The Washington University football team defeated rival Carnegie Mellon 37-35 to capture their third consecutive UAA title in a tightly contested game in Pittsburgh, Penn.

The team’s fourth win in a row improved the team’s overall record to 6-4. The team finished the season a perfect 4-0 in UAA play and extended the school record streak of 11 consecutive winning seasons.

In a game that featured plenty of scoring, Carnegie Mellon struck first to take a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. The Bears answered back on their opening drive of the second quarter with junior Adam Meranda passing for a 51-yard touchdown to senior Jeff Buening. The Bears scored touchdowns again on their next two possessions on two 12-yard touchdown passes. The first pass went to sophomore Brad Duesing while the second was to Buening. Carnegie Mellon responded with a score of their own to make the score 21-14. The Bears scored a field goal on their next possession and ended the half with a 24-14 lead.

While senior Matt Alley started the game at quarterback, junior Adam Meranda replaced him after the first two offensive series. Bears coach Larry Kindbom had planned to replace Alley with Meranda after the first several series regardless of Alley’s performance. Kindbom was particularly pleased with Meranda’s performance, who he believes has emerged as one of the best quarterbacks in the UAA.

“Adam Meranda played an outstanding game. Good reads, good throws-he’s really stepped up to become one of the premier quarterbacks in the conference,” Kindbom said. “He has a lot of weapons but he knows how to utilize them.”

On the opening possession of the second half, Carnegie Mellon was able to force a fumble and return it to the Bears’ own 18-yard line. Carnegie Mellon capitalized on the turnover, scoring another touchdown on two running plays. Carnegie Mellon’s defense came up strong again in the Bears’ next possession as they forced a safety to bring the score to 24-23. Carnegie Mellon scored another field goal to take a 26-24 lead at the end of the third.

The offensive onslaught continued in the fourth quarter with Carnegie Mellon connecting on another field goal to extend their lead to 29-24 in their first possession of the fourth quarter. The Bears scored touchdowns on their next two possessions, though, to recapture the lead 37-29. Sophomore running back Mike Decker was the ball carrier on both touchdowns. Carnegie Mellon scored one final time at the end of the game, but the Bears’ defense held firm on a subsequent two-point conversion attempt leaving the final score 37-35 in the Bears’ favor.

Coach Kindbom cited the defense’s strong play on the two-point attempt and throughout the season as a key to the Bears’ success.

“Defense [...] obviously that’s been our strength and I think that’s the reason we’ve been able to win the championships. We’re the defensive team of the conference. The other teams think of themselves as offensive teams,” Kindbom said. “In the end, when they went for the two points, our kids make the plays to get the stop. It was a real good season for them. They really matured over the course of the year.”

For the game, Meranda finished 21-34 for 322 yards and three touchdowns. Duesing totaled 10 catches for 118 yards and a touchdown while Buening ended with 7 catches for 121 yards. Duesing continued his assault on the record books by becoming just the third player in Division III history to have back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in his first two years. Duesing also broke the school record for receptions with 74 catches. Senior Kevin McCarthy led the Bears’ rushing attack with 15 rushes for 89 yards.

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