There’s a reason why it’s called “special” teams.
With about six minutes remaining in the first half of Saturday’s game against the MacMurray College Highlanders, sophomore punter Richard Worth’s punt was blocked. The ball was recovered by MacMurrray’s John Hambelton and returned 14 yards for a touchdown that evened the score at 7-7 as the teams went into the locker room at halftime.
“[MacMurray] was overloading the left side the entire game, and on the blocked punt, one of their players slipped through an inside gap and just got in great position to get a hand on the ball,” said Worth.
The Bears would eventually lose 16-10, in a game whose outcome was determined by important defensive and special teams plays on the part of the Highlanders, a team that finished 9-1 in the regular season last year. With the loss, Washington University dropped to 1-1 and MacMurray went to 2-0.
While the rest of campus enjoyed the sounds of WILD, the Bears found themselves engaged in a tight defensive battle. Despite losing the war, WU was able to win the defensive battle, holding MacMurray to 153 yards total offense in the entire game. Highlander quarterback Jarod Tapia struggled under the pressure of the Bears’ defense all night. He finished with 5 completions in 16 attempts and was sacked 4 times.
However, the Bears’ offense found it equally difficult to score against the Highlanders, who forced 4 interceptions, 2 fumbles and a registered a safety. Freshman Nathan Szep was again at the helm of the Bear’s offense, finishing 14 of 30 for 124 yards through the air but no passing touchdowns.
“We’re pretty happy with where Szep’s at right now. We feel like we’ve got three guys that can get the job done [Szep, Alley and Appel]. We didn’t lose this game because of quarterback play. We moved the ball fairly well, we just didn’t execute on the big plays,” said head coach Larry Kindbom.
There was added pressure on Szep after last week’s star, sophomore running back Kevin McCarthy, was forced to leave the game midway through the first quarter due to injury.
“McCarthy dislocated his shoulder trying to dive into the endzone early in the game, and that loss is huge after the way he played last week [28 carries – 120 yards], but I think that the guys who stepped in and took his place, Toby Neighbors and Matt Plotke, both did a good job,” said Kindbom.
In the battle for field position battle, the 98 yards accumulated by MacMurray on interception returns helped to turn the tide in its favor. In addition, WU finished 2-15 on third down conversions and was not able to sustain a long scoring drive all game.
“We had plenty of opportunities to come away with the win, but they made the plays that they had to in order to win the ballgame,” said senior linebacker Brandon Roberts, who finished with nine tackles, ten assists, and half a sack
Early on, the game took the form of a slugfest, with both teams combining for only 139 yards and six first downs in the entire first half.
The Bears held on strong in the first quarter, winning the battle of field position and repeatedly containing MacMurray in their own territory. A 37 yard punt by sophomore Richard Worth pinned the Highlanders at their own 3 yard-line early on. Two plays later, senior safety Chris Berry stepped in front of a crossing route for an interception which gave the Bears position inside the ten.
Freshman running back Toby Neighbors scored the game’s first touchdown and gave the Wash U a 7-0 lead early on. Neighbors finished with 71 yards rushing on 20 carries.
In the third quarter, Ben Lambert connected on a 43 yard field goal to give the Bears the lead again. This was short-lived, however, as MacMurray took the ball 76 yards in eight plays on their next possession to take a 14-10 lead, one that they would hold onto for the rest of the game.
Early in the fourth quarter, Highlander punter Chris Crowe landed a punt down at the WU two-yard line. On the next play, Neighbors was tackled for a safety. The Bears moved the ball into MacMurray territory twice more in the quarter, but were unable to convert on fourth down on both drives.
Reflecting on the game afterwards, Roberts said “MacMurray is a great team. They were solid in all aspects of the game. We didn’t play a very good football game and still had a great chance to win. We will rebound and prepare for a ‘W’ this weekend.”
The Bears’ next game is Saturday the 21st against Illinois Wesleyan University at 6 p.m. in Bloomington, Illinois.