ST. LOUIS, Mo. – In front of a crowd of more than 2,000 people, under the lights for the first time since 2018, the Washington University in St. Louis football team defeated Rhodes 49-0 in the season opener.

WashU won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, giving Rhodes the ball first. The Bears forced a punt on the Lynx's first drive, setting up WashU for their first touchdown.

Senior Fred Ware started things off with a five-yard gain, and junior quarterback Levi Moore connected with junior Makael Carter for a 10-yard pass and a first down. Ware picked up another four yards, and a holding penalty against Rhodes moved the Bears up 10 yards to the 31.

Moore hit sophomore Lucas Blumenthal for a 13-yard pass, and Ware ran for four and six yards, respectively. Ware closed out the drive with a final eight-yard touchdown run. Sophomore kicker Matias Adrogue's extra-point kick was good, putting WashU ahead 7-0.

After forcing another punt from Rhodes and a 10-yard return by Carter, the Bears started their next drive at the 25. Ware had back-to-back runs for three yards and five yards, followed by seven yards on two runs from Moore. Moore then ran the ball for the final 10 yards for a touchdown. Adrogue's kick was good, extending WashU's lead to 14-0 with 2:52 left in the first quarter.

On the third play of Rhodes' next drive, junior Joy Chane intercepted quarterback Evan Reeder's pass at the 40, giving WashU the ball back with just over one minute left in the first quarter.

Moore launched a 37-yard pass to Carter for a first down at the three-yard line, and junior Matthew Kinoshita picked up two yards. Moore ran the final yard for a touchdown with just four seconds on the clock, and Adrogue's kick was good for a 21-0 lead.

On the first play of the second quarter, senior Ryan Schmadtke intercepted Reeder's pass, providing another possession for WashU.

Moore connected with Carter for a 30-yard pass and a first down at the 21. On the next play, a pass interference call moved WashU up to the 10. Kinoshita picked up another six yards on two runs, and Moore found Carter for a four-yard touchdown pass. Adrogue's kick was good, putting WashU ahead 28-0.

The Bears' defense then forced a four-and-out for Rhodes, beginning their next drive with just under 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter.

Blumenthal caught an eight-yard pass from Moore at the 41, and Ware picked up five yards for a first down. Moore connected with junior Colin Donahue for seven yards, and Ware picked up another first down on a 12-yard run to the 35. Moore broke through for a 35-yard touchdown run, and Adrogue's kick was good for a 35-0 lead.

Another Rhodes punt resulted in another scoring opportunity for the Bears prior to halftime.

Ware started the drive with a 24-yard run and followed with another six yards. Moore ran for 12 yards, and Ware added five more to the 24. The Bears picked up another first down on an eight-yard pass from Moore to junior Nathan Bluhm. Ware scored another touchdown with a 16-yard run, and Adrogue's extra-point attempt was good, boosting WashU's lead to 42-0 with 2:42 left in the first half.

WashU opened the second half with another scoring drive. Kinoshita ran for eight yards to start things off and then picked up another four yards. Sophomore quarterback Alexander Singh connected with first-year Avery Lazard for seven yards, and Kinoshita ran for seven yards and a first down.

Singh ran for three more yards and then hit Lazard again for six yards. On the next play, Singh and Lazard connected for a 34-yard touchdown with 11:10 on the clock. Adrogue's kick was good for a 49-0 lead.

As a team, WashU had 435 yards of total offense (192 passing, 243 rushing). Rhodes had 122 yards of total offense (85 passing, 37 rushing).

Moore went 8-for-11 for 117 yards and one touchdown pass, while Singh was 4-for-11 for 72 yards with a touchdown pass.

Ware led the Bears with 103 yards on 13 carries and had two touchdowns. Moore recorded 65 yards on six runs and had three touchdowns. Sophomore Maddox Duncan had 50 yards on nine carries.

Carter led receivers with 81 yards on four catches with a touchdown, while Lazard had 47 yards on three catches with a touchdown.

Defensively, Chane had four total tackles with three solo, 0.5 tackles-for-loss, and one interception. Senior Salomon Dessalines had three total tackles with 0.5 tackles-for-loss, and sophomores Wiley Flores and Ethan Venable each had three solo tackles with 2.0 tackles-for-loss and one sack.

After a bye week next weekend, the Bears hit the road to travel to Carroll on Saturday, September 20 for a 1 p.m. game. WashU is home again on Saturday, September 27 against defending national champions North Central College, which will be Parent and Family Weekend.

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