ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Washington University in St. Louis football team, which received votes in both the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and D3football.com preseason polls, kicks off the season on Saturday, September 5 at 7 p.m. at Rhodes.
 
The Bears embark on their first season playing in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) and will face a host of new opponents along the way.
 
Schedule
Following the season-opener at Rhodes, the Bears return home on Saturday, September 12 at 1 p.m. against DePauw, which will also be Alumni Day for the football program.
 
WashU hits the road for two games, starting with a 1 p.m. ET game on Saturday, September 19 at Wittenberg. The following weekend, Saturday, September 26, The Bears head to Oberlin for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff.
 
On Saturday, October 3, WashU hosts John Carroll, which checked in at No. 8 in both preseason polls, at 1 p.m. The Bears head to Ohio again the following weekend, Saturday, October 17 for a 1 p.m. ET game at Kenyon.
 
On Saturday, October 24, WashU makes the trip to Wabash for a 1 p.m. ET match before returning home on Saturday, October 31 for a 1 p.m. game against Denison.
 
Heading into November, the Bears make one final regular-season trip on Saturday, November 7 for a 1 p.m. ET game at Ohio Wesleyan. WashU closes out the regular season on Saturday, November 14 against Wooster at 1 p.m., which will also be senior day.
 
Personnel
On the offensive side, senior Levi Moore returns at the quarterback position after earning All-CCIW Second Team Offense a season ago. As a junior, Moore went 147-for-246 for 1,853 yards, throwing for 21 touchdowns. He also racked up 659 rushing yards on 113 attempts, scoring 17 touchdowns.
 
Adding depth at the quarterback position are junior Alexander Singh, sophomore Jack Behl, sophomore Charles Maxell III, junior Jack Atkinson, first-year Shea Quinn and first-year Colton James Villanueva.
 
The Bears have a large staff of receivers, led by senior Makael Carter, who was an All-CCIW First Team Offense selection last year. As a junior, he had 48 catches for 755 yards, scoring a team-high eight receiving touchdowns. He also set a new program record for kickoff return for a touchdown with a 98-yard run.
 
Senior Drew Bomar had 31 catches for 442 yards and six touchdowns while junior Lucas Blumenthal had 18 catches for 189 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Avery Lazard had seven catches for 136 yards and three touchdowns.
Adding depth to the wide receiver position are senior Colin Donahue; juniors Ryan Bienstock, Michael Champagne, Charlie Flowers; sophomores Blake Bodnar, Ethan Feldner, Grant MacBean, Mark Sanchez; and first-years Dario Contreras, Martin Donahue, Lucas Gordon, Joey Johnston, Dino Scordia and Tyler Wentink.
 
In the tight end position, senior John Benke had eight catches for 101 yards. Senior Nathan Bluhm, Luke Stephens; sophomores Jacob Carr, Jackson Weaver; and first-years Connor Cairney and Alex Hopper will all be at the tight end position.
 
Senior Matthew Kinoshita returns as the leading running back, recording 573 yards on 105 carries and scoring one touchdown. Adding depth are junior Maddox Duncan; sophomores Brayden Lewis, Karsten Cornell; and first-year Cole Neupaver.
 
The Bears have a solid group contending for time on the offensive line, including preseason All-America selection in senior Brady Cavan, who was also a D3football.com All-Region honoree last year. Also adding depth to the O-Line are seniors Dominic Begora, Andrew Cresciullo, Luke Gadomski; juniors John Badger, Jackson Fisher, Michael Ranquist; sophomores John Bobak, Andy Covello, Zachary Cox, Nikola Dale, Jason Doyle, Grant Stewart; and first-years Michael Baldwin, Quincey Johnson, Patrick Lange, Matei Oprea, Ian Ritchie, Carson Ryan, Major Smith, and Will Strothmann.
 
On the other side of the ball, senior Joy Chane is the top returning tackler, making 71 total tackles (39 solo, 32 assists), 6.0 tackles-for-loss, 2.0 sacks, three interceptions, three pass breakups and one forced fumble. Senior Spencer Snipe had 37.0 tackles (14 solo, 23 assists), 2.5 tackles-for-loss, two quarterback hurries and one fumble recovery.
 
Also in the linebacker position are juniors Conner Durkin, Wiley Flores; sophomores Andrew Ham, Nick Lococo, William Olah; first-years Frederick Mills, Louie Murr, Will Raymond, Henry Rossini and Willie Wilson, Jr.
 
Outside linebackers include senior Henry Murr; juniors Nico Gomez, Logan Thompson; sophomores Everett Cui, Ron Donaldson, Jr., Kaden Karssen; and first-years David Eugene and Braedon O'Hara. Murr had 23 tackles last year (12 solo, 11 assists), 4.5 tackles-for-loss, four pass breakups and three quarterback hurries.
 
Senior Kellen Fraile returns as the top safety after tallying 28.0 tackles (14 solo, 14 assists), 2.0 tackles-for-loss, 1.0 sacks, two pass breakups and one quarterback hurry last year. Joining him in the spot are juniors Trent Carrier, Zander Ealy, Thomas Telesco; sophomores Michael Buhay, Tyler Schuman, Brad Shearer, Jack Stanley; and first-years Aidan Amy, Gavin Conjar and Jeremy Fort.
 
Senior Cosmo Guion had 17.0 tackles (13 solo, 4 assists) last year as well as one interception while senior Brett Kersemeier recorded 16.0 total tackles (11 solo, 5 assists) last year. Adding depth to the cornerback position are graduate transfer Grant Foster; juniors Quinten Bennett, Izzy Mbatai, Nate Miller; sophomore LaDrew Murrell; and first-years Cade Kirby, Trey Knox and Grayson Lake.
 
Junior Ethan Venable returns to the defense after making 32 tackles (20 solo, 12 assists), posting 7.0 tackles-for-loss, 1.5 sacks, one pass breakup and two quarterback hurries last season. Junior Aidan Hughes had 19.0 tackles (6 solo, 13 assists) with 4.5 tackles-for-loss, two sacks, four quarterback hurries, one fumble recovery and one blocked kick.
 
Seniors Spencer Camastro, Jack Dietz, Max Draheim; junior Pete West; sophomores William Clay, Scottie Cook, Teddy Koehl, Peter Matheos, Jackson Staley; and first-years Moustapha Berte, Austin Knape, Max Middleton, Jonah Nadley round out the defensive line.
 
Junior Matias Adrogue returns as the top kicker and punter for the Bears. Adrogue was 4-for-5 on field goals including a 43-yarder. He also had 59 kickoffs for 3,335 yards and 14 touchbacks and tallied 1,339 yards on 34 punts with 13 inside the 20.
 
First-year Caden An joins Adrogue as a kicker and first-year Stephen Maloof is a punter for the Bears. Sophomore Matthew Lee returns as a long snapper.'
 
All NCAC games will stream live on the North Coast Network.
 
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