ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The RV Washington University in St. Louis football team lost to No. 1 North Central 44-14 at home on Saturday afternoon. The Bears are now 2-1 on the year and 1-1 in CCIW play.

After winning the toss and deferring to the second half, WashU forced a punt on North Central's first drive of the game. On the Bears' first drive of the game, however, junior quarterback Levi Moore's pass was intercepted by Rahmareon Roby at the 44 and ran back for a touchdown. Aidan Ellison's kick was good, putting the Cardinals ahead 7-0 less than two minutes into play.

On their ensuing drive, the Bears reached the 38 before punting but ended up getting the ball back on the third play of NCC's drive as senior Salomon Dessalines intercepted the ball and returned it to the 30.

Following a penalty, the Bears moved back to the 45 but then advanced again to the 30 on a pass interference call on the Cardinals. Junior Matthew Kinoshita pitched the lateral pass to Moore for a 14-yard gain and a first down before Moore hit sophomore Lucas Blumenthal for a 16-yard touchdown pass. Sophomore Matias Adrogue's kick was good, tying the game 7-7 with just under 10 minutes left to play in the first quarter.

North Central began its drive with a two-yard gain from Donovan McNeal before quarterback Garret Wilson connected with Jack Rummell for seven yards. McNeal then unleashed a 54-yard run for a first down and Wilson found Thomas Skokna for the final 16 yards and a touchdown. Ellison's kick was good, giving the Cardinals a 14-7 edge.

WashU reached the 31 before punting on its next drive. The punt was returned by Kaden Hartnett to the 25, where NCC set up to start its drive. McNeal lost a yard on the first play and Wilson hit Isaac Banker for a 16-yard pass and a first down. He connected with Rummell on the next play for 25 yards before McNeal ran for three.

On the next play, Dessalines sacked Wilson for a loss of 10 yards, resulting in a 49-yard field goal attempt from Ellison, which he made to put NCC up 17-7 with 2:25 remaining in the first quarter.

After reaching the 30, the Bears punted on their next drive, and North Central had two plays before the whistle blew to end the quarter. Wilson opened the second quarter with a deep 45-yard pass to Skokna for a first down at the 27. On the next play, WashU was whistled for pass interference, moving NCC to the 13. Sean Allen picked up a yard, and Wilson finished the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run. Ellison's kick was good for a 24-7 Cardinals' lead with 12:39 on the clock.
The Bears reached the 45 on the next drive and went for it on fourth down and four, but only picked up three yards, turning it over on downs.

On the third play of NCC's next drive, junior Joey Chane intercepted Wilson's pass and returned it for 13 yards to the 42. On the first play of the Bears' drive, Moore hit junior Makael Carter for a 42-yard touchdown, and Adrogue's kick was good to make it a 24-14 game.

After four straight drives that resulted in punts, NCC began its drive with a 16-yard pass from Wilson to Skokna for a first down at the 40. On the next play, Wilson fumbled the ball but recovered it, and the Bears were whistled for a penalty, placing NCC on the WashU 40. Wilson picked up five and 11 yards, respectively, but was then sacked by senior DJ Montgomery for a loss of seven yards. Wilson hit Rummell for 23 yards and a first down at the eight. Following two incomplete passes, Ellison set up for a 24-yard field goal attempt, which was good, making it a 27-14 game at the half.

WashU received the kickoff to open the third quarter but punted after reaching the 34. On the third play of NCC's drive, senior Ryan Schmadtke intercepted Wilson's pass at the 17.

On the ensuing Bears' drive, WashU faced fourth and five at the 32 and went for it, but the pass was incomplete, turning the ball over on downs.
McNeal opened the Cardinals' drive with a two-yard gain, and quarterback Demir Ashiru ran for 53 yards and a first down at the 13. Allen closed out the drive with a 13-yard touchdown run, and Ellison's kick was good, putting NCC ahead 34-14 with just under five minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The Bears reached the NCC 47 when the quarter ended and ultimately reached the 14 before turning it over on downs following an incomplete pass.
The Cardinals went four-and-out on the next drive, and the Bears punted on their next drive after reaching the 30.

McNeal began NCC's next drive with a two-yard gain before Wilson launched a 36-yard pass to Myles Walton for a first down at the 33. McNeal picked up 10 yards for another first down, and Ashiru ran for a 23-yard touchdown, but that was whistled back following an NCC holding call. Ashiru connected with McNeal for a short, three-yard pass. After an incomplete pass, Ellison set up for a 47-yard field goal, which was good, boosting the Cardinals' lead to 37-14.

On the ensuing Bears' drive after reaching the 39, Moore was sacked for a loss of 13 yards and fumbled, which was recovered by NCC's Philip Carlton at the 26.
Allen lost a yard to open the drive, but Wilson ran for 12 yards to pick up a first down at the 15. Wilson ran for another 10 yards and McNeal scored a five-yard touchdown with just under two minutes to play. Ellison's kick was good for a 44-14 game.

NCC had 456 yards of total offense (219 passing, 237 rushing), while the Bears had 297 (160 passing, 137 rushing).

Moore went 14-for-34 with 160 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Senior Fred Ware led the rushing game with 52 yards on 14 carries, while Kinoshita had 29 yards on eight carries. Carter had 51 yards on three catches with a touchdown, and Blumenthal had 40 yards on four catches with a touchdown.

Defensively, Chane recorded 11 tackles (5 solo, 6 assists) with one tackle for loss and one interception. Junior Max Draheim had seven tackles (3 solo, 4 assists) with one tackle for loss.

The Bears return home next weekend as part of a triple-header with men's and women's soccer. They will take on Illinois Wesleyan at 6 p.m.

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