Bernell DorroughDifferent opponent, same result for the Washington University football team. The Bears lost another tight game, this one on the road Saturday against Rose-Hulman. The Bears were clinging to a 13-10 lead late in the fourth quarter, but they allowed the Engineers to put together a 13-play, 80-yard drive that culminated in a nine-yard touchdown run by Joe Kachmar to give the home squad a 17-13 victory.
“That was a tough loss,” said head coach Larry Kindbom, “Just a tough loss. We’re playing hard; we’re just not hitting on all cylinders. Our job as coaches is to find out how to get all those gears cranking at the same time. We’ll continue to work on it, but it’s hard to play another tight game and come away short.”
It was the first time Rose-Hulman had beaten the Bears in the last ten meetings between the two teams. As usual, the receiver play was good for the Bears, with star Brad Duesing grabbing eight balls for 119 yards and a touchdown and Jeff Buening making some big plays.
“There were a lot of guys that played well and hard,” said Kindbom. “Buening is really starting to show up right now; that just adds another dimension to our offense. Obviously Duesing played pretty well.”
The Bears succeeded for the most part in their goal of throwing the ball downfield to the receivers, but the team lacked the steady offensive production that the coaching staff would like to see.
“We pushed the ball down the field a little bit,” said Kindbom. “The greatest concern on offense was consistency; finishing plays, guys not staying on their blocks and allowing their man to make the tackle. The receivers are all running good routes. We just need to make sure we’re finishing everything: blocks, pass routes, reads. If we can stay with it, we’re close. We have very good football players.”
Kindbom wasn’t hesistant to deflect some of the blame from his players after the loss.
“The burden should be on me,” said Kindbom. “My job as coach is to get those guys playing, and they are. They’re playing real hard, and I need to make sure that they’re going in the right direction all the time and finishing their tasks. I have to be a little better at that. If we can continue to do that as an organization, it’s going to happen. I’ve been coaching for too many years to not know that when you play hard, good things are going to come your way. The heartbreak is going to be short-lived, because our guys are ready to go.”
The Bears have been fairly strong on defense, but once again, a lack of consistency has plagued them.
“We played pretty well on defense,” said Kindbom. “There were two or three plays where they had a third-and-long, and we just didn’t keep them from getting that first down. We’re getting our hands on a lot of footballs, so we just need to come up with a few interceptions on them. Those things will happen, but only if we can keep playing with confidence.”
Despite the back-to-back heartbreakers, the Bears are determined to keep fighting rather than give up.
“We were real down after this ball game, but not too much,” said Kindbom. “We recruit championship people who know how to respond to these situations. That doesn’t lessen the impact the feeling after a loss like that, but our kids will be back. They’re just good kids and good competitors.”