Football | Sports
Football dominates Carroll 35-7 in home opener

Senior Kenneth Hamilton ran for a team-high 72 yards against Carroll. (Sydney Strominger | Student Life)
In the third quarter of their home opener, the Washington University football team was riding high. Sophomore defensive back Brett Kersemeier intercepted a Carroll University pass for a touchdown that dropped Pioneers quarterback Caden Pendleton’s completion rate to a meager two for 19, then ran it 52 yards for a pick six. WashU was up by double digits.
To put it simply, WashU’s game plan was working.
“Our coaches wanted us to play fast and trust the game plan they gave us,” Kersemeier said. “We did that, and we saw the result.”
With their 35-7 routing of Carroll on Sept. 21, the Bears improved to 2-0 record and maintained their undefeated streak against their conference rival in the opening game of College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) play. WashU also received votes in the D3Football.com Top 25 poll.
“I just thought it was such better football today against a good team,” head coach Aaron Keen said. “I’m even more excited about how much better we can be.”
Both teams struggled to score on their first two drives, but WashU aimed to set the tone before the end of the first quarter. Led by senior running back Kenneth Hamilton and senior receiver Collin Goldberg, WashU drove down the field, highlighted by Goldberg’s 11-yard reception on a crucial third down. Three plays later, sophomore quarterback Levi Moore threw a quick pass to junior running back Fred Ware, who ran past Carroll defenders for a 25-yard touchdown.
Despite Carroll’s challenging defense, the Bears’ offense was prolific. Senior starting quarterback Clark Stephens continued to lead the passing game, completing 11 of 18 attempts and contributing 88 yards to the team’s 146 passing yard total. The run game, though, was most lethal. Hamilton led the halfbacks with 72 rushing yards.
“This Carroll defense has made things complicated from a play-calling perspective over the years because they give you a lot of different looks,” Keen said. “So when you can run the ball, that helps a lot.”
On the next drive, Bears first-year cornerback Trent Carrier recovered a bad snap on a Pioneer punt attempt for a turnover. The Bears’ offense took advantage of their field positioning in the red zone, and drew up a double pass play. Moore pitched the ball to graduate student tight end Grant Hajicek, who then passed it to sophomore tight end John Benke who was wide open in the endzone for his first career reception and touchdown.
Late in the second quarter, WashU’s defense forced another turnover as sophomore linebacker Joy Chane recovered a fumble near Carroll’s 30-yard line. WashU, once again, had great field positioning and was led by Hamilton and Goldberg as they advanced down the field, highlighted by Goldberg’s 19-yard catch near the goal line. The Bears added another seven points and a one-yard touchdown from Hamilton, extending their lead to 21-0 into halftime.

Collin Goldberg has been hard to slow down this season, racking up 222 receiving yards in two games. (Sydney Strominger | Student Life)
Throughout their week three matchup, the WashU defense maintained control of the game by forcing turnovers and holding Carroll to 166 yards of total offense. Moreover, the Bears’ secondary forced Pendleton, the Pioneer quarterback, into his worst collegiate performance with a 10.5% completion rate.
“Our defensive coaches did a great job in preparations from week one to week three,” Keen said. “There’s a lot of improvement in technique and scheme.”
Late in the third quarter, Kersemeier returned his interception for a touchdown to improve the WashU advantage to 28-0. The pick-six was the sophomore’s first interception with WashU and the first defensive touchdown for the Bears this year.
“Their receiver ran the out route, and I just jumped for it,” Kersemeier said. “It felt really good.”
Carroll responded with their only touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter, but on the next drive, Moore evaded the Carroll defense for a career-high 69-yard touchdown run to increase WashU’s lead to 35-7. Moore, who is typically the team’s backup quarterback behind Stephens, had his hand in all of the Bears’ offensive touchdowns against the Pioneers.
“If you have a quarterback like Levi [Moore] who can run, you’ve got a plus run game,” Keen said. “It just adds another dimension to our offense.”
Next weekend, the Bears will travel to Naperville, Illinois to face the No. 1 North Central College Cardinals. The Cardinals are the most dominant team in all of Division III and have given WashU plenty of fits over the years, including last year’s 49-3 victory over the Bears. WashU has not defeated North Central since the Bears joined the CCIW in 2018. Still, WashU is embracing this challenge as they look to prove themselves in conference play.
“Our guys were told that we’re going to compete for championships,” Keen said. “So to have the opportunity to go play for play against the No. 1 team in the country? What more can you ask for?”