and a first down at the 20.
 
Stephens hit Goldberg for a 19-yard pass to put the Bears on the one yard line. Hamilton ran in the final yard to score with 23 seconds remaining. Muchnick's kick was good, giving the Bears a three-touchdown lead at halftime.
 
Midway through the third quarter, the Bears put up another touchdown. At second-and-10, sophomore Brett Kersemeier intercepted the ball for a pick six, the first touchdown of his career. Muchnick's kick was good, pushing the WashU lead to 28-0 with 7:43 remaining in the third.
 
After the Pioneers recovered a WashU fumble, they went on to score their lone touchdown of the game. Quarterback Charlie King connected with Reed Breckheimer for 13 yards and a first down. Marcus Johnson ran for three yards followed by another four. Mikey Coleman ran the final three yards for a touchdown at 10:36 and Matthew Swink's kick was good for a 28-7 game.
 
WashU scored its final touchdown with 9:34 remaining. After losing three yards, Moore went on to score a 31-yard touchdown. Muchnick's kick was good to make it 35-7, which would hold until the end.
 
The Bears had 360 yards of total offense (232 rushing, 128 passing) while Carroll had 166 yards of total offense (103 rushing, 63 passing).
 
Goldberg led the receivers with 57 yards on seven catches. Hamilton led the rushers with 94 yards on 13 attempts with one touchdown.
 
Junior Ryan Schmadtke finished with eight total tackles (six solo, two assists). Sophomore Joy Chane had three total tackles include two tackles for loss and one fumble recovery.
 
The Bears hit the road for the next two weeks, starting with No. 1 North Central next Saturday at 12 p.m., followed by Illinois Wesleyan on Oct. 5 at 1 p.m.