David BrodyThe Washington University football team beat University Athletic Association (UAA) rival Case Western Reserve University 28-14 on Saturday at home. With the win, the Bears improved to 4-3 on the season and 2-0 in UAA play. The Bears have now won 14 straight against UAA competition.
The victory also marked an important milestone for Coach Larry Kindbom; it was his 100th win with the Bears. Coach Kindbom is 100-57 for a 64 percent career winning percentage in 16 seasons of coaching at the University. With a 28-30-1 record before coming to the University, Coach Kindbom is 128-87-1 for his career.
The Bears began the game with a score on their opening drive. Senior Kevin McCarthy scored the touchdown on a five-yard run. Looking to pad their early lead, the Bears were able to stop Case Western on their next two drives while putting up two more touchdowns on offense. For the first, senior quarterback Adam Meranda hit fellow senior Zak Clark on a 33-yard touchdown pass. On the second, McCarthy scored his second touchdown of the game on a one-yard run.
While Case Western was able to score late in the first half, the Bears were able to limit them to just 82 yards of total offense while forcing five punts. The Bears closed out the first half with a 21-7 lead.
Early in the second half, junior Chris Finney recovered a Case Western fumble, giving the Bears the ball on Case Western’s own 34 yardline. The Bears quickly capitalized on their outstanding field position as Meranda connected with senior Rob Meyer on a 15-yard pass with 12:22 remaining in the third quarter. Fortunately for the Bears, that was all the scoring they would need to top Case Western. Case Western scored just once more in the fourth quarter to bring the game to its final score of 28-14.
For the game, the Bears dominated in total offense with 354 yards for the Bears, compared to just 187 for Case Western. The difference was particularly marked in passing where the Bears won the air battle 285-130. Additionally, the Bears’ run defense held their opponent to 57 yards on 33 carries. Senior John Woock helped lead the Bears’ defense as he posted a team-high nine tackles.
On the offensive end, Meranda went 14-27 for 263 yards while throwing two touchdowns. Duesing led the way for the receivers, posting eight catches for 140 yards. Clark, the author of the game’s second touchdown, had four catches for a career-high 100 yards.
For the season, McCarthy leads the Bears in rushing with 416 yards on 104 carries. He has three touchdowns on the season. Meranda has completed 114 of 218 pass attempts for 1381 yards and 14 touchdowns on the season. Duesing has continued his assault on the receiving record books, posting 40 catches for 568 yards on the year and grabbing five touchdowns. Clark is second on the team in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns with 16 catches, 235 yards receiving and four touchdown catches for the season.
The Bears will play at home against UAA rival Carnegie Mellon University at noon on Saturday, October 23.