The Washington University football team returned home for its final game of the regular season against Carroll University, hosting Senior Day as it conquered the Pioneers with ease, 44-6, Saturday at Francis Field. The Bears jumped ahead early and managed to make quick work of the struggling Carroll team on a cold Saturday afternoon.

Grace Bruton | Student Life

Johnny Davidson throws a pass for a touchdown to Jason Singer. Davidson threw for 305 yards, while Singer gained a total of 127 yards for the Bears to defeat Carroll University 44-6.

Wash. U. ended up needing only its very first offensive drive to win the game. Carroll won the toss and elected to receive, but the Red and Green defense stifled the Pioneers from the outset, forcing an immediate three-and-out: On third-and-three, two of the 20 seniors honored, linebacker Jake Coon and defensive lineman Nick Athenson, stuffed Carroll’s JJ Keels for a four-yard loss. It was the start of a ferocious day for Coon, whose 17 tackles matched a career-high on his final afternoon in the red and green.

Starting with strong field position on their own 44-yard line, the Bears moved the chains twice before a 29-yard pass from junior quarterback Johnny Davidson to senior wide receiver Matt Goldberg gave them seven––and enough to outlast a Carroll team that would not manage a touchdown against the rock-solid Red and Green defense. The Carroll offense would only show two signs of life with a pair of mid-range field goals in the second quarter. From the outset, it was all Wash. U.

The Bears continued to benefit from big plays galore all afternoon: A 48-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Joe Rogan and a 45-yard fumble recovery touchdown by senior defensive back Ben Marcus made it a three-score game within 10 minutes, and an 80-yard touchdown reception by senior wideout Jason Singer highlighted the rout in the third quarter.

Davidson completed his regular season with 305 passing yards and four passing touchdowns. His season total of 2,992 takes his career total to over 5,000 passing yards for his career, with an entire season left to go before graduating. Junior running back John Fisher ended the game with 42 total rushing yards, most of which came in a monstrous 35-yard run midway through the third quarter to set up Davidson’s third touchdown. Singer led the pass-heavy offense with a total of 127 yards, followed by Goldberg with 80 and junior tight end Mitchel Groen with 70 and two scores.

Grace Bruton | Student Life

Jake Coon and Jeff Marek tackle a Carroll University ball carrier. Coon recorded 17 tackles Saturday to tie his career-high.

Coon, of course, made his last regular season game count, with 2.5 of his 17 tackles going for a loss. Coon also finished the season leading the CCIW in total tackles with 122. Altogether, the Wash. U. defense stacked up 11 tackles for losses throughout the course of the game, only their fourth such game in double digits.

Now that the 2018 regular season is in the books, it’s fair to say that the Bears had an almost ideal first CCIW season with plenty of highs and not many lows. Ending the season with a superb 7-2 record in their new conference and an 8-2 record overall, Wash. U. pulled off an impressive turnaround from last year’s 3-6 record. This year’s version of the Bears averaged 5.8 more points per game, 19.2 more total yards per game and 35.3 more passing yards per game. Their red zone success climbed an impressive 13 percent, and the team’s field goal conversion percentage jumped up an impressive 16.6 points compared to last year.

The Bears ended 2018 on a high note, climbing into the D3football.com top-25 for the first time all year. It was not, however, enough to earn one of six at-large bids to the NCAA tournament, as Wash. U. was left outside of the field of 32. The Bears will now look to 2019, hoping to build on their breakout debut in the CCIW.