Fresh off an impressive offensive performance against Carthage College, the Washington University football team looked to continue their momentum against North Park University Saturday afternoon.

Quarterback Johnny Davidson passes the ball to a receiver in a game against Carthage College. Davidson and the Bears defeated North Park University this weekend.

North Park got the scoring started early, getting on the board on their first drive. Wash U responded with two touchdowns on the ground by their junior running backs, Emmanuel Engermann and John Fisher. North Park pulled even briefly, but a touchdown by senior running back Logan Bash and a field goal by senior kicker Charles Coccia pushed Wash. U.’s lead to 24-14 as the half concluded.

The third quarter was the Johnny Davidson show, as the junior quarterback connected on two touchdowns—one to senior receiver Jeff Dedecker and another to sophomore Nick Cione—in the quarter to all but secure the win. Davidson had a productive day, completing 37 of his 41 passes and throwing for 452 yards. His receivers were the beneficiaries of the passing attack, as Dedecker, Cione and senior receiver Matt Goldberg finished with 132, 98 and 97 yards, respectively.

“The only words I have for the kind of day [Davidson] had today is ‘awesome,’” head coach Larry Kindbom said. “You know, our receivers had a lot to do with that. They made a lot of nice catches and how I saw it, the route running was better and they put themselves in great body position. It was a community effort, there’s no question about it.”

Coccia added two field goals in the 4th quarter to round out scoring for the Bears, as they took the game 44-21.

The win marked Kindbom’s 180th victory with Wash. U. Through 4 games, the team has already matched their win total from last year at 3. Kindbom credits the improved success this season to his team’s maturation as well as the easier schedule.

“Last year, a lot of these guys were one year younger, and we were playing the toughest schedule in America. You put those two things together, and it would just be hard to compare.” Kindbom said. “I can tell you that I think we’re playing hard right now. Not only have we had a bunch of guys come back to really help us offensively…defensively, we were kind of a new face anyway. The fact is that there’s guys playing that weren’t even in the picture last year, and that makes me feel good. They’ve been able to step up and play at the speed of the game and put us in a position to win.”

Wash. U. had an impressive 32 first downs, with a grand total of 603 total offense yards. They had enough offense to control the game after the first quarter, in which the very aggressive and physical North Park kept it at a tied game at seven points a piece at the end of the quarter. From there, it was all Wash. U. when it came to controlling the tempo and keeping North Park at bay. Unlike the past couple of games, the Bears had possession of the ball for over 53 percent of the game.

The defense was also important in the win, stifling the Vikings offense from start to finish. Senior linebacker Jake Coon lead the pack with thirteen tackles under his belt, followed by junior defensive backs Matt Bernstein and Jeff Marek with ten and seven, respectively. Junior linebacker Jeff Gurley also contributed seven tackles with a forced fumble. The team ended the night with one interception from junior defensive back Justin DiCarlo.

The Bears face Elmhurst College on the road thus Saturday at 1 p.m.