Matt RubinThe Washington University football team played arguably its finest game of the season Saturday and came away with a convincing 26-7 victory over the University of Chicago in a key UAA battle in the windy city. In the process, the squad regained the Founder’s Cup trophy, awarded annually to the winner of this regional rivalry game.
The Bears scored the contest’s first 26 points, before the Maroons got on the board with a meaningless score with under five minutes remaining in the contest. Not surprisingly, the Wash. U. defense was suffocating throughout, limiting the usually potent Chicago running game to two yards of offense and sacking Maroon quarterback Matt Rinklin six times en route to the win.
Notable individual performances for the defense included those put forth by junior Charlie Machan with four sacks and Joe Shaughnessy with an interception return for a 52 yard touchdown. Junior linebacker Mike Elliott recorded seven tackles to help the Bears reach victory.
The defense was aided by the offensive unit’s dominance of the ever-important time of possession statistic. Senior quarterback Pat McCarthy, who for the first time this season took all of the snaps under center, directed efficient scoring drives which allowed the Bears to chew up over ten minutes more of clock time than its opponent.
The strong play of the defense allowed the offense to have an easier time scoring. The team’s first score came thanks to a 31-yard fumble recovery by sophomore Brent Sensenich, which brought the Bears all the way to the Chicago nine yard line.
From there, Jenkins found the end zone with a six-yard touchdown scamper.
McCarthy completed 13 of his 26 pass attempts, including one which went for a 45 yard touchdown to senior Nick Lizanich. It was the first touchdown catch of Lizanich’s career.
The Bears’ ground game was led by junior Gabe Murphy and senior DaRonne Jenkins. Each scored a touchdown, and 145 rushing yards were accumulated between the two backs.
The Red and Green finished the afternoon with 293 yards of total offense, compared with just 135 for Chicago.
The Bears return home next weekend after a grueling three-game road trip, which saw the team go 2-1, including two straight wins to cap the trip. Wash. U. hosts league rival Case Western Reserve University next Saturday at noon on Francis Field.