The Washington University football team walked away with a thrilling win Saturday at Millikin University, coming back from a two-touchdown deficit to beat the Big Blue, 49-42, in Decatur, Ill.

Grace Bruton | Student Life

Johnny Davidson looks for a receiver against Illinois Wesleyan University. Davidson had six touchdowns against Millikin University, raising his career total offense to over 5,000 yards.

After a hard-fought, high-scoring affair going into the fourth quarter, the Bears led by seven with under 12 minutes to play. Needing a stop, the Wash. U. defense faced the Big Blue starting at their own 25.

The Red and Green ended up getting that stop, avoiding what otherwise would have given Millikin a chance to tie the game. With a punt coming from the 50, Wash. U. thought it was going to get a chance to go up two scores late. But in football, things can change in a heartbeat.

Millikin’s punter kicked a beauty of a punt, going 47 yards and landing at the Wash. U. three-yard line. Wash. U. freshman running back Matt Moore caught it, but was blindsided by a Big Blue defender, and and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Millikin.

Wash. U.’s defense, barely holding on to the seven-point advantage, attempted to shake off the bizarre play and keep Millikin from a field goal. Those hopes were quickly dissipated, as Millikin punched it in with a quick rushing touchdown on first-and-goal to tie the game at 42 with just over half the quarter to go.

Grace Bruton | Student Life

Junior John Fisher carries the ball past Illinois Wesleyan University defense. Fisher ran a career-high 179 yards to lead the Bears football team to a 49-42 victory over Millikin University.

Now, starting at their own 40-yard line, it was up to junior quarterback Johnny Davidson and the Bears to regain the lead with playoff contention on the line. But immediately after getting a fresh set of downs, Davidson was sacked for a loss of 10 yards, making this the third time the Millikin defense had gotten past the Red and Green offensive line.

Facing a long third-and-15, Davidson delivered, tossing a 16-yard pass to senior wide receiver Alex Fehlinger for the first down. Crisis averted, Davidson found senior wide receiver Matt Goldberg a couple plays later for an 18-yard score, putting Wash. U. back on top with just over five minutes left in the game.

Millikin came right back on the attack, hoping to tie the game yet again. Millikin senior quarterback Nicco Stepina launched a throw that landed in the hands of junior wide receiver Jordan Smith for a 47-yard reception. On the very next play, Stepina set his feet and launched another pass, this time into the end zone––and this time into the hands of Wash. U. sophomore defensive back Andrew Whitaker. The Bears took over with an opportunity to run out the clock with a few first downs.

After running the clock as much as they could, the Red and Green punted to give the Big Blue their last opportunity to tie the game with just over two minutes left. Millikin made a valiant effort, but the Wash. U. defense did a good job keeping the Millikin offense in bounds to let the clock run even further. A failed fourth down conversion later, Wash. U. lined up in victory formation with a final score of 49-42.

Davidson finished with a grand total of 354 passing yards and six total touchdowns, while Fisher ended the afternoon with a career-high 158 rushing yards with a touchdown to show for it. Senior wide receiver Jason Singer led the pack with a total of 107 receiving yards, including a 94-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter. Rounding out the top three in receiving yards were junior tight end Mitchel Groen with 88 and Goldberg with 66 yards, adding two touchdowns and one, respectively. Senior kicker Charles Coccia was also seven-for-seven in adding extra points.

Junior defensive back Justin DiCarlo added another interception to Whitaker’s one, while two defensive backs, junior Jeff Marek and sophomore JT Streepy, led the team with 11 tackles each.

Again, Wash. U. possessed the football for significantly less time than the opposing team, just around 37 percent of game time. Again, however, they were potent with the ball, making the most of that time to put up nearly a half-century.

Now, with a more-than-respectable 6-2 record in the CCIW and 7-2 record overall, Wash. U. is tied for third in the conference with Wheaton College. Because the top two teams in the conference play each other in the regular season finale, a win next week would guarantee Wash. U. second place and a decent chance at an NCAA playoff spot.

The Bears will attempt to clinch a playoff spot in their regular season finale versus struggling Carroll University (2-6) at Francis Olympic Stadium Saturday at 1 p.m.