Three interceptions in the first quarter. Yes, you read that correctly. The Washington University football team had three interceptions in the first 15 minutes against Augustana College on Saturday. Those interceptions and 14 early points helped the Bears set the tone, and Wash. U. barely faltered, winning the game, 35-14, to improve to 6-2 on the season.

Wash. U. junior defensive back Will Hurley got the Bears off to a good start right away when he picked off the Vikings’ first pass attempt of the day, giving the Bears’ offense a great field position for their first drive. Starting at the Augustana 31 yard-line, the Bears proceeded to draw first blood when junior running back Emmanuel Ebirim ran it into the endzone for a one-yard touchdown, making the score 7-0, after the extra kick.

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Senior running back Emmanuel Engermann catches a touchdown pass from quarterback Johnny Davidson on Saturday, Nov. 2 against Augustana College. Both the Bears’ offense and defense contributed to the 35-14 victory.

Without skipping a beat, Hurley and junior defensive back Andrew Whitaker went on to intercept two more pass attempts thrown by the Vikings quarterback on their next two drives. The second of these paved the way for an immaculate 62-yard pass touchdown from senior quarterback Johnny Davidson to sophomore wide receiver Jared Harrison, doubling the Bears’ lead to 14-0 with three minutes left to play in the first quarter.

As if Hurley felt like he had not done enough to get onto the nerves of the Vikings, he topped off his two-interception game by returning junior defensive lineman Keenan Bilyeu’s blocked punt 28 yards into the endzone, bringing the score to 21-0 early in the second quarter.

“I think pretty much all of the plays that I made were just a product of me being in the right spot at the right time,” Hurley said. “It was really my teammates [who] made it possible and my coaches that put us all in the right spots.”

Coming back from the halftime break ahead 21-7, Wash. U. kept on going in the third quarter. Senior running back John Fisher had a three-yard rushing touchdown on the Bears’ first drive of the second half to bring the score to 28-7. Minutes later, senior defensive lineman Carter Rholl picked off an Augustana pass with one hand, the Bears’ fourth interception of the day. The turnover gave the Bears the ball at midfield before Wash. U. marched into the red zone to add a final score. After four mid-length passes brought the Bears to the Augustana 15-yard line, Davidson connected with senior running back Emmanuel Engermann to put an exclamation point on the day, sending the score to 35-7.

Do not let the Wash. U. offense’s ability to wrack up points overshadow the defense’s performance. The Bears forced five turnovers in the win and, despite controlling the ball for six fewer minutes than the Vikings, the defense did a great job of keeping the clock running, stopping any potential momentum-shifting plays. On top of the four interceptions and blocked punt return for a touchdown, there were seven tackles for loss and four sacks. Senior linebacker Jeff Marek lead the team in tackles with eight, followed closely by junior and sophomore defensive backs JT Streepy and Langston Laramore-Josey with seven and six tackles, respectively.

“The fact that we were able to come out of the locker room fast and play our game really set the tone for the rest of the game,” Hurley said. “Hopefully we can continue to build off the last two weeks and finish the season with our best two games all year.”

Over the course of the game, Davidson managed to pass Wash. U. legend Thor Larsen for second all-time in passing yards at Wash. U. He ended his afternoon with 225 passing yards with the two aforementioned touchdown tosses. Harrison had a game-high 108 receiving yards, followed by senior wide receiver Mitchel Groen with 58 yards.

With two games left in the season and with their playoff hopes still alive, the Bears will aim for three in a row while also honoring their seniors next Saturday, Nov 9, at 1 p.m., against Millikin University.